The Gemini Reign

I looked at her and wished things could be normal again. She was sleeping, her head leaning against the window, her long blonde hair in a sapping ponytail, her blue eyes peacefully closed, and her small mouth relaxed. I winced as I saw the bruise forming on her thin arm where I grabbed her. I always regretted being rough with her before I remembered what he said.

“Take care of her. She’s different.”

I thought back to how the crowd formed around us in the small parking lot. I hated how they believed Avery wasn’t safe with me. Were they right?

I slammed my hand on the steering wheel in anger, and she jerked awake at the sound. I gritted my teeth. Making sure to yell at her. “Out. Now!”

She jumped and then turned to glare, her calm blue eyes so similar to mine, to his, to theirs.

I shook my head, then said, “Get out.” In the calmest voice that I could manage. I made sure disgust was evident in my eyes, and she turned away and got out of the car as fast as she could, almost falling out. But not before I saw the hurt flicker in her eyes.

It hit me like a whip.

She looked at me with hope. They both did. “Please, trust us” I looked away and yelled at her, “What am I to you! A toy! You lied to me my whole life! You expect me to trust you,” I said the last word with a sneer, turning so they saw the resentment in my eyes. Hurt shone through the tears she shed, and he yelled…

I opened my eyes and remembered what I was doing. I got out of the car and walked toward the old-fashioned two-story townhouse. It had a white picket fence and stairs leading up to the porch. White poles holding up the porch roof. The porch railing holding plants that were once full of life, bright lights that used to always be on. The scrawny shrubs surrounding the house completed the look. It was our house. It had been for our entire lives, but was it still our home?

Avery

I locked the door to the house, praying that he didn’t have an extra key. I snatched it off the console while he was daydreaming, eyes closed, but I didn’t fake the jerk of my body when he slammed his fist down on the wheel. Genuinely shocked at the disgust that was burning in his eyes, I let him see my hurt and regretted it, wishing I could hide my feelings from him.

I moved to the window beside the front door and peeked out through the white blinds to see what he was doing. He got out of the car and walked up to the dark oak door, and I saw him try to open it, and confusion tightened his features. His eyebrows furrowed, his straight nose scrunched, and his triangular head tilted to the side.

He turned the steel doorknob a couple of times before realizing it wasn’t going to open. He seemed to remember that his keys were in the car and started towards the car. He opened the driver-side door and ruffled through the glove box and in the console. Then in the cup holders and finally on the floor before understanding.

He straightened his back and turned suddenly and marched towards the house with anger. His jaw tightened, and a second later, he was pounding on the door, yelling my name.

I hurried out of sight when his gaze caught me and ran into the kitchen, covering my mouth, laughing. He fell right into my trap. All I had to do now was try and get him to shut up. After grabbing an apple, I went to the door and opened it all the way, and he charged in surprised. Then I turned towards the stairs and ran upstairs and into my room, which was the first door to the stairs’ right.

I locked the door and ran into our Jack and Jill style bathroom and locked those doors too. I heard his footsteps pounding on the stairs. A second later, he was knocking on my door.

Then he tried the bathroom, but it was locked. I was surprised when I heard him descending the stairs and finally relaxed.

It didn’t last. I heard Justin coming up again and steeled myself for whatever he was planning. When he passed the door to my room, curiosity got the best of me, and after a minute of debating the pros and cons. I slowly unlocked the door, and it creaked open, causing me to jump back, paranoid at the silent air surrounding me. He was too quiet. I quickly moved to the door, but before I could close it, he pushed it open. I jumped back and ran for the bathroom, but before I could get the door open, he grabbed my hand.

Justin

I pulled her down the stairs hating the fear and shock in her expression.

“What are you doing?” She asked.

“I’m feeding you,” I said in a mocking voice, causing her to roll her eyes at me.

“I’m not hungry,” she said back, mimicking my voice.

I opened up the fridge only to find it empty except for a half-eaten carton of Chinese food. I turned around to look at Avery, and her mouth was hanging open, and suddenly our eyes met, and we burst out laughing. It felt good to let go…

I immediately stopped laughing, and she followed suit. What was I doing? I turned back to the fridge and squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them and turned back around. I put on my jacket and grabbed Avery, who was walking back up the stairs as quietly as she could but not quiet enough for me. For me. For her. For him. Did she even have a sneaking suspicion of what her life was like before?

I had to do this, follow the plan. It was important.

Was it more important than her?

The small voice in my head seemed to mock me as I wondered what it would be like to be ordinary. To have a family. One that was happy.

Reality dawned on me when I heard her voice in the back of my head. “What?” I said, too busy in my thoughts to listen to her.

“I said, why are we just standing here?” she said in a condescending voice.

I sighed and let go of her hand. “We are going to the grocery store to buy some food.”

She looked shocked as she took in the meaning of my words. I was letting her choose, kind of.

Avery looked at my face, then her arm, and slowly smiled. On her face was a look that I regretted putting there. Her mouth straightened from a frown and lifted at the corners, smirking. Her eyes sparkled with enlightenment, and she scrunched her straight, proportioned nose. Her skinny cheeks bunched up under her eyes.

“I think I want to stay home,” she said, looking way too happy with herself. Good thing I was there to pop her bubble.

“Don’t push it,” I replied, my voice hard as I hid my smile.

Avery

The next day I woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs. Why was he cooking? Did he have a sudden change of heart from acting like my kidnapper? I hoped so. My heart ached to have him there to help me. Yesterday, when he looked at me, I saw him. The real him. My—

“Avery, get up!” He just had to go and ruin it.

I dragged myself out of bed, and I took extra long getting ready, just to irk him. When I finally descended the stairs, he wasn’t in the kitchen. After I inhaled the delicious breakfast, I started looking for him. I wouldn’t make the same mistake of leaving without telling him. I checked the garage—sometimes he went in there to workout. The smacking of his gloves hitting the bag rung out in the garage.

I knew enough about his “new” moods to know better than approaching him when his adrenaline was pumping. Precisely when he was in his “zone.”

Instead, I went back inside, grabbed my bag, pulled my hair up into a quick ponytail, opting for a messy look, and took a peek into the garage to see if he was still working. I wondered who he thought about when he hit the bag.

His face was dagger deathly. I looked away before I was stuck there, wondering why. I snuck behind him, dashing for the keys to my car. I grabbed them and looked back at him. He was listening to music so he couldn’t hear me. The sweat dripped from his blonde hair, making it look darker than usual. Ew. He wore a black cut-off shirt and green shorts that swayed to the movement of his body, smacking his thighs as the punches vibrated through his entire body. I walked more comfortably to the door, not expecting him to see or hear me. Little did I know…

“Avery,” He said in a stern voice. I jumped in surprise at his voice in the silence. I turned around, feeling sheepish.

“You can do better. I’m not m—” Justin cut himself off, but I knew what he was going to say.

I’m not mom.

“No, you’re not, and you never will be,” I left him there, storming out of the garage with my keys.

Honestly, I wasn’t the type to take a situation and make it dramatic. But I saw a chance to keep my keys, and I took it. Though he must have noticed my keys were missing and my weird attitude because he walked up behind me and said, “Your car isn’t here.”

I whirled around. My mouth gaped open. “Why?”

“I sold it.”

“What, are you crazy? Why did you sell it?” I cried, shocked.

“We needed the money,” he lied. We had enough money to get us by for years, let alone five months.

“Don’t lie to me. Tell me why?” I said, knowing he was lying.

He looked exhausted. Good. He looked how I felt. I was tired of this stupid game he was playing. “Why?” I cried.

This time we both knew I wasn’t talking about the car. He looked at me, his eyes full of agony like I was the one who was ignoring him, acting like a stranger—no, like enemies with him. He shook his head and walked out the door.

I took a deep breath and followed. I cursed myself on the way. Ugh. Why did I do that? I remembered the first time I had confronted him.

“No! You can’t talk to me like that! It doesn’t matter if you’re hurting ’cause I am too,” I screamed, tired of “Justin the jerk.”

“Yeah? Well, I’m not the one who ruined our family. If you hadn’t followed mom…she would be here.” Justin yelled back.

I stumbled back. My eyes widened. No. no. It wasn’t my fault. Was it? No! I fell to the floor. My heart clenched in my chest. The pain closed in. I couldn’t breathe.

I looked up at Justin. His face chalk-white, and his eyes were wide as he whipped around and left me there.

The car ride was even worse than the fight. It was so silent, and every time I glanced at him, his face was devoid of any emotions—so different from when he dropped his mask in the house. When we got to school, he looked out the window, avoiding eye contact.

“Hurry up,” he said.

I got out of the car and slammed the door. Then I stood there for a few moments, and he eventually turned around and looked straight at me. Our blue eyes locked, full of emotion. Then he looked away and drove off. I turned around, ignoring the people who witnessed us.

“Oh my god!” Someone came from behind me. It was Rebecca. “Who was that? Is he your… you know?”

My eyes widened. I turned and grabbed Rebecca pulling her to a corner. “Why would you think that?” I said in a hushed voice but kept my eyes alarmed, so she knew it wasn’t right.

“It-It’s just be-because of the way you looked at each other,” she said, stammering and flushed.

“You saw that?” I questioned, confused. “Why were people looking at us in the first place?”

“Who was that?” I heard a familiar voice call from behind me. I turned to see “purple” standing behind me.

“Ugh, Valerie.” I heard Rebecca say behind me.

“None of your business,” I said, hoping she would leave us alone.

“Excuse me? I am the principal’s best friend. I should report you for dating an older guy.” She said, triumphant, lifting her head in a snobbish gesture.

“You’re bragging about that?” I asked. Who were friends with the principal?

“Ugh, whatever, she’s cool.” She walked away, muttering things like, “Why is that guy even looking at her? I’m way prettier.”

I looked back at Rebecca and gave her a pointed look, and she sighed, answering my question from earlier. “You guys are good-looking. I guess everyone was shocked,” She said, also confused. “Wait…so you aren’t together?”

I thought about it. Should I tell the truth? Or lied? I didn’t even know her. Why would I tell her the truth?.

She interrupted my thinking, “Why were you looking at each other like that then?”

“Like what?” I said, acting like I didn’t know what she was talking about.

“Like you were in love.” She said, emphasizing that she knew what I was doing.

Love. Love.

“We aren’t together,” I said, then I turned to leave. Rebecca was the one to grab me this time. “Then, who is he?”

I was saved by someone calling me. Rebecca let me go. “It’s him!” I heard her squeal behind me.

I walked up to Justin. He was standing a few feet from the corner we were in. Did he hear us? “Why are you here?”

“Did you forget?” He said in an evil voice, not wanting anyone to hear us.

My eyes widened as I realized what he was saying. Justin enrolled in twelfth grade, even when he was already nineteen. He must be repeating this grade on purpose to keep an eye on me, or so I thought.

“No.” I pleaded, “Justin, please.”

He just turned around, walking towards the school. He stopped halfway there, then turned his head as if to say, coming?

I followed as people watched around me. Insinuating things about us. I cringed and kept my head down as we walked into the school, and he led me to the principal’s office.

We walked into the office, and the principal immediately stood up; she had red hair up in a sleek bun (why did I keep meeting redheads?) and blue eyes; her ears stood out as she wore large gold earrings with little ones around her earlobe. She looked friendly and surprisingly young. Maybe she just had one of those faces. She smiled at Justin, and he smiled back. “Thank you for meeting with us to talk about Avery, it’s her first year with this school, and she is unfamiliar with the system.”

She replied with sympathy, still smiling, “Yes, of course, Mr. Adam.” After half an hour of her explaining school stuff to us, we finally got up to go to our first classes. She turned to me and said, “You must feel so lucky to have a brother who cares for you. So sweet!.”

Justin put an arm around me and said, “Have a good day, sis.” He sounded like himself and not the character he turned himself into. I nodded and stepped back. I felt like yelling at him. How could he change so much so fast? It was just a show for the principal. It had to be.

I remembered when he cared about me, “Avy, remember to call when you get there. Mom will yell at me if you don’t call. Don’t forget.”

I walked out of the principal’s office, shaking my head. Oh, how I wished we could go back.

Justin

Avery walked out, looking angry and confused. I had slipped and hugged her. It felt so right that I almost gave up on the act and the plan.

I remembered our fight. It wasn’t as bad as the first time…

I turned and left her there. I shouldn’t have said that. She didn’t deserve that. My brain warred within itself. Did I go back? Did I walk away?

Thump!

I moved instantly, running to her. She was sprawled on the floor, clutching her chest, sucking for air. “Avery!”

She needed this. I have to follow through. This was the only way she would accept our life. Right?

“Are you alright?” I looked back up at the “principal.”

“This is important; we need to keep on doing this,” I said in a stern voice.

She looked at me with empathy and said, “There was another way, it would’ve been harder, but it was possible.”

“Selene, It’s too late anyway,” I said softly. The other way was too dangerous. She wouldn’t accept it.

She looked so sad, “I can’t believe she doesn’t recognize me.”

“She couldn’t have known. They wanted us to have a normal life.”

She sighed and pulled out a file with my name on it, “She knows that you’re acting. I could tell.”

I sighed, “I know, and that just makes it harder.” I took the file and walked out of the office. “It’s the easiest way to tell her, according to you,” I threw the words over my shoulder, pulling the office door as I left.

“Could you call your first-period teacher for me?” I heard her call out before the door closed.