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I lean up to look at his eyes. He’s struggling just like me. Even Zane has been walking around depressed this week knowing that today is the day I get on the plane to New York. I’m going to miss them both so much. Zane is my twin. He’s an extension of me. My mirror. My balance. The complete and exact opposite of everything I am.
And Jax. Jax is the air I breath. He has been my everything for as long as I can remember.
“It doesn’t matter how busy I’ll be, Jax. I’ll miss you because I’ll miss breathing. How am I supposed to do this without you? Without Zane?”
“You’ll be fine. Your too smart, too talented to not be okay. You don’t need us there.”
I know he’s trying to be strong for me. He knows this is too great of an opportunity to pass up, and it could lead to great things for me. There’s a part of me, though, that wishes he would get pissed and demand I stay.
“It’s time to go, baby,” he says with a kiss against my temple.
I suck in a breath and nod. We get up from the bed to walk out into our living room. Zane is propped against our counter with a bottle of water, pouring sweat. He’s been working out extra hard this week. I know it’s because he’s having a hard time. In eighteen years, we’ve only spent a handful of nights apart. Now we’re about to spend the next seven weeks in different time zones.
I walk to him and wrap my arms around his waist, sweat be damned. His arms lower around my shoulders and he buries his face in my hair. “Tell me to stay, Zee. Tell me to stay, and I will.”
His chest vibrates with silent laughter. “I’m not going to be responsible for ruining this chance for you, Zo. As much as I want to tell you to stay, I won’t. You may never get this opportunity again.”
“I think I’m too fucking co-dependent for this shit,” I say with a sigh.
“Nah. Jaxass over there and I are the co-dependent ones. You’re going to be great. But when you get back, we’re going to look like homeless bums who forgot how to dress and feed themselves.”
“This will be the longest we’ve been separated ever. We spent nine months in the womb and eighteen years out of it together.”
“We’ll make it, little sister. You’ll be back in a few weeks to kick our asses straight. Unless you become a huge fucking success and decide to stay there forever.”
I hug him tighter. “Nothing short of dying could keep me from coming back to both of you.”
“We’ve got to go, baby,” I hear Jax behind me.
Zane pushes me away from him slightly and grabs both sides of my face. He kisses my forehead then turns me to Jax. “Be careful, Zoey. And call me if you need me. I don’t care how fucking far it is, there’s nothing that will keep me from coming if you need me too.”
I smile softly at him. “I know, big brother.”
4 years later
“God, I miss you so much,” Jax says through our video chat.
“You looked so great last night. Your kind of kicking pro-football ass out there.” I say trying to pack my things for my flight tomorrow.
I was glad this showcase was done. It was as amazing as the previous three years have been. It’s garnered me some great exposure, and I always manage to sell a few pieces. My photography is what has really gained attention though.
This is possibly my last year to do the showcase. I’ll be graduating in May, and I’ve really been considering my options for my post-graduate career. It turns out that I have lots of people wanting to work for them. It’s been really awe inspiring and humbling.
I’m glad that Jax and Zane are finishing their degrees online in spite of entering the draft this past spring. It wouldn’t be the same to graduate without them.
Being away from them is hard every time, but it’s something we’re glad we got use to. We learned pretty quickly to video chat often. Especially considering how much they have to travel during football season.
That’s not saying that I didn’t follow the team as often as I could. And my photographs of the team and the games are highly sought after.
“What can I say, Angel? Your man is a beast on the field,” he brags.
I shake my head. “Always so humble. I’m sure your offensive line and Zane being able to catch that sixty-five-yard pass were no help at all.”
“Yeah, my guys did a good job keeping the defense off our asses didn’t they? So, what do you have planned for your last night there?”
“Gonna meet up with Maddox and his roommate for dinner then call it an early night.”
I don’t miss the eyeroll he gives. I ran into Maddox my first showcase. He came into the gallery my second week here, and instantly recognized my work. He lingered around until he found me. He wanted to take me out to celebrate, but it just didn’t feel right without talking to Jax first.
