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“Thank you for helping me.” Her voice is back to that sweet, cheerful tone. “It’ll be best to take her to your place after the airport since I won’t be home until tomorrow morning.”
“Sounds like a plan. Talk to you later, Mom,” I say, ending the call.
Chapter Two
Gabriel
It’s around eight when I’m finally heading to my place. Lyric’s plane won’t land until two in the morning.I’m actually relieved Mom asked me to pick her up. Leaving Lyr alone at that time of night is dangerous. Also, I wouldn’t want Mom, or anyone for that matter, driving this late, especially with the rain pouring down like it’s trying to cleanse the city.
As I drive, I decide to call my twin. The phone rings a couple of times before he picks up.
“You’ve tuned into the one and only Jude station,” he announces, his voice bursting through the line with that familiar, playful arrogance. “How can I rock your world today?”
I roll my eyes but can’t help grinning. It’s been months since I saw him last. We used to try to get together more often, but since Seth and Piper married their respective spouses, things have changed a lot. We feel like third wheels.
“Ever thought of answering your phone with a simple ‘hello’?” I chuckle.
He barks out a laugh. “That’d be too fucking boring—and we know you’re the boring one of us. What’s up, Gabe?”
I drum my fingers on the steering wheel. “Mom’s sending me to collect Lyric from the airport. Happen to know why she’s back early from Paris?”
Jude sighs heavily into the phone. When he doesn’t immediately respond, worry spikes through me. “Is she okay? Would you like to share what you know with the class?” I push.
“My theory is that our sisters are trying to set up an intervention—for us,” he finally says, half-joking, half-serious, as if he’s not sure how to feel about it. “Indie asked me to be there this weekend. She mentioned it’s important and that everyone would be there—even you.”
I groan, irritation simmering. As if I don’t have enough with my own self-doubts. I fucking hate the added pressure from our family.
“Why?” I ask, hoping Jude knows anything and this isn’t just some weird theory. Our sisters tend to open up to him more.
“Not sure,” he responds casually and somehow I don’t believe him.
“What else do you know, Jude?” I insist.
“Indie might’ve mentioned something about us being the oldest and not having our shit together. Look at Seth and Piper. They have a family—spouses, and even children. You and me . . . Well, we don’t have shit. Dad’s pretty disappointed that he doesn’t have grandchildren already, unlike his brother and sister.”
Seems like Indie has a lot to say about us. I should call her and see if she’ll tell me more about Dad’s new complaints. “Mom’s just concerned since I told her I might want to start a band,” Jude adds.
“You do?” I ask incredulously.
“Nah, I was just messing with Finnegan,” he laughs. “You know how I like to rile him up about the past—no one believes it, but it helps jog his memory. It seemed hilarious to say, ‘Remember that time when we were going to start a band? We should do it now that you’re back.’ No one liked my joke, and apparently, Mom’s at her wit’s end with both of us.”
It’d be a good time to tell him that fucking with Finnegan’s amnesia is getting old, and he has to stop. Archer, our best friend, was MIA for years, and when he came back to us, he had a new identity—Finnegan Gil—and barely remembered anything about us.
I miss my best friend, but I don’t try to push Finn to remember the past or be like his old self. I’m not the Gabe from back then either, and no one is trying to make me be that person anymore. Why should we do the same to him?
But that’s a story for another day. I need to focus on the now and my parents. “So, is it just the lack of grandchildren, or is there more?” I ask, trying not to sound defensive but failing.
If the issue is the grandchildren, I could just hire a surrogate and get a couple of the frozen embryos at the fertility clinic implanted to make my parents happy. Well, I would have to do a lot more than that, though the withdrawal isn’t that easy. Also, why would I do such a thing? I wouldn’t want to have any children without . . . I grab onto the wheel tightly while I try to calm the fuck down.
Today isn’t a good day to bring back the memories or even think about Ame. Remembering the past is just a waste of time and energy.
“Want me to list them all or just the main highlight: your career is sucking out your soul?” he jokes grimly.
“So, Indie said that to you directly?” I press on. Knowing that even my little sister is concerned and thinks poorly of me stings. A knot forms in my stomach as I wonder what my family will say when I tell them my plans. I’m leaving the state and my practice. I might only be gone for seven years or just never come back.
Jude scoffs. “If you can’t even understand why the family—especially our parents—aren’t on board with your current life choices, I can’t help you, my dude.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, a crease forming on my forehead.
