AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Galway it is. Wherever you go, I go.”
Okay... now I’m even more confused. “And what will you be doing? I don’t make enough money busking to feed both of us.”
Clara squints at the ceiling as if she really hasn’t thought of this. Another point for my theory that this is not Clara, but an imposter. Clara overplans to a fault. She checks everything a billion times. Tries to nail down every detail.
“I’ll sing with you,” she says.
I burst out laughing, then clap a hand over my mouth when she glares at me. “Sorry, it’s just... Clara, you’re an awful singer.”
She sighs. “Oh yeah. Forgot.”
Clara has a voice you could never forget, and not in a good way.
“What does that Krista woman you met in Dublin do? Juggling?”
“Hula-hooping.”
Clara snaps. “That. I’ll learn to hula-hoop while we’re here. I’ll hula-hoop eight hours every day. I’ll hula-hoop like it’s my job and be ready in time for us to hit the road. Do you think I could be ready in time?”
“No.”
“I know! I’ll be one of those human statues. I’ll paint myself gold and just stand around. You can’t tell me I won’t be able to do that.”
I can, but I won’t. Clara is too busy to be a human statue. She’s always got some goal to work toward or some event to go to or someone to meet up with. My sister is a machine of productivity. She even relaxes productively: collage-making, yoga, crochet.
And yet... here she is, eating Pringles straight from the tube on Jack’s couch.
“We can call ourselves the Wandering Harts,” she says. “Get it?You’ll play the music and I’ll stand around and look interesting. People love sister duos. Tia and Tamera. Mary-Kate and Ashley. Beyoncé and Solange. Raine and Clara. Sounds great, doesn’t it?”
Does it? I’m not so sure. All I know is it sounds like my sister isgoing through it, and I have no idea why or what to do.
“It sounds wonderful,” I say, hopeful that she’ll come to her senses by the time she wakes up tomorrow and I’ll find out what’s really going on.
It isn’t long before Clara dozes off on the couch. I gently wake her and she smiles that imperfect smile I love when she sees me. We change into our pajamas and go to bed. I turn to face her and tell her I love her and that, whatever is going on, things will be okay, but her eyes are already shut.
I sigh and turn away. My phone lights up on the nightstand. I grab for it and find a message from Jack.
Jack
Everything okay over there?
I look at my sleeping sister. She has her hands tucked beneath her pillow and her mouth slightly open. A strand of dark hair falls over her face, fluttering gently with every breath.
Raine
Clara says she dropped out of medical school and wants to become a human statue, so... probably not. She’s asleep now. I’m hoping I can get more out of her tomorrow.
Jack
Can I call you?
I glance at Clara, then quietly slip from the room. Sebastian, who was dozing between us, follows me into the kitchen, where the only light comes from above the stove. When I call Jack, he answers on the first ring.
“I was going to call you,” he says.
“What does it matter?”
“I’ve never called you just to talk before.”
