Ike
“Again?” I groaned from the floor as Marlena stared down at me. “You just sent me back.” I hadn’t even had a chance to catch my breath after Axel left, and here I was, back again. She already had a sucker in her mouth, an indication of the toll this was taking on her. How many spirits had she summoned that day? Dark circles hung under her eyes, accentuated by an already-pale face.
Before she could respond, I heard Sniper’s voice. “I’ve just realized, watching George go through this…I love you, Anna.” He was on his cell phone, leaning his shoulder against the wall, his back to us. “I don’t know why marriage scares me…me parents weren’t exactly the best examples of husband and wife,” he went on. “I just know my best friend is losing his wife, and I keep thinking about what if I lost you.”
I cast my gaze at Marlena. “You didn’t tell them you saw Charlotte coming back?”
She let out a long breath. “I learned a long time ago, when it comes to future events, it’s best if I don’t share what I see with the ones directly involved, even if the outcome is a certainty.”
“You don’t want to be wrong,” I said bluntly.
“No, love. Being wrong has nothing to do with it. I don’t want to give false hope.”
“Please don’t cry, Anna,” Sniper pleaded drawing my attention back to him.
“They’re going to get married,” Marlena whispered, then winked when I cut my eyes to her. “You aren’t directly involved.”
I smiled at the thought. Sniper—married. Would wonders ever cease to exist?
“George wants to speak with you,” she said, showing zero concern that I was still on the floor, holding my stomach and fighting the nausea.
My eyes narrowed. “He asked you to summon me?”
“No,” she said, her mouth lifted in a partial smirk.
“He doesn’t know I’m here…that you brought me?”
She shrugged. “You should go in, Ike. He has some things he wants to say to you.”
After I managed to stand, I limped through the door and to the other side of the bed to face George, while Marlena stood and looked through the window. George held Charlotte’s hand in both of his. He looked like hell. I hated everything about the situation we were in, but even with all that in mind, the only thing I could think when I saw him was how much I wished I could hug him. He was my brother—my twin. This side or that side, we would always be two halves of the same person, and nothing in existence could change that bond…not even us loving the same woman.
“I don’t know how to do this, Ike,” he said. I was momentarily thrown off wondering if he sensed me in the room, but quickly realized it was only coincidence. His eyes were fixed on Charlotte.
Even though I knew he couldn’t hear me I said, “I’m here, George. I’m listening.”
“I want her to come back,” he went on. “I don’t want to let her go. I know it’s pretty shitty that I don’t care how much care she would need, I just don’t want to exist in this world without her.” Lifting her limp hand, he kissed her knuckle and held it against her mouth. “The truth is, I don’t know if I know how. I feel like my purpose was to take care of her…like it was what I was meant to do.”
I rubbed a hand down my face. It was then that I noticed what he was wearing. It was the cross necklace that Axel had given to Charlotte, and he’d added my tags to the chain.
“The thing is, it doesn’t matter what I want. The doctor says the chance of her waking up is slim. I know, you gave her to me once. Maybe you really didn’t have a choice about it; maybe if you had, you wouldn’t have, but I know you trusted her with me.” He clenched his eyes closed. “So now I give her back to you, Ike. Take care of her. Take care of our child.” His voice cracked with emotion making my heart clench in my chest. He knew about the baby. “The doctor told us a couple days ago that she was pregnant. He said it was a miracle that the pregnancy had even survived everything she’s been through,” he snorted. “I think it’s the McDermott blood.”
“Our family is stubborn as hell,” I agreed, tears stinging my eyes.
“I don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl, but teach them to fish. And teach them about good music.”
I winced, my brother’s pain overshadowing my own. I knew everything would be okay for him, that he’d meet his child, but he didn’t. Axel’s words from earlier resonated somewhere in the back of my mind. George and I were experiencing the same pain, mostly. The difference was, George was being gracious.
“You’re going to be an amazing father, George,” I told him, an exquisite concoction of pain and joy lancing through me. I envisioned the years ahead of him, the way he’d age and look more and more like our father with each day that passed. I saw a dark-haired boy with gray eyes standing beside him in the river, the sunlight reflecting on the surface, fly lines dancing over the water as George told him about the secrets of life, just as our father had done with us. I saw the happiness this one life would bring to so many of the people I loved, and I realized this was so much more than a love triangle; so much more than me, Charlotte, or George. “I love you, brother. Everything will be as it should be. You take care of her for me.”
Turning back to the door, Marlena’s gaze met mine. I nodded to her in thanks. I finally understood. The corners of her mouth lifted and she gave a small wave goodbye, then she sent me back.