Twisted

by Knight, Natasha

  “It’s too soon. One…”

  25

  Gregory

  “But…it’s too early,” Amelia says.

  I take the phone from her, push the speaker button.

  “It was too much for Helena. She was too small to carry four—” I hear my brother’s voice break.

  Hear him break.

  I thought I would enjoy that sound. That it would give me pleasure.

  A new panic takes hold of Amelia. I see it on her white face. “Where’s my sister?”

  “She’s in the hospital. They all are.”

  “Is she okay?”

  “She will be, physically,” he pauses. “You need to come now. She needs you to come.”

  Amelia just nods, relieved but like she’s still processing.

  “Get to the airport. Get on the next flight out. I’ll send money.”

  Amelia’s eyes meet mine.

  I clear my throat, take the phone off speaker and set it to my ear. “I’ll bring her.”

  Silence, then: “Gregory?”

  “Let me know which hospital. I’ll bring her.”

  I wait. It’s his turn to process now. “What in hell—”

  “We can do battle when I get there, brother. Send me the address.” I hang up the phone, get off the bed. “Go shower, I’ll pack some things,” I tell Amelia.

  “But—”

  “It’s about a four-hour drive to Venice. We’ll be there by morning if we hurry.” She opens her mouth to speak, but I cut her off. “Go.”

  The drive to Venice is a tense one. Amelia is worried about her sister. She’s worried about the babies. And I’m sure she’s worried about what Helena will say when she sees her with me.

  Me, I could give a fuck what Sebastian or Helena think as far as Amelia and I go. And Sebastian and I, we have some talking to do. But I’ve never heard him sound like he did on the phone just now.

  Amelia’s phone vibrates with a text message when we’re about half an hour from the hospital.

  “He wants me to text him when we get there. Says it’ll be best if I go in alone.”

  I turn off the highway, glance at her. “What do you want?”

  “I don’t want to shock my sister. I mean,” she touches her hair, which she’s been wearing parted on the side to cover up the handful I cut off. “I already look very different.”

  I nod, although I’m not sure how I feel about it. I won’t hide from them.

  An icy rain is falling by the time we arrive at the hospital, my brother is waiting just inside the entrance. He comes outside as soon as I pull up to the curb.

  Amelia opens the door and climbs out, stops.

  I realize this is the first time she’s seen him since the reaping.

  After killing the engine, I get out, meet his eyes as he stalks toward us. I get to Amelia just as he does and step half way between them.

  “Brother,” I say.

  “I’ll deal with you later,” he says to me. He turns to Amelia. He takes in her shorter, dark hair. “You’ll explain everything to me first. Not a word to Helena. I don’t want her upset, understand?”

  She nods.

  I roll my eyes, shake my head, give a snort.

  “I’ll take you up to see her,” Sebastian says, ignoring me.

  “How is she?” Amelia asks.

  “Scared mostly. Sad.”

  “Are the babies…”

  “Incubated.” His forehead furrows. “They’re so small. And one…she’s…the doctor isn’t sure—” his voice breaks.

  “What happened?” I ask.

  He looks at me, almost doesn’t answer, but Amelia asks the same question.

  “Helena started to cramp badly. It had been happening for days, but you know how she is. Just dismissed it. Didn’t want to make something out of nothing.” He shakes his head. “By the time we got here, she’d lost a lot of blood. Almost went into hypovolemic shock. They took her into surgery right away. She didn’t even know until afterwards what had happened. Didn’t know that they took the babies.”

  “God,” Amelia’s voice is a whisper.

  “She almost didn’t…”

  My brother’s eyes are bloodshot, his hair disheveled. There are dark red stains on the cuffs of his shirt that I don’t think he’s aware of.

  “Let’s go,” Sebastian says.

  “I’ll park the car,” I say. Amelia hesitates, turns to me. “I’ll see you in a few minutes,” I tell her.

  “You’ll wait in the lobby,” Sebastian says to me as I’m getting back into the car.

  I’ll let it go, considering.

  In the rearview mirror, I watch Amelia and Sebastian disappear into the hospital. I find a parking spot and head back to the entrance a few minutes later, entering just as the elevator doors open and my brother steps out to greet me.

  26

  Amelia

  I’ve never seen Helena look as frail as she does lying in that hospital bed. I’ve never seen her look as sad.

  But when I walk inside, she sits up, wincing, and I can tell she’s in pain.

  “Amy.” My name sounds like an exhale.

  I smile, rush to her and wrap my arms around her. I missed my sister. I missed her so much more than I realized, and I don’t know how I could ever have thought that I hated her.

  “Helena, I’m so sorry.” For so many things.

  She hugs me tight and just holds me like that for a long time and I hear her cry and I just hold her back.

  “I’m so sorry,” I repeat as she releases me, leans back in the bed looking at me, taking in my new hair color. I don’t want to talk about that yet, though. “How are my nieces?”

  She smiles at that and I pull a chair up to the bed to sit.

  “I think they’d fit in the palms of Sebastian’s hands,” she says.

  “That small.”

  “We knew they’d be small, but this is too early. One of them, the doctor isn’t sure she’s going to make it.”

  “No, don’t say that. She’s alive. They all are. You are. That’s what matters.”

  God. My sister. If something had happened to her, I don’t know what I’d do.

  She nods, and I can see her steeling herself. “Your hair,” she finally says.

  I touch it, look at the dark strands. I think it’s time to go back to my natural color. This isn’t me. Not anymore.

  I consider lying to her about it. Telling her it was for a shoot. But the idea of weaving another story, it’s exhausting.

  “I wanted something different,” I say.

  She studies me, and I wonder what she sees.

  “Amy, where have you been? We’ve been calling you for days.”

  What do I tell her? That I’ve been lying to her? That Gregory Scafoni kidnapped me? That I’m in love with him?

  I open my mouth to answer, not sure what I’m going to say, not wanting to upset her, not now.

  “Where are the babies?” I ask instead.

  “NICU.”

  “Do they have names yet?”

  She’s studying me, her eyes intense. “Samantha, for Sebastian’s mother, Libby, Charlotte, just because I like that name, and the littlest one, she’s Helena. For Aunt Helena,” she clarifies.

  “Then she’s strong.” I feel my eyes water. “All Helena’s are strong.”

  “You look different, Amy.”

  I just watch her.

  “What’s happened to you?”

  I look down at my lap, wipe a lone tear.

  “Where have you been?” she asks.

  Just then the door opens and a nurse walks in, smiling wide and carrying a tray of food. “Time for breakfast,” she says to Helena, then turns to me, gives me a warm greeting. “Is this your sister? I can see the resemblance.”

  “I’m Amelia,” I say, grateful for the interruption as I get to my feet and push the chair back to make room for her to set the tray down.

  “I’m not hungry,” Helena says.

  “But you need to eat. Th
ose girls need you to be strong now.”

  I think Helena’s going to burst into tears again.

  A doctor walks in flipping through a chart. “Good morning, Helena,” he says. “How are you feeling this morning?”

  The nurse turns to me. “The doctor just needs a few minutes. Would you like some coffee?”

  “I’d love some.” I give Helena’s hand a squeeze before slipping away. “I saw a café down in the lobby,” I say, quickly heading to the elevator, disappearing into it before she can say anything.

  27

  Gregory

  “When were you going to tell me?” I ask my brother.

  “They’re not yours,” he says flat out.

  I don’t know what I expect to feel at that, but I don’t feel anything at all.

  “We had tests run early on. I’m the father,” he adds.

  “Well, congratulations.”

  “Don’t be a dick, Gregory.”

  I shut my mouth. He’s right. Now’s not the time.

  “How is she?” I ask, my tone somber.

  “She’ll be okay. If we’d been a little later, she wouldn’t have been.”

  I nod, because this, I do feel something. Relief. “And the babies?”

  “It’s still early. She was only twenty-six weeks pregnant and three are stronger than the one. First one.”

  “Will they be okay?”

  “The three have a better chance, but they’re all fighters. Like their mother.”

  “And their father.” I give him that and we study each other for a long minute.

  “Why is Amelia Willow with you?” he finally asks.

  Of course, he was going to ask that.

  “Interesting story, that,” I start with a chuckle, and I realize it’s badly timed, but there wasn’t ever going to be a good time to tell this particular story so, when Sebastian grabs me by the collar of my shirt and shoves me backward into the wall, I’m not surprised.

  But I am pissed.

  I grab him back, shove him into the other wall. “I guess you were right. I wanted my own Willow Girl.”

  We turn a slow circle in the lobby, hands fisted at each other’s throats, the way we always seem to end up when the conversation turns to the Willow Girls.

  “If you hurt that girl—”

  “What? You think you’re the only one entitled to one?”

  “There’s only one, you know that. The rules—”

  “Yeah, well, I guess I don’t play by those rules anymore.”

  “What did you do to her?”

  “I didn’t have to do anything to her, brother. I guess that’s where we differ.”

  The elevator dings and Amelia steps out, gasps. I imagine how we must look to her. Like we’re about to kill each other.

  “What are you doing?” she yells.

  Neither Sebastian nor I break eye contact or reply.

  “Are you crazy? Let go of each other!” Amelia is beside us, a hand on each of us trying to shove us apart, and I remember this same scenario a few months back, us in Joseph Gallo’s office. It was Helena trying to pry us apart then.

  “Did he hurt you?” Sebastian asks Amelia but keeps his eyes on me.

  I snort.

  He tightens his fist and I tighten mine in response.

  “If he made you do anything…if he hurt you in any way, know that I will kill him,” he says more to me than to her.

  “My brother, always the white knight. You don’t know the half of it, Amelia. Tell me something, Sebastian. Is the pregnancy the reason you were in such a hurry to get rid of me? Why you didn’t fight my demands?”

  “I already told you, I’m the father, not you.”

  “Stop it. Both of you. Stop,” Amelia interjects.

  “I’m sure you didn’t know that fast,” I say.

  “Go back upstairs, Amelia. I’ll be there in a minute,” Sebastian says sounding calmer than I feel. But him telling Amelia what to do, like she’s his, it gets under my skin like nothing else.

  “You don’t get to tell her what to do.” It comes out a snarl.

  “I’m not going anywhere until you let go of each other,” Amelia says. “You’re both being crazy!”

  Sebastian finally turns to her, looks her over. His gaze falls to her dark hair and when he returns his narrowed eyes to me, I can just imagine what he’s thinking.

  “I’m going to kill you,” Sebastian says, shoving me into the wall. “I’m going to fucking kill you.”

  “Stop!” Amelia sets herself between us just as Sebastian readies to swing.

  “Amelia!” I shove her away because she’s going to get hurt, and in that instant of distraction, Sebastian’s fist collides with my face and for a moment, everything goes black and I stumble.

  Amelia screams.

  I give my head a shake, straighten, lunge for my brother, my fist in his gut making him double over with a grunt.

  “It’s not what you think,” Amelia yells. “Stop!”

  But before either of us can land another hit, four security guards show up, two for each of us, taking us by the arms and dragging us out into the icy rain. They’re yelling something but I can’t hear them, and I don’t think Sebastian can either.

  “Did you pretend she was Helena? You sick bastard!”

  The guards hold him back and I see Amelia follow us out and I hope she didn’t hear that, but I think she did.

  “She did that herself, prick. She dyed her hair before I even got hold of her.”

  “Got hold of her? What did you do, stalk her? Kidnap her?”

  “Is it any different than what you did?”

  “I had no choice and you know it!”

  “You had every choice, and so did I and you know the difference between me and you, brother? I own it. I fucking own my choices.” I shrug at the hands on my arms. “Get off me!” But they don’t let me go.

  Amelia is standing at the entrance, icy rain soaking her.

  It’s soaking all of us.

  “I’m done,” I say to the men, stopping my struggle. “Finished.”

  They let me go. I turn to her, then look back at my brother. “I did want Helena. Before. That’s finished too. It finished that night in Lucinda’s house. And I’m sorry for what’s happened to her. To both of you. To those babies.”

  I go to Amelia, look at her tear and rain-soaked face. I touch her cheek, feel the icy cold skin.

  “But I’m not sorry for taking her,” I say to Sebastian but look at Amelia. “And I’m not giving you up.” The last part I say only to her because fuck my brother. I owe him nothing.

  I wrap my hand around Amelia’s arm and turn to Sebastian whom the guards have released.

  He stands looks from me to Amelia and I think one word from her, and he’ll kill me. But she leans her body into mine, slides her free hand into my damaged one.

  “I love you,” she says, and I hold her closer and I’m not giving her up and no one’s taking her from me. I’ll kill anyone who tries.

  Sebastian rubs his eyes, his face. “Fuck.”

  Amelia’s teeth chatter.

  “It’s cold,” he says. “Get her inside.”

  28

  Gregory

  It’s afternoon before Sebastian comes back to the lobby, to the café where Amelia and I are waiting. He doesn’t say much, just gestures for us to follow.

  The elevator ride is tense, none of us speaking. I’m not sure what to expect as we step off the elevator and head together to Helena’s room, but Amelia’s hand is sweaty in mine. She’s nervous.

  Sebastian enters first, stands at the head of the bed beside Helena who looks at Amelia like she’s betrayed her. But then her gaze falls on me and that look, it’s different. Almost violent.

  I study her. It’s the first time I’m seeing her in months. She’s pale and I can see she’s uncomfortable, but still, in spite of everything, she’s Helena. She’s beautiful and strong. And she still hates me.

  “Helena,” Amelia starts.

>   “No,” Helena interrupts, her gaze just slipping to mine for an instant before returning to her sister. “No, Amy.”

  Sebastian’s hand is on Helena’s shoulder, squeezing just a little and I wonder how he told her. What he told her.

  “She’s innocent,” Helena says to me.

  I raise my eyebrows.

  “And you’re a bastard.”

  “What are you, then?” I ask because fuck this double standard. Fuck it.

  “Watch it,” Sebastian warns.

  I look at my brother’s face and I see the same thing I saw every day on that island, and I don’t know how I didn’t understand it then. He loves her fiercely. He will protect her fiercely even against me.

  And I guess that’s how it should be.

  “You should have left her alone, Gregory. It’s not right,” Helena says.

  “Don’t I get a say in this?” Amelia asks.

  “You’re not to blame—” Helena starts.

  “I love him,” Amelia blurts, cutting her off. Helena shifts her gaze to her sister, and it softens instantly. “And I don’t need you to protect me, Helena. Not anymore.”

  “How? How can you love him?” Helena asks.

  “Am I that terrible?” I interject with a snort.

  “You shut up,” Sebastian says to me, eyes narrowed.

  Helena ignores us both. “How can you love him?”

  The way she says it, the him, she’s almost spitting the word.

  I feel Amelia straighten beside me. She’s steeling her spine. She slips her hand from mine.

  “Same way you can love him,” she says, gesturing to Sebastian. “There’s nothing different. The way it started for us, it’s the same way it started with you. And then something happened. Just like it did for you.”

  Amelia walks to the bed, sits on the edge of it. I see the tears that fill Helena’s eyes as she slips her hand over her sister’s.

  “When we grew up, there were two sets of rules,” Amelia starts. “One for you and one for the rest of us. It wasn’t fair to you then and it’s not fair to me now.”

  “We were kids. That was different, Amy. There’s too much that’s happened, things you can’t know.”