Chapter 14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

MARGO

My eyes are closed as I rest my head on the wall behind me. I'm happy my plan is falling into place. I'm good at orchestrating things to go my way, but I have to admit, this feels a little too easy.

I open my eyes.

He's staring at me, eyes squinting slightly, but is quick to jerk his gaze away. He shifts his weight and stands. "I have to go," he says.

Did I do something to make him uncomfortable? Why does he want to leave all of a sudden?

"Are you okay?" I ask, standing too.

He brushes off the back of his pants. "Yeah, but Laura is waiting for me."

I check the time on my phone. I still need to run to the store and make it back to the bookshop to meet Annie by six. "I should probably get going too."

He rocks on his heels, awkward for a moment, not knowing where to look. "Thanks," he finally mumbles before walking away. He disappears around the side of the building, not waiting to hear my goodbye.

I walk down the street to one of my favorite coffee shops. It's a little touristy, with all the gifts that line the walls, but I like it. There are mugs and journals. Calendars and soap bars. It makes it easy to find something special to buy. Something that'll convince Annie I came downtown for a reason. I pick out a pastel pink notebook with a gold cloth strap that loops around the front, keeping it closed. I need a new notebook. My current one is starting to fall apart. The edges are tattered, and it's survived more than one coffee spill. This one even has a checklist layout on the first page. It couldn't be more perfect.

I purchase it along with two hot cocoas to go. Mine is cinnamon brown sugar, and Annie's is caramel. I'd get coffee, but Mama wouldn't like us drinking caffeine so late in the day. She already has enough to worry about.

As I walk back, my phone buzzes. Somehow managing to juggle both drinks with one arm, I pull it out. An email notification pops on the screen, and a smile stretches across my face. Annie is going to freak out when she sees what I got confirmation for.

Butterflies buzz in my stomach, and I start walking faster.

When I get to the bookshop, Annie is sitting behind the counter at the front of the store. She's leaning back in her chair with her book cracked open in her lap.

"I brought you a present," I say, setting the cocoa on the counter.

She smiles. "I was just thinking about getting a drink. Caramel?"

I nod. "Of course."

She taps her head. "And some people don't believe in twin telepathy." She takes a sip and closes her eyes with a sigh. "Just how I like it."

"Have you been busy?" I ask. Other than one customer way in the back, the place is empty.

She shakes her head. "Nope. I finished dusting, and then I spent about an hour going through the donations."

"Any good ones?" I lean on the counter.

She points to a pile of books behind her. "Most of the ones I went through were salvageable... with a little love. There were only a couple that were past rescuing."

This is the perfect job for her. I've seen her fix countless busted book spines, even ones that I thought were hopeless. But she's patient and hates to throw anything away.

"So what did you do?" she asks.

I tap my head, copying her recent movement. "Shouldn't you know?"

She deadpans, "The twin telepathy isn't telepathing."

"What a shame. You should get that fixed."

She rolls her eyes. "You should answer my question."

I set my notebook down on the counter. "Isn't it gorgeous?"

She raises an eyebrow. "It took you two hours to pick out a notebook?"

I gently tap the notebook. "Hey, you can't rush something like this. I'm going to be using this for the foreseeable future. I had to spend time making sure it was the one."

"You make it sound like you're getting married to it."

"Annie . . ."

"Margo."

"You're right. That would be an abnormally long time to spend picking out a notebook."

"Obviously, Sherlock. "

I open up the email, but before I show her, I say, "You're going to want to sit for this."

"I am sitting."

"You'll want to continue sitting," I tease.

"That was the plan. Now, tell me. What did you do?"

I set the phone down on the counter and spin it toward her. Her eyes bug out, and her book falls to the ground as she lunges for the phone.

"Oh my word!" She zooms in, enlarging the font. Then she looks at me. "You swear this isn't a joke?"

I give her a look. "I would never joke about something so serious."

She squeals and kicks her feet, hugging the phone to her chest. "I can't believe I'm going to see Broken Sage!" She jumps up, the palm of her hand smacking the table. "How did you get these tickets?"

I have to admit it was hard. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make the trade, which is why I didn't breathe a word of this to Annie until I was sure. If I told her about the concert and then backed out, she would've been devastated. "Look at the tickets again."

She looks at the tickets again. "It's only a month away. I have so much to plan. What am I going to wear? We have to make a sign to hold up. I've always wanted to do that."

"Not that." I take the phone back and point to a very specific line on the tickets. "This."

This time she buckles at the knees, almost falling over. "You didn't ."

I don't think my smile could grow any more. "Yes. They're VIP tickets. You get to meet the band."

She plops back down on the chair. "This is it. This is where I meet my future husband. "

I laugh. "What about Daniel?"

"Who's that?" she asks, laughing.

At this moment, I've never wished more that I could set my sister up with a famous singer if it really meant she'd move on from Daniel, but even I have to acknowledge my limitations at some point. Setting her up with a member of her favorite boy band isn't going to happen, unfortunately.

I wish it was that easy.

She runs around the counter and pulls me into a hug. "I can't believe you did this. I'll owe you forever."

"What's all the excitement?" Mr. Bonetti says as he comes out of the back room. He's an older man in his sixties who always wears a bowtie.

"Margo bought me a concert ticket to the Broken Sage."

"Who's that?" he asks.

I swear Annie almost faints. "Only the greatest band to walk the face of the earth."

He laughs. "So what day do you need off?"

Annie rattles off the date so fast she has to repeat herself multiple times before saying it clearly.

"Okay, Annie. I'll make sure you get that night off," he says.

"Thank you." I can tell she's using all her strength to hold back another squeal. It's shocking because this is one hundred percent out of character, a pretty good sign I hit the jackpot with this surprise.

"You can clock out now. I can handle the rest of the evening," he says.

She nods and collects her things.

The entire way home she blasts the new Broken Sage album and sings along. "You only have one month to learn all the words. "

Even though they aren't my favorite band, I'll make sure I learn every single word if she wants me to. I want to be able to scream it into the crowd right by her side.

I smile the entire way back. Colorful lights dance into the sky from the fairgrounds as we pass it. I watch the lights change on the Ferris wheel, the colors pulsing into the night sky. "Maybe we should go to the fair this year?"

Annie shrugs. "Don't you think we're a little too old for cotton candy and petting zoos?"

I don't really need to go. These three months are about doing what everybody else wants and needs. It's hard to convince Annie to go places that are loud and crowded—unless it's a Broken Sage concert, of course. So if Annie doesn't want to go, then I don't want to. It wouldn't be fun to go alone. "Maybe."

"Besides, it'll be back next year," she says.

"Yeah," I agree softly. I watch the lights move farther and farther away in the mirror.

Annie quickly goes back to the topic of Broken Sage, and I don't blame her. That's what I want. I want to hear how excited she is about it. If she's happy, I'm happy.

She talks about it all through dinner and even as we get ready for bed. She finally stops around eleven but only because she passes out.

My head pounds, but I swing my feet out of the covers and walk across the room to wake up Annie. I rub my eyes, but when I open them, her bed is empty.

She never gets up before me.

"Hey," she says, walking back into the room .

"What are you doing up already?" I ask.

She's fully dressed and ready. She's wearing layered T-shirts and green straight-legged pants. She sits down on the corner of her bed. "How am I supposed to sleep when all I can think about is going to see Broken Sage?" Her smile disappears the longer she stares at me. "Are you okay? You don't look so good."

"It's nothing. I just woke up with a headache." Not to mention the piercing pain in my chest and the ringing in my ears.

"Maybe you should stay home."

I hate staying home. I'm supposed to be acting like everything's normal, and staying home sleeping would mean wasting a whole day. "I'm okay, I'll take something, and it'll go away soon. I don't want you to be alone."

"I know we shared a womb and all, but we don't have to be together all the time."

"You sure you don't mind? Who are you going to eat lunch with?"

"You don't have to worry about me. I'm not a baby. Now, go back to bed. Missing one day is not the end of the world. Besides, Mama's been acting down lately and doting on you is one of her favorite hobbies."

She's not wrong. And Mama did seem like she needed time with me yesterday. Maybe staying home one day couldn't hurt, and it's Friday, so I'll have all weekend with Annie to make up for ditching her at school.

Annie stands up and steers me back to my pillow. "I'll go talk to Mama, so lie down and rest."

I crawl into bed and drift back to sleep before Annie is out the door.