Page 141 of Cole

“I love you, Annie,” he murmured. “I missed you so much. I just had to come.”

When she sagged against him and Cole felt her body begin to shake, he didn’t think twice before swinging her up into his arms and carrying her away from the living room.

“Go to the theater room,” Benji called after him as Cole headed for anywhere but there.

Thankful for the teen’s suggestion, Cole went down the hallway that led to the theater. As he stepped into the dark room, soft lights immediately came on. They were dim but cast enough light for him to see the large overstuffed couches.

Cole sank down on one with Annie, settling her against the arm of the couch with her legs draped over his lap. He kept his arms around hers as she buried her head against his neck.

“It’s okay,” Cole murmured, stroking her hair as she trembled against him. “I’m here now.”

Hot tears soaked into his collar as Annie finally let go of whatever composure she’d been desperately clinging to. Cole simply held her, one hand making slow circles on her back while the other cradled her head.

After several minutes, her breathing steadied, though she didn’t pull away. “I’m sorry,” she whispered against his neck.

“Don’t apologize,” Cole said firmly. “Not for feeling.”

Annie finally leaned back enough to meet his eyes, her face blotchy from crying. “How did you know to come?”

“Because I know you,” he said simply. “And something wasn’t right in our calls. I could hear it in your voice, even when you said everything was fine.”

“I should be happy,” she said, her voice cracking. “Everyone else is. Dad looks at her like she’s a miracle. Julian is suddenly the attentive brother he never was with me, and even Benji’s fascinated by her. But I just feel… lost.”

Cole brushed hair from her damp cheek. “Having complicated feelings doesn’t make you a bad person, Annie.”

“What if I’m jealous?” The question was barely audible, as if voicing it might make it more real. “What kind of person is jealous of their kidnapped sister?”

“A human one,” Cole answered without hesitation. “Annie, your whole life changed overnight. The family dynamic you’ve known forever suddenly shifted. It would be strange if you didn’t have mixed feelings.”

Annie’s fingers played with the collar of his shirt. “When I see her with Dad, I feel like I’m being replaced. And then I hate myself for thinking that, because she’s the one who lost everything.”

“You both lost,” Cole reminded her gently. “You lost your twin. Your other half. And now you’re both adults with completely different lives trying to figure out how to be sisters again.”

Annie nodded slowly. “I keep waiting to feel this… connection. This twin bond everyone talks about. But she’s a stranger. A stranger with my face.”

“Give it time,” Cole said. “New relationships—even between twins—need time to develop.”

“What if we never connect? What if she stays and we just… tolerate each other forever?”

Cole tilted her chin up. “Then you’ll find a way to make it work, because that’s who you are. But I don’t think that’s what will happen.”

Annie leaned her forehead against his. “I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve been trying to handle this alone and I just… I couldn’t tell anyone how I felt. They’d think I was selfish.”

“You’re the least selfish person I know,” Cole said. “And you don’t have to face this alone anymore.”

They sat in silence for a few moments, the room’s semi-darkness creating a cocoon around them. Annie’s breathing gradually steadied, her body relaxing against his.

“I’ve been praying,” she admitted. “Asking God why I feel this way, why I can’t just be happy like everyone else.”

“And?”

“I haven’t heard anything back,” she said with a hint of bitterness. “Just silence.”

Cole considered his words carefully. “Maybe the answer was sending me here. So you wouldn’t have to carry this alone.”

Annie’s eyes met his, vulnerability shining in their blue-green depths. “Do you really think so?”

A soft knock at the door interrupted them. Benji peeked in, concern written across his young face. “You okay, Annie?”

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