Page 40 of Always a Chance
“And yet, you are.” I cocked my head, trying to figure out what was truly in it for Johnny. Sure, he wanted to tell the truth, but was that all?
He ignored my comment. “I’m curious about something.”
“Want to know if your bright yellow Hawaiian shirt has blinded me? Yes, yes it has.”
He patted his chest. “This is designer.”
“It’s hideous.”
His voice dropped to a whisper as he spoke into his shirt. “Don’t listen to her. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”
My lips twitched, but I kept a straight face. “So, what is this mystery you’re so curious about?”
“You?”
“Sorry, that subject is not part of the interview.” We were not going to talk about me or my life.
“I don’t want to pry. I just meant you came here to interview me as Trinity.”
“And?”
“I never told you I got a publishing contract. By the time my first one came, you’d… left. How did you know?”
I set my phone on the table, tapping a finger against it as I thought about how to answer his question. “Do you remember when we were sixteen? The treehouse.”
“At Aidan’s parents’ place.” He nodded.
His parents weren’t exactly a friendly pair, so when we went to his house, we always hid out back in the treehouse his uncle built.
“That was the first place you ever showed me any of your writing. We wanted to do this together, to make it in the publishing world as a team. You writing books and me working for a national media conglomerate. Taking over the world one impressionable mind at a time.”
“That still doesn’t—”
I cut him off. “I remember. Everything. After that, you sent me every chapter of that first book. What was it called?”
“War Between Worlds.”
“A science fiction and, still, so you.”
“I never sold that one.”
“Of course not. It was your for-love book.” I smiled, enjoying the thought that maybe I was the only person who’d ever read it. “But your DNA is on every page you write. I recognized it the first time a friend told me to read a Trinity book. Not to mention… you dedicated that first book to Gigi. I’m sure there are millions of Gigis in this world, but I knew.”
His eyes focused on the table, the easy confidence slipping the slightest bit. “You didn’t call me.”
I’d wanted to. The moment I learned that my best friend had achieved his dream, that he’d dedicated that dream to my sister, I picked up the phone to make the call. “I was so proud of you, Johnny.”
“But…”
“I was still hurting. It had only been a year since that night. My family was reeling with the consequences.”
“And now? What are you feeling now?”
Confused. Sad. But no longer angry. The truth was, I couldn’t pick out one emotion from the others. “I don’t know.”
He nodded, accepting my answer at face value. Johnny had always had this innate faith in me that I would never lie to him. “Should we begin?”
“Yes.” I cleared my throat. “Let’s, uh, start.” So much for professionalism. I sat back in my chair to get some distance, but it didn’t help when he was right there, his eyes level with mine. I managed to do what I’d been unable to for ten years.
