Chapter Twenty-Three

Gina leaned back on the couch, exhausted. Another cleaning day. She’d never get the bloodstains out of the carpet. Von and Clenard hadn’t said a word last night—they just kept shivering, muttering to each other in the corner of the living room until Gina dragged them into Von’s room and put them to bed. At least they’d been more talkative this afternoon, but Clenard in particular seemed shell-shocked, flinching every time someone opened a door, running out to his car whenever the vacuum cleaner turned on, and hanging on to Von for dear life whenever he could. As for Von, he’d given Callana the cold shoulder all day, shooting her dirty looks whenever Clenard recoiled at a noise. Eventually, both of them had left, and they hadn't come back for hours.

The restaurant, it seemed, had gotten half-crushed when the office building across the street collapsed onto it a few hours after the quake. Fortunately, the fire department had anticipated the building’s spontaneous self-demolition and had cleared the block well before it went down. However, that meant Gina had joined Callana in her unemployment—thankfully, though, the government would compensate her for the lost income, so long as she looked for another job. Ron would probably make millions off the insurance policy, so it seemed like he’d gotten off scot-free yet again.

And as for Callana—well, she’d at least stopped bleeding, but she still had a giant hole in her stomach. At least it hadn’t impaired her in any way. She’d otherwise reverted to her normal appearance, saying she didn’t want the reminder when she looked in the mirror. And she’d even joked around a couple times, offering her usual brand of oblivious commentary when people talked about aspects of their everyday lives.

But something was missing.

Gina couldn’t ignore the spiral Callana had slipped into—even prior to Bob’s impromptu murder attempt. And while Callana had shoved away those old memories, repressing them yet again under layers and layers of denial, something had stuck with her. Clearly, since she couldn’t get rid of that stab wound. Gina had asked her about it once or twice, but she never got an answer. It seemed that, more than ever, Callana had jumped into the deep end of divine depression.

Callana was off in the closet now, sorting the last few jackets and button-ups that had fallen off their hangers. A few hours ago, she’d patched the holes in the ceiling and the walls, duplicating the atoms and bridging the gaps in the structure. But even with her immense power and so-called “Will,” there was no saving the TV. Oh well—it was just a hand-me-down CRT. They were coming out with these new-fangled plasma screens these days, and those looked ten times better. Maybe they’d invest in one of those—if they ever got the money for it, that is. Frankly, that seemed like an increasingly achievable goal, considering how oddly liberal Callana had gotten with her powers today. She had filled half the pantry with champagne flutes, vodka bottles, and even copies of that fancy chalice she’d seen at the store a few days ago, when Gina had dragged her out of the house. Did she just conjure it out of thin air, or had she actually gone out and copied it directly? Gina was pretty sure she’d been inside all day.

“Von?” Gina muttered as she heard the door open.

“Hey,” Von said, shuffling over to the couch with his hands deep in his pockets. “What’s going on?”

“Tired,” she said.

“No doubt. You guys really fixed this place up.”

Gina shrugged. “Where’d you go?”

“Uh. Yeah. So, Clenard and I went over to his place for a few hours, moved some stuff around. You know.”

Sighing, Gina sat up and locked eyes with him. “You’re gonna move in with him.”

“Y-yeah. We figured it’d be for the best, you know?”

Gina nodded. “I’m so sorry about all this. I didn’t—when this whole mess started, I just wanted to do a good turn. I had no idea.”

“None of this is your fault, Gina,” Von said. “And for what it’s worth, I can tell you’ve done your best. But I… I might want to take a bit of time for me. Just me and Clenard.”

“I won’t hold it against you,” Gina said. “But… well, it’s… I don’t know what I’m feeling right now.”

“Bad?”

“Well, yeah. Duh.”

Von shrugged. “You never know.”

“Bruh, I’m just—I’ll miss you, okay? That enough for you?”

“Y-yeah. I guess it is.”

They both looked around, bathing in the smothering silence. Gina caught Von’s eyes for a moment but looked off just as quickly.

“Okay,” Von said. “We both know why I’m moving out, and I know it sucks, and I really don’t wanna be that guy, but I’m just not… comfortable around her. Okay?”

“She didn’t—”

“I get it. She didn’t ask for that… thing to come over last night. Yeah. But do you have any idea how much blood I lost last night? Fuck—if it had stuck around for too long, I’d be dead, Gina. Clenard would be dead. I get that you’re immortal and stuff now, and you don’t give a shit about anything, but this? This is so insane!”

“I do give a shit. How can you say I don’t give a shit?”

“Because you’re still letting her sit around in our house! Why does she have to fucking live with us? You didn’t even ask. She just showed up, you said you’d be fine giving her a room for a day or so, and it’s been a month and a half! And now, she doesn’t even have a job!

“Who cares? Neither do I.”

“That’s different.”

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“Why?”

“Because she’s not even human! Because weird alien god things are chasing her around and making me cry blood and giving my boyfriend, like, PTSD or something!”

“Well, I’m not human either. What’s that make me?”

“Please,” Von scoffed.

“I ate a star and liked it.”

Von sputtered. “Because she fucking changed you! You heard what that thing said. She’s turned you into one of her angels or whatever! Of course, you’re gonna be all obsessed with her; she’s got you under—”

“Don’t,” Gina said. “Don’t. You have no idea what you’re talking about, and if you keep saying that shit, you’re gonna end up saying something you regret. I know you don’t think she’s mind controlling me. Obviously, she’s not. She’s an absolute dumbass when it comes to people. She’d have no idea how to make it feel natural.”

“And you think this shit is natural?”

“Von…”

Von walked over to the bare wall where their TV had once been. He leaned back and stared at the ceiling. “I get that you… like her. You have from day one. And yeah, I support that… I guess. I mean, I love that you’re you, that you like who you like… but you’ve ignored shit that’s hurt you. This thing you’ve got between you and Callana? It’s not gonna work out. You’re not on her level, Gina. She could rip the planet in two. But you? I watched you die yesterday, Gina. You died. In real life! Right in front of me!”

“Yeah, I know,” Gina said. “But I’m back! I’m okay! You don’t have to worry about me.”

“Are you kidding me? How am I not supposed to worry about you after last night? I’m gonna keep seeing that thing in my dreams for the rest of my life. Every time I think about it…” Trailing off, he shuddered with a haunted look in his eyes. “The fact that things like that exist… Callana was one thing. But that? And the way it made me… pray to it? I kept praying long, long after it went away. I don’t even know what I was praying about; I didn’t even understand the language I was speaking in.”

Gina nodded. “It’s a violation.”

“You might’ve stood up to it in your own way, but Gina? It let you go. It could’ve annihilated you without a second thought.”

“Callana would’ve killed him if he’d tried.”

“And then where would it have ended? With a thousand of those things coming down here and killing everybody. It would’ve been the apocalypse, Gina.”

“Then I guess I saved the world,” Gina snapped.

“You know what? Yeah. You did. Congrats.” He threw his arms up and paced around the gaping, empty space in the living room. “You’re the big hero, so I guess you get the girl and live happily ever after now, right?”

“This isn’t like you,” Gina said.

“Isn’t like me? What the fuck have we been talking about this whole time? You’re the one who’s changed. It took me four years to get you to come out to your parents. You resisted being gay for so long that you screamed at me, called me a faggot to my face, when you found out! Never once have you rushed into things. And now, you’re dating God and fighting aliens and shit, and… and I’m just standing back here watching you.”

Gina stared at him.

“I—I don’t know where to go with this,” Von said. “You’re my little sister. Or—you know, that’s how I’ve always seen you. And I feel like I should’ve stepped in at some point. But I’ve just watched you get more and more reckless, and it feels like I’ve lost you.”

Sighing, Gina shook her head. “You haven’t lost me, Von. Yeah, I’m more confident, but… I don’t think I’ve been reckless. If anything, I feel like I’ve been holding myself back for so long that something like this had to happen. I can’t keep leaning on you forever, Von. If you need space, I get it—but I never want to lose what we have. Because, yeah. You’re my big brother. And that means something to me.”

Von nodded. Taking a deep breath, he grunted something affirmative, slipped his hands in his pockets, and wandered over to the hall. “I’m sorry, Gina,” he said, stopping for a moment. “If there’s one thing I’ve never had, it’s good boundaries. And if you’re gonna start standing up for yourself, then so am I. So, I’m gonna move out tomorrow. But… this isn’t me burning a bridge, okay? Or saying I don’t like you or want you in my life or anything. I do. You’re my best friend. And as much as I’ve been a jerk to her… Callana’s my friend, too. I’m gonna keep it that way.”

He walked out of the room, and Gina heard the door to his room close soon after. The walls were so thin that she had no doubt Callana, who’d still been arranging the closet, probably heard everything. But that was life, wasn’t it? Things changed. Months ago, Gina would have had a panic attack over the rent, but now she just twisted herself to recline lengthwise on the couch, staring at the ceiling and thinking.

This next week was gonna suck.

 

Well, that sucks. I sure hope Gina and Von make up soon!

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