The Holiday Swap(86)
Her voice broke and she stopped talking. Although the doctors had assured her Cass would be just fine, until she saw for herself, until her sister finally opened her eyes again of her own free will, Charlie wasn’t going to be able to relax. Keeping hold of her sister’s hand, she turned and grabbed a tissue to blow her nose and wipe the tears away.
“Oh, Charlie. Don’t cry. I’m fine.”
Charlie spun around and dropped her sister’s hand. “Cass! I can’t believe I missed it!”
Cass laughed. “Missed what, exactly?”
“The moment you opened your eyes. I’ve been sitting here waiting for—” She checked her watch. “Six hours?” Charlie dashed away a tear with the tissue. “I was so worried, Cass. And I’m so sorry.”
Cass grabbed her sister’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Oh, Charlie. Do we really need to apologize to each other? Isn’t it just a given that I forgive you, and you forgive me, always, no matter what?”
Charlie put her forehead to her sister’s for a moment, and it felt like they were little kids again.
“I guess so. But I still am sorry. I thought I was going to lose you, and thinking about how we had left things— We can’t do that again, ever.”
Cass laughed. “I think we learned a few lessons over the past week, haven’t we?”
“That might be the understatement of the year.”
“And now look at us. We’ve taken this whole twin connection thing a bit far by getting matching head injuries, haven’t we? Plus, we have something else that matches, too, now.” Cass let go of her sister’s hand and held hers up.
Charlie looked at her sister’s wrist; there was a bandage there. “Hey, what’s this? Did you hurt your wrist, too?”
“Actually . . .” Slowly and carefully Cass pulled back the bandage to reveal a fresh-looking tattoo. It was gorgeous, an artful depiction of a constellation of stars. “I got a tattoo, just before I left L.A. It’s the Gemini constellation.”
“It’s gorgeous! But you, get a tattoo? I guess this really has been a transformative week.”
Cass gazed down at the tattoo, and for once Charlie couldn’t read what she was thinking. “When I started my hike yesterday I was thinking about what I was going to say to you, how I was going to make things right—not even realizing I was taking a stupid risk going for that hike at all and might not get the chance to talk to you! I was just still so torn up about everything that had happened. I really care about Miguel—”
“That much is obvious. And he’s nuts over you—”
“But none of this is more important than my relationship with you. And this tattoo, it represents that. My connection to you, and my life here—and also, my connection to the world. My resolve not to forget how I felt when I was in L.A. I know what it looks like, like I was running away from your life because of a guy—but, that’s not all. I also want you to know I was upset because of Sweet and Salty, because of the way they were treating you. The way Austin treated you, all of it. You are so much more than that. I would never walk out on something that was really, truly right for you. And it really didn’t feel right. But that wasn’t my call to make.”
“I talked to Priya. She told me word on the set after you left was that Austin was getting the job over me, and that the reasons for that were completely unfair. There was nothing you, or I, could have done. You’re right. I needed to walk off that set, and I needed to call Sasha and give her a piece of my mind because she more than anyone needed to stand up for me. And she didn’t. I’m glad I had you there to see what was really important.”
Cass leaned back against the pillow and closed her eyes for a moment—during which time Charlie felt alarmed, as irrational as she knew that was—but she quickly opened them again. Her light brown eyes were bright and alert, and Charlie knew everything was fine. “Amazing, right?” her sister said. “That in the end, I’m the one who stood up for you?”
“Hey, you are way more assertive than you realize. I mean, that e-mail to Makewell’s? That was amazing. When I first saw it I thought it was out of character for you and I was concerned—but it wasn’t, not really. I’ve had a little time to sit here and think about that. You’re a strong person, Cass. Much stronger than you realize.”
Cass nodded her head, then winced.
“You okay?”
“Just a little tender. And you might be right. I know I’m in the hospital—and I know I’ve made some mistakes. But I feel strong. Meanwhile, I think all this has made you see a new side of yourself, too, right? You’d become so caught up in your life in L.A. I was starting to think you didn’t care about home anymore. That maybe you’d even lost a part of yourself. A part of you I loved.”
“I found that part again,” Charlie said softly. “And it’s thanks to you. Because being in your shoes made me realize the things that are really important to me. I’ve been sitting here thinking, for hours. And I’ve decided I’m going to call my agent later today and take a hiatus. I need to figure out what I really want from my life. I need a break.”
Cass squeezed her sister’s hand one last time, then let go and sat up, pulling her hair away from her face, revealing the dark row of stitches—but somehow, now they seemed less ominous.