Page 3 of North

Her phone buzzed again. This time the message preview caught her eye:

Chloe

Jake said that Ham said that North is back from Mariposa.

Selah’s throat tightened. She reached for her coffee, the cup’s sleeve mocking her with its optimistic message.

And then the phone buzzed again. Aw…Chloe just wasn’t letting up.

Which suddenly sent a fist into Selah’s gut. What if she was in trouble?

“Excuse me.” She got up and moved away from the table, leaving her backpack and coffee.

She swiped the video call to answer, the screen opening on her fraternal twin. Chloe leaned into the phone, the clatter of street noise around her. Neon window signs and bright streetlights illuminated her face, those dark-blue eyes, her short blonde hair pulled back in a hair wrap.

“About time. Sheesh. Did I wake you?”

Chloe took a sip of what looked like a cup of iced coffee. She wore fatigue in her eyes, her skin dusky and tanned in the artificial light.

“No.”

“You’re not sleeping, are you?” Chloe said, knowing her too well.

Selah glanced out the window. A small scattering of houses lay ahead—a tiny hamlet en route to the larger Leavenworth. “I’m fine.”

“Still the nightmares?”

“Not as much.” She sighed. “Listen. I know you’re worried, but really. I’ll be fine.”

“You can’t seriously think that North meant what he said. Seels—he’s got a suitcase full of memories too, you know. The kind that might get a guy worried if you disappear into the bush⁠—”

“With medical supplies and food and...What did he think was going to happen?” Selah cut her voice down as the family from before came out of the dining car into the hallway. She smiled as they walked past her.

“Um. How about being kidnapped? Again. Or maybe just, I don’t know, being held at gunpoint by a local gang?”

“Kids. They were kids. And it wasn’t gunpoint⁠—”

“Sorry, machetes.”

Yes, they had been wielding machetes. Fine. But North had a gun—an automatic weapon and⁠—

No. She couldn’t go back there.

Selah put a hand over her eyes, sighed. “Okay. So what is this—a cheer-me-up call?”

Chloe also sighed. “I just...I want you to be happy. And safe. And...did I mention happy?”

Selah smiled as Chloe’s voice softened.

“North loves you. And you love him.”

“Love doesn’t conquer all, Chlo.”

“It could.”

No. Not this time.

“I think...I just need a couple months of calm. Sunrises and sunsets that don’t include tragedy and trauma. Where the biggest issues are bee stings and stubbed toes. Besides, you remember Wanda Johnson, right?”