‘Taurus?'
Cancer knocked on the door. When I didn't reply, she came in and sat on the end of my bed. My head was still hurting, but I wasn't going to moan.
///
‘Kerry looked rather flushed when she left.' Cancer winked at me.
I rolled my eyes as I pushed myself up into a sit. I cradled my head and leant against the wall.
‘Still suffering?'
She had popped in over the last few days to check on my progress. It seemed like the worst was over. I was still shaking and struggling to sleep. The headaches lingered, but I could now talk to other people, which was positive.
‘What does Aries know?' I asked.
My old bong sat on the shelf above my head. I stuck out my bottom lip when I realised that I would never use it again. The feeling of nostalgia didn't last long. In fact, it made me lighter, even as I mourned. It wasn't worth it. I couldn't see past the next few days yet, but my life would be better for not being an addict.
‘He knows that Matt spoke to you. Someone saw you both outside before everything happened. I don't know who grassed you up.'
Cancer picked at the blue varnish on her nails. The flecks bounced off her and onto my cover.
‘I'm going to tell him everything.'
Her gaze shot to me. Her eyes widened when she saw I was serious.
‘I'm done with lying. There's more that even you don't know. I know how to defeat Nick to end this war once and for all.'
She swallowed but nodded. If Nick no longer existed, we could be free to love whoever we wanted. Nick's men had believed that Sophie was my twin flame. I wasn't so sure. Not that I liked the label or the importance placed on such a relationship. Shouldn't all relationships be as important? Why did humans insist on making everything so complicated?
‘I think Matt is my twin flame. I don't know what to do. Do I wait to see if he's definitely left his wife for me?'
Cancer shrunk when our gaze met. She seriously believed the man who had put her in danger was her twin flame?
‘I think sometimes the term Twin Flame can be an excuse to hang on to someone that you can't have.'
Her chin started to wobble, which made me regret my words. She was a sensitive soul. There was obviously something about Matt that made her think she was in love with him.
‘I've noticed that a lot. Married people believe the other person is their twin flame. The person outside the marriage is just as … '
Her words trailed off. She was that person.
‘Deluded?'
‘Taurus!' She threw a pillow at my head.
I caught it and hit her with it. She giggled as she shook her head. ‘You'll never change.'
‘You know I'm right.' I reached over to my bedside cabinet and gulped down two painkillers. My headache was getting worse with the sentimental heart to heart.
‘What do you mean?'
She wrung her hands together. She was obviously trying to understand what was going on with her own journey. I didn't know how to answer.
‘I think sometimes … we are so damaged, we settle for what sounds okay. We make an excuse to allow whatever happens to be acceptable for a reason.'
She let her breath rush out as she pushed herself off the bed.
‘Yeah. I'll admit to you, for a while, I thought that it didn't matter that he was married. That his wife had something to teach him before he came to me. When their relationship had run its course, he would leave her for me. The problem with that … ' her sentence trailed off.
‘Go on.' I was genuinely interested in the way her mission – I hated that word – was playing out.
She tucked her hair behind her ear. ‘I didn't want to stop seeing him, even when he was with her.'
I didn't know what to say. To me it just sounded like an excuse to have an affair. For both Matt and Cancer. She made it okay by believing he was her twin flame. In my book, it wasn't okay.
‘I didn't see him, though, as you know. It was only ever in thought because I couldn't contact him. But since he gave me his number, I've been so tempted to-'
‘Stop!'
She snapped her mouth shut and nodded. Her eyes teared up again.
‘You know the answer in your heart. Why are you analysing it?'
She stood with her hands in her pockets, tears dropping from her eyes. Her skin was pale as she looked down at her painted toenails.
‘I think he's my catalyst.' She sucked in a breath as she pulled out a hand to swipe at her cheeks.
‘What's that?'
She frowned at me. ‘You know, the false twin.'
My eyebrows rose. ‘The what … ?'
Not another bloody label. We were supposed to be some kind of warriors. I hadn't quite got my head around it … but we were getting sucked into the normal human perception.
///
‘The person that makes you face yourself. So you can see the wounds from childhood and past lives.'
I gripped my hands together. The pulse of anger that shot through me didn't go unnoticed. Cancer took a step back. I breathed deeply to calm myself down. There was no need to get uptight about the rubbish that she was spouting.
‘That person forces you to heal, so that your real twin can come in. Like it has with you.'
I released my fists. My fingers returned to normal colour. I dragged my gaze to her and cleared my face. ‘What do you mean?'
Her throat moved. She tucked her hair behind her ear again. I fought the urge to tell her to put it up. She was timid. Her gaze darted around the room instead of looking at me. She knew me well. She was expecting a tirade of disbelief.
‘Well, Sophie came in and helped you to come out of your shell enough to meet Kerry. Sophie had to go for whatever reason and now Kerry has come in properly.'
My tut made her spin away from me and reach for the door.
‘Wait!'
She froze with her hand on the handle.
‘I'm sorry. You might actually be right.' The memory of the kiss I had shared with Kerry was too powerful to deny. It wasn't the same as with Sophie. It had been more intense.
Cancer spun back to me, her mouth open in disbelief. ‘Did you just admit that I was right?'
‘Yeah, yeah-'
‘No! I'm serious. This is a breakthrough. You've-'
‘Shut up!' I whinged, laughing when she opened my door and yelled at the others.
Aries, Scorpio and Gemini rushed to the room. They crowded in, waiting for Cancer to say what she needed to say.
‘Everyone! Taurus has just admitted that I was right.'
Aries started to clap. Scorpio looked bored as he glanced around the room. Gemini jumped on me and pretend punched my side. My head couldn't really take it, but I didn't complain.
‘I want to hear you say it,' Gemini said.
I thrust him away from me, but he came back for more. He wasn't usually touchy feely with me. I put my hand on his head, holding him off. He tried to reach me but couldn't.
‘You stink, mate,' he said.
The others laughed. Aries started a commentary. ‘And Gemini goes in for the kill, but Taurus manages to hold him off by trapping his opponent's head in his meaty hand. The pair grapple on the bed, but I'm unsure what's happening now. Are they wrestling for the title or merely trying to pin each other down to decide who's going to take it up the-'
‘Aries!' Cancer shouted.
‘And it's over to Scorpio for his point of view,' Aries finished, holding an invisible microphone in front of Scorpio's face.
Gemini managed to connect a fist to my side. I grunted as he swiped at my arm, knocking my hand away from his head. He fell on me but quickly jumped back up when I let out a huge fart.
‘Taurus has won by farting,' Scorpio announced. His voice was so deadpan, everyone in the room laughed.
‘Why do you smell so bad?' Gemini asked as he stood beside the bed.
‘He's detoxing,' Virgo announced, coming in the room.
She was small framed. Her training as a nurse brought her into contact with many ex addicts.
‘It shows that he's actually doing what he said he would. Although, you could do with cleaning this room. And opening a window.' She waved her hand in front of her face.
‘All right, leave me alone to get cleaned up. Aries … ' I called as they started out the room, ‘I need you to get the whole team together tonight. I have some things to tell you all.'
He nodded before escorting the others out.
Admitting that Cancer was right was hard. I had been so adamant that none of what we had been taught was true. I wasn't going to change my spots that much, but instead of doubting what we had been told, I was going to find out the truth about it. For that, I needed to speak to Mother and Father.
That would come later, though. Before I could find out the truth about our mission, I had to confront Nick. There was something I wanted to pay him back for. And I needed my siblings to help me.
Chapter Nineteen
‘You got high with Nick?'
Sagi screeched so loud I had to cradle my head.
The noise rose as they started to talk at once. Twelve siblings in one small living area was enough to drive anyone to drugs.