Two Punks In Love

The Multiple Lives of Marissa

Trace

I've never had a sleepover with my sisters. It's kind of a strange thing to do now, in our adult years, but that's exactly what we've done. Adam bailed on us around 3am when Row broke out a blunt she apparently got from Street. She and Bridge got baked, and I pulled a Slick Willie, playing along, but not really inhaling, because it's bad enough to be drinking on my meds. I don't need to add any more psychoactive chemicals to my system.

They got the giggles and then they got the munchies and we all snuck downstairs and raided the kitchen. We brought the haul back up here. I have to admit, they are fairly entertaining when they are high. Row gets stupid funny and all Bridge's normal reserve drops and she gets raunchy. It's almost like a Freaky Friday role reversal thing. Row become the quirky twin and Bridge the demon one. Their antics actually made me feel...

I don't know. Not happy. Not ok. Just a little less devastated, for just a little while.

But now I'm sitting in the window, smoking, watching my sisters sleep, and their twinness reminds me that I'm going to be the father of twins in about six months. I thought I had a pretty good handle on what that was going to be like, but now I know nothing.

I don't know if Kat and are going to be ok. I don't know if we are going to be living together, although there's a part of me that honestly can't imagine that she won't come back to me. It's not an arrogant, narcissistic part. It's just the part that is already a father. We're having a family together, and I'm not prepared to throw that away, and I'm not prepared for my kids not to have me there from the moment they are born, loving and caring for them day in and day out.

Surely Kat feels the same. We have to work this out, don't we?

Someone is coming up the stairs—several someones, actually. The noise wakes the girls and they both sit up groggily. With her melted makeup and straw-like hair sticking out everywhere, Row would look like a fangirl that got a little out of her depth with an overzealous rock star, except for the fact that she's got a Tarllucci cookie stuck to her cheek. Bridge is the other kind of girl—the Sleeping Beauty type. She doesn't look much worse for wear, considering our night. Bridge laughs at Row's disheveled appearance, but she doesn't remove the cookie. Row remains unaware for a moment. When she finally figures out why Bridge is snickering, she claws off the cookie, straddles Bridge, and tries to force it in her mouth.

They are rolling around shrieking and laughing when Riley, followed by Marianne and Matt, emerge from the stairs.

Matt grins. Riley scowls. Marianne bites back a small smile and claps her hands. "Girls!"

All the play goes out of Row as she spies Riley scowling at her. Bridge senses the change in her twin and gives Riley a false smile.

"Riley. Can you just...not?" She rights her sister and puts her arms around her.

He readjusts his expression. "I can try," he agrees. An adjustment to his glasses and a curt nod of his head delivers Row the words, "Rowan. How are you?"

Row slips Bridge's grasp and rises off the mattress, smoothing hair and adjusting clothes. "Fine. You?"

"Fine. You have some...Girl Band business to attend to in your email. New scripts and wardrobe fittings to acknowledge. A couple of minor contract amendments. They are marked as high priority."

"Sorry. I'll get to them today."

"No rush. Sometimes this week is fine."

"Okay."

She turns to me. "I'm going to call Street. See if he's heard from Kat."

That's not really necessary. I'm pretty sure Kat left town last night. But maybe she would have told Street where she was going. Still, if she did, he would have either let me know, or he has no intention of letting me know. Either way, I doubt Row will learn anything new from him. But it gives her a reason to escape Riley, so I draw heavily on my cigarette and nod my thanks.