The Gemini

20. A Tour

Carter Reynolds

"A little sister and an older brother. My dad works in construction and my mom was a substitute teacher before they let her go. And yes, Atalka my entire life." Jerome said the last part quickly, like he didn't want me to hear that he'd stayed in his hometown so long.

"Three older brothers, so I think I win that round." I announced proudly. "Oh, and an older sister technically."

"How do you technically have an older sister?" Jerome asked.

"I never met her." I admitted. Talking about Rosie made me uncomfortable, and I don't even know why I brought it up.

"Half-sister?" Jerome suggested.

"Not really." I looked at the line that stretched ahead of us. At least it was mostly in the shade, but Jerome had me trapped. I didn't want to stand here in silence, so I let myself answer. "Jessica is a complicated person. She always needs someone with her. And for a while, Rosie was that person. But she died. I didn't get details, but I know that it was the Agency. And then I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and ended up becoming Jessica's replacement. Rosie 2.0."

Jerome's features froze. I was worried that the truth was going to make him sad or call off the trip altogether. Maybe he wasn't going to want to be around me anymore.

"That's..." Jerome stopped himself. I could hear his heart pound. "I had no idea."

"I don't talk about it much. The thing with Jessica and I has always been weird considering that it started with her killing me." I confessed.

"I guess I don't have anything interesting to say." said Jerome.

"What do you mean?" I asked genuinely. I really wanted to learn everything I could about Jerome Hawke.

"Like I totally let myself forget who I was talking to. Don't you find it weird?" Jerome asked.

"Do I find being a vampire weird?" I asked. "Because the answer is definitely yes."

"It could be worse." the side of Jerome's lip twitched like he was trying to stop himself from laughing. "You could sparkle."

I totally meant to shove Jerome lightly, but I underestimated myself and almost sent him hurtling into a cashier carrying an iPad with a small white chip attached to it around his neck.

"Sorry." Jerome murmured to the cashier, pulling out a credit card. "Two tickets for the 86th, please."

I cleared my throat and tried to act a little more serious, more embarrassed than I wanted to admit. The cashier accepted the card and pulled two small tickets out of his fanny pack to Jerome, not mentioned a word about getting shoved.

"Okay, this way." Jerome nearly pulled me into the Empire State Building. I stared in awe at the grandiose lobby that I had only seen on television screens. Marble flooring gave way to bronze walls that had the Empire State Building itself stamped onto it with a large bronze embellishment, a million lines running off it like a halo.

"Wow." I muttered.

"Never seen it before?" Jerome asked.

"Yeah." I agreed, a little confused by the proud look on Jerome's face. "What?"

"I don't know, I'm just glad I have something on you, I guess." Jerome answered. We joined a group of people who were being shepherded into a large elevator. The elevator ride took a minute, but a dramatic video on the wall that counted down the best attractions in New York and put the Empire State in first place for a biased reason kept me distracted.