say, searching not only for words but also for a napkin and finding myself luckless on both counts.
“No harm done,” Sethe replies. Without a hint of anger or spite. If only he’d yell at me. If only he’d curse my name. Then I could walk away. It would be so easy to abandon him and return to Gabriel’s side.
But…he isn’t angry. What’s galling is that he seems to find the whole episode amusing.
“There’s more Moxie where this came from,” Sethe says with a laugh so warm it could melt better.
His voice is the same. Deep, smooth, manly. My ears have been waiting for it. Hungering for it. I long for him to keep talking, anxious to be satiated. Even though I know it’s wrong. Even though, I remind myself, I came here with someone else.
I don’t love Sethe. I just remember loving him.
Sethe’s eyes travel down the whole of me ever so slowly, a grin engulfing his lips. This smile lights up his face in a way that it never would’ve in his last life. At least now he seems happy. Why must this thrill me so?
“Looks like we were made for each other.”
“It does? Why do you say that?” I ask, pressing. Demanding to know.
“We’re wearing matching costumes,” Sethe responds.
“Oh…yeah. I guess so!” I say, thunderstruck.
He seems to consider my words but ultimately dismisses them. Now that he’s here, I feel our connection all the more acutely. He’s my reincarnation partner, after all. And though I may tell myself that Gabriel is my future, doubt is creeping in, slicing its razor - sharp talons into my soft and yielding sense of uncertainty.
Civilizations have risen and fallen, species have gone extinct, our entire world has been transformed by both nature and technology, and yet we’ve found each other. We were born into the same century, the same part of the world. Any small shift could’ve made us wholly unsuitable for one another. But in this instance, the stars aligned; they did not cross. It doesn’t feel so much as a push but a pull. We’re two magnets of an opposite charge, drawn to each other, trying desperately to unite.
I think?
“So, are you, uh, here with anybody?” he asks. And while he says it with indifference, as though he’s making small talk, I’m convinced he’s doing recon.
“I am, actually,” I say a touch flirtatiously, even though I regret it once the words, the tone, are out there.
“A girl like you? That figures,” Sethe responds.
Suddenly, Gabriel turns around and joins us.
“Wow, this is a small town,” says Gabriel.
“Some guys on the wrestling team invited me,” Sethe explains.
My eyes go wide with shock.
They know each other?
Gabriel observes the bottle of Moxie in Sethe’s hand. He shakes his head in disbelief.
“How can you drink that stuff?” Gabriel asks.
“Hello, it’s delicious,” Sethe replies.
Be still my beating heart. For such a large muscle, it sure is weak.
“This is the girl I was telling you about,” Gabriel says, his words ringing with pride.
“And, Annabeth, this is my twin brother, C. J.”
In this life, Gabriel is the sibling of the reincarnated Sethe. Everything is collapsing in on itself like a lost game of Jenga, and I feel like my head is about to shatter into a million pieces. Gabriel’s familial relationship with C. J. makes things more uncomfortable, and makes him less desirable.
But everyone has baggage, right? Though Gabriel and his familial connection to C. J. feel like more of a matching set than just single pieces.
They even shared a womb!
I put out my nail - bitten hand. It seems a tad formal, but I need to clarify things. And having physical contact with the Sethe may do the trick. So that I can dismiss him outright.
“I’m Annabeth.”
Our fingers interlock, but everything is as murky and buried as ever. I was hoping for an explosion, a furious rush of memory, but there’s nothing. I’d expected too much. Feeling his skin isn’t as telling as holding the ankh. After all, that
“No harm done,” Sethe replies. Without a hint of anger or spite. If only he’d yell at me. If only he’d curse my name. Then I could walk away. It would be so easy to abandon him and return to Gabriel’s side.
But…he isn’t angry. What’s galling is that he seems to find the whole episode amusing.
“There’s more Moxie where this came from,” Sethe says with a laugh so warm it could melt better.
His voice is the same. Deep, smooth, manly. My ears have been waiting for it. Hungering for it. I long for him to keep talking, anxious to be satiated. Even though I know it’s wrong. Even though, I remind myself, I came here with someone else.
I don’t love Sethe. I just remember loving him.
Sethe’s eyes travel down the whole of me ever so slowly, a grin engulfing his lips. This smile lights up his face in a way that it never would’ve in his last life. At least now he seems happy. Why must this thrill me so?
“Looks like we were made for each other.”
“It does? Why do you say that?” I ask, pressing. Demanding to know.
“We’re wearing matching costumes,” Sethe responds.
“Oh…yeah. I guess so!” I say, thunderstruck.
He seems to consider my words but ultimately dismisses them. Now that he’s here, I feel our connection all the more acutely. He’s my reincarnation partner, after all. And though I may tell myself that Gabriel is my future, doubt is creeping in, slicing its razor - sharp talons into my soft and yielding sense of uncertainty.
Civilizations have risen and fallen, species have gone extinct, our entire world has been transformed by both nature and technology, and yet we’ve found each other. We were born into the same century, the same part of the world. Any small shift could’ve made us wholly unsuitable for one another. But in this instance, the stars aligned; they did not cross. It doesn’t feel so much as a push but a pull. We’re two magnets of an opposite charge, drawn to each other, trying desperately to unite.
I think?
“So, are you, uh, here with anybody?” he asks. And while he says it with indifference, as though he’s making small talk, I’m convinced he’s doing recon.
“I am, actually,” I say a touch flirtatiously, even though I regret it once the words, the tone, are out there.
“A girl like you? That figures,” Sethe responds.
Suddenly, Gabriel turns around and joins us.
“Wow, this is a small town,” says Gabriel.
“Some guys on the wrestling team invited me,” Sethe explains.
My eyes go wide with shock.
They know each other?
Gabriel observes the bottle of Moxie in Sethe’s hand. He shakes his head in disbelief.
“How can you drink that stuff?” Gabriel asks.
“Hello, it’s delicious,” Sethe replies.
Be still my beating heart. For such a large muscle, it sure is weak.
“This is the girl I was telling you about,” Gabriel says, his words ringing with pride.
“And, Annabeth, this is my twin brother, C. J.”
In this life, Gabriel is the sibling of the reincarnated Sethe. Everything is collapsing in on itself like a lost game of Jenga, and I feel like my head is about to shatter into a million pieces. Gabriel’s familial relationship with C. J. makes things more uncomfortable, and makes him less desirable.
But everyone has baggage, right? Though Gabriel and his familial connection to C. J. feel like more of a matching set than just single pieces.
They even shared a womb!
I put out my nail - bitten hand. It seems a tad formal, but I need to clarify things. And having physical contact with the Sethe may do the trick. So that I can dismiss him outright.
“I’m Annabeth.”
Our fingers interlock, but everything is as murky and buried as ever. I was hoping for an explosion, a furious rush of memory, but there’s nothing. I’d expected too much. Feeling his skin isn’t as telling as holding the ankh. After all, that
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