Page 89 of Into the Shadows

“How about you and I skip the reception to get drunk at one of these hoity-toity bars?”

I snort. “I’m not spending a fortune on fancy cocktails.”

“Fair. I’ll figure something out.” He nods as if it’s a done deal.

“Thanks, man.”

He shrugs. “What are best friends for?”

Gia’s frantic face comes around the corner. Her shoulders drop when she sees me. “Carson. Ginny needs you.”

I straighten. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know. She texted me a second ago and asked me to find you. She said it was an emergency.”

I frown. “An emergency? And she won’t talk to you?”

She shakes her head. “I tried to call her, but she sent me to voicemail every time. She also locked the door to her suite.”

“Fuck.” I run my fingers through my hair. “Okay. Take me to her.”

Gia takes off down the hallway. I follow in her footsteps, trying to figure out what Ginny could possibly need from me that she couldn’t get from Gia. She’s her twin sister, for fuck’ssake. You’d think she’d be better qualified for an emergency than me.

“Ginny, please open the door. You’re going to be late for the ceremony.” A severe woman is rapidly knocking on the door. Her grey hair is pulled back into a tight hairdo. I have a fleeting thought that she looks like the strict headmaster of a private school.

“Excuse me.” While the words are polite, my tone isn’t. I need to get in there.

The woman huffs. “Good luck.” She turns and stomps down the hallway.

I lay my forehead on the wood. “Goose? It’s me. Will you open the door?” My childhood nickname for Ginny rolls off my tongue with ease.

“It’s just you?” Her small voice comes from the other side.

I raise an eyebrow at Gia. She nods and squeezes my arm before going back toward the ceremony hall. “Yeah, it’s just me.”

When Ginny opens the door, I stifle a gasp. Her face is ravaged by tears. Her cheeks are pink, and her eyes are red from crying. I step into the room, closing the door behind me. “What’s going on, sweetheart?”

She pulls me into the tightest hug I’ve ever gotten from her.

Then her words stop me short.

“Get me out of here, Carson.”

THE END