“No. First thing we do is get her upstairs so she can lie down. The room needs to be dark. We need an ice pack. If she doesn’t have one, a hand towel with ice wrapped in it will do.”
His expression darkened. “You’d better know what you’re doing.”
Sasha’s glare was instantaneous. “I’ve been taking care of her a lot longer than you have.”
“Clearly it’s the quality, not the quantity.”
He picked Sienna up and cradled her against his chest. His progression up the stairs was slow to keep from jostling her. Once he reached her bedroom, Vaughn laid her in the middle of the bed. Sasha was right behind him. “I’ve got her. You go get the ice pack.”
He lingered a moment.
“You’re wasting valuable time, Mr. Deveraux. Unless you enjoy seeing my sister suffer?”
“Be a bitch on your own time,” he snapped, striding quickly from the room.
By the time Vaughn got back, the room was devoid of light except for a small candle sitting on a nearby table. He handed Sasha the ice pack and then hovered while she applied it to her sister’s forehead. “I’ll give her a therapeutic massage. That should relax her body and alleviate the stress. Hopefully that will put her to sleep. She should feel better when she wakes up.”
“Shouldn’t we get a professional?”
Sasha fixed him with a venomous stare. “I am a licensed massage therapist.”
Vaughn looked skeptical. “Did you pick that up in beauty pageant school?”
“Be a bitch on your own time,” she threw back at him. “There’s a bag next to my suitcase in the trunk.” She tossed him her keys. “I’ll need it.”
Vaughn retrieved her bag and then went downstairs so that Sasha could work on her sister in private.
At a loss for something to do, he made Sienna some tea. While the water was boiling, Vaughn wondered if giving her caffeine would be a good idea. Deciding to err on the side of caution, he turned the water off. A few minutes later, Vaughn alternated between pacing and checking his wrist watch. A loud ring pierced the silence. With a quick yank, he retrieved his phone from his front pocket. He saw the call was from Carlton. “Hello?”
“What happened? You stopped texting so suddenly. Has everyone gone to neutral corners?”
“At the moment, but only because Sienna is suffering from a migraine.”
“A massage could help. Why didn’t you call me? I would’ve come back over.”
“No need. Sasha is a massage therapist, too. Besides, you’re not seeing my girl partially dressed. No offense.”
“None taken,” Carlton assured him. “It appears this evening has been full of revelations.”
“Tell me about it,” Vaughn quipped.
“I’ll let you go. You let me know if you need anything. I’m serious.”
“I know. Thanks, Carl.”
An hour later, Sasha descended the stairs. Vaughn was on his laptop reading message boards, scanning chat rooms and searching websites for anything he could find on migraine headaches. He glanced in her direction when she came into the room. He watched Sasha drop her bag on the rug next to a chair. She raised her arms over her head and then she stretched them one at a time across her chest.
Sliding the computer to the side he asked, “How is she?”
“She’s doing much better.” She reclined in the chair and stretched her legs out in front of her. “The massage helped. She was able to drift off to sleep. More than likely she’ll be out for the rest of the night.”
Vaughn nodded. “So what brought this on?”
“She started getting them when we were in middle school. Usually there’s a trigger. Sienna’s is stress.”
“Funny, she’s never had them with me.”
Sasha bristled. “Maybe you just haven’t had a chance to thoroughly piss her off yet,” her smile was overly bright. “Give it time.”
With an insincere smile of his own, he continued questioning her. “So, what are Sienna’s symptoms—besides you?”
“Blurry vision or bright flashes of light dancing before her eyes. Sometimes she mentions smelling green apples before a migraine hits,” Sasha shrugged. “I guess we were so busy arguing she overlooked them.”
“What about the nausea or vomiting,” Vaughn added. “Did she throw up when you were upstairs?”
“No. Your precious bucket is still spotless.”
Vaughn smirked at that. “Where did you pick up massage therapy?”
“I trained a few years ago. I worked at a spa for a while, but then changed career paths.”
He placed his feet back up on the ottoman in front of the couch and folded his arms across his chest. He closed his eyes. “There are just so many issues with this evening I don’t know where to begin.”
Sasha studied him. A loud sigh escaped her lips. “I suppose we should start with my apologizing for what happened in the kitchen earlier. It…was uncalled for.”
“If you’re referring to not stopping me before I kissed you, then hell yes, that was uncalled for.”
Her gaze met his. “I’m sorry.”
Vaughn inclined his head.
“I guess you heard everything Sienna and I talked about?”
“Not all of it. Still, it is surprising that with all the animosity the two of you share you still came to her rescue.”
“Did you think I wouldn’t?” she asked, incredulously. “She’s my sister. Regardless of what we’re going through, or how screwed up our relationship, I couldn’t let her suffer.”
“A headache,” he said, pointedly.
She blanched at his insult. “I’m outta here.” She jumped to her feet and slung her bag over her shoulder. “There’s a great deal you don’t know about, Mr. Deveraux.”
“Enlighten me.”
“Don’t you find it strange you didn’t know I existed? I’d wager you find Sienna’s lack of honesty as bizarre as I do.”
“Somewhat, but that’s a conversation that I’ll be having with my girlfriend—not her sister.”
“Whatever.” Sasha headed to the door. “I’ll be at my parents’ house. Call me if she needs anything.”
Vaughn got up and followed her to the door. “Thank you, Sasha,” he called after her.
She turned. “I didn’t do it for you, Mr. Deveraux.”
He watched out the door until she was in her car and backing down the driveway. He shut the door and turned off the porch light. Straightening up the downstairs and dousing all the candle lights went by quickly. He checked the doors to make sure they were locked before he headed to the second floor. Stealthily, he entered Sienna’s bedroom. Going straight to the bed, Vaughn stared down at her. Her eyes were closed. Good, he told himself, she needs the rest. He caught himself before touching her. He wasn’t sure if he would make matters worse, and there was no way he would risk causing her additional pain.
Though the bed was ample, Vaughn figured it would be better for him to sleep on the couch in her room. He didn’t want to run the risk of rolling over in his sleep. Besides, he wanted to be near in case she needed him. He turned away.
“I thought you’d be gone,” she said, weakly.
Astonished, Vaughn turned toward her. “Hey, what are you doing awake?”
“I heard you come in.”
“Sorry about that. I was trying to be quiet,” he sat softly on the side of the bed next to her. “You should try and go back to sleep.”
“I’ll be okay if you want to leave,” she assured him.
“Sienna, I’m not going anywhere.”
“I wouldn’t blame you if you were angry with me…not after what happened earlier.”
Vaughn took her hand in his. “I’m not angry, Doc. I won’t lie, I am a bit disappointed, though,” he kissed her fingers. “Regardless of what happened I’m not about to leave you here alone, okay?”
Sienna nodded.
“Try and rest. If you need me I’m right over there on the couch.”
“Vaughn, you don’t have to
sleep on the couch. That can’t be comfortable. You can use the guestroom, or I’ll move over and—”
“Sweetheart, I’ll be fine. You just relax. I’ll see you in the morning.” He kissed her lightly on the lips. He went into the bathroom to grab his toothbrush and toothpaste. Quietly, he went down the hall to the guest bath so he wouldn’t disturb her. He made quick work of brushing his teeth and showered. The hot water helped him unwind. What a night, he thought.
After he’d finished, Vaughn wrapped a towel around his waist and swept up his clothes from off the floor. He stopped at the linen closet and retrieved a pillow, sheet and blanket. Not wanting to turn the light on in her closet, Vaughn folded his clothes and placed them on the table.
The job of making up his makeshift bed complete, he walked over to the dresser and pulled a pair of pajama bottoms out of the drawer that Sienna had assigned him. When he slid it open, he fondly recalled the night she had cleared her things out and ceremoniously announcing it was now his to use. The grin that plastered itself across his face prompted Sienna to comment, “It’s only a drawer.”
“To you it may only be a drawer,” he replied, taking her in his arms, “but to me, it’s my drawer.”
“Then I’m glad you like it,” she laughed.
He discarded the towel and replaced it with pajama bottoms. He lowered himself onto the sofa. With one arm stretched across his eyes and another over the top of the couch, Vaughn drifted in and out of a troubled sleep.
The next morning Vaughn sat on the side of the sofa massaging his neck and the top of his shoulders. It may have started out heavenly, but the unforgiving couch quickly morphed into a chenille-covered torture device. Standing, Vaughn silently stretched. The room held the muted glow of the newly risen sun. He checked his watch. It was just after six in the morning. Luckily, it was light enough for him to retrieve a pair of boxer briefs, a t-shirt and jeans without turning on a lamp.
His gaze traveled to the bed. Sienna hadn’t moved from the position he left her in last night. She must have been out of it not to have tossed and turned like she normally does, Vaughn told himself. His stomach growled, a reminder that they had skipped dinner the night before. He padded out of the room to go downstairs and fix breakfast.
He took a few minutes to research what foods fought headaches. He went with oatmeal. It was one of Sienna’s favorite comfort foods, plus he had read it would be helpful after her episode.
The phone rang while he was in the kitchen. Vaughn answered on the first ring before it woke Sienna up. “Hello?”
“How’s my baby girl?” Sienna’s father asked, with concern. “Sasha told us what happened.”
“Good morning, Colonel Lambert. Sienna may not have had the best night, but at least she slept through it.”
“We can come. Do you need us to drop over and relieve you?”
“No, sir, things are fine here.”
“All right. Call us if you need anything or when she wakes up, Deveraux. I mean it,” he warned.
“Yes sir,” Vaughn almost saluted the telephone. “Have a good day, Colonel.”
“Cut the formalities son, and call me Gordon.”
“Will do, Colonel—Gordon.”
“That’s better,” he replied before hanging up.
Vaughn checked on Sienna often. Whenever he poked his head in the bedroom, she was asleep. He ate breakfast, and then took his laptop upstairs to work for a while. He always smiled when he went into Sienna’s home office. It was almost a mirror image of the layout at her job and just as meticulous. “You are too efficient, baby,” he chuckled before sliding the chair up to the desk. He had copy to write for a sporting goods client’s new ad campaign. After about an hour, Vaughn tilted back in the chair and stared at the ceiling. He ran a hand over his stubble laden face. Silently, he pondered all that had transpired since arriving at Sienna’s house fourteen hours earlier.
“Vaughn?”
His chair snapped forward. He got up and strode into Sienna’s bedroom. She was sitting up slightly against the pillows.
“Hey,” he replied, walking toward her.
“Hi,” she said, in a voice deepened by sleep.
Disturbing the edge of her bed, Vaughn settled next to her. “How’s my Sleeping Beauty?”
“Feeling like I’ve been asleep for a week,” she yawned. She ran her tongue over her teeth. “Yuck. Do I look a mess, because I sure feel it?”
“Impossible. Your beauty will never fade. You did have me a little nervous, though.” Vaughn admitted. “Are you hungry or thirsty? Is there anything I can get you?”
“No. I just need to take it easy for a while. I’ll be my usual self in no time.”
“By the way, your father called.”
“Did he threaten to storm the place?”
“Nope. He called to see if I wanted him to relieve me of duty. I told him we were just fine.”
Sienna’s expression turned guarded. “I don’t think that’s entirely true.”
Concern etched his features. “Do you want me to call your doctor or something?”
“No, I’m going to be fine soon. My headaches don’t usually last that long, although, I may be nauseous until I regain my strength, but that’s not what I meant.”
An odd look crossed his face. “Sienna.”
“I know I owe you an explanation.”
Vaughn shook his head. “We aren’t going to do this now.”
“We have to talk about all this.”
“And we will, just not right now.”
“There must be a lot of questions running through your mind,” she pressed.
A loud sigh escaped his lips. “You’re right. I do have a lot of questions, and I had a lot of time to think about this whole scenario last night,” he said, with irritation. “I’ve tried to think about this rationally, to come at this from different angles and to try and understand your circumstances, but I just can’t. The only logical reason I could come up with for why you weren’t open with me is that you don’t trust me.”
Sienna’s eyes swept over his face. “Vaughn, that’s not true. I trust you—completely.”
Vaughn bounded off the bed. “How can you say that? You neglected to tell me you had a sister, Sienna. We’re not talking about a shoe fetish, or you being a shopaholic. Sasha is a member of your family. Regardless of whether you two are on speaking terms, she is your twin sister. You also didn’t think it pertinent to tell me you suffer from severe headaches?”
“You didn’t tell me that you had another brother right away, either,” Sienna argued.
Vaughn’s eyes widened. “I don’t have a blood feud going on with my brother, Sienna. This is hardly the same thing. I just didn’t get around to telling you about Chase, but that wasn’t because we aren’t on speaking terms, or because of some master plan to deceive you.”
“That wasn’t what I was trying to do, Vaughn.”
“Putting that aside for a minute, if it wasn’t for your sister I wouldn’t have known how to help you, Sienna. You can’t see how upset that makes me feel? Did you think I enjoyed watching you in excruciating pain?”
“Of course not,” she interjected.
“Then why did you keep something like that from me?” he demanded. “Those are two pretty big topics not to discuss with someone that’s supposed to mean something to you, don’t you think?”
“You mean a great deal to me, Vaughn. Please don’t ever doubt that.”
“That’s just it, Doc. You’ve given me no reason not to disbelieve what you say. You say you trust me implicitly, and that I shouldn’t doubt you. My question to you is why? I need a reason, Sienna.”
When she remained silent he shook his head and turned away.
“Vaughn, wait,” she cried, jumping out of the bed and running toward him. She paused for a second and placed her hand on her head. Reaching him, she placed an arm on his shoulder. “Please…please don’t leave. Not like this. I’m sorry. I should’ve said something and I didn’t. I didn�
�t tell you about the migraines because I don’t get them that often. Just under extreme stress and—”
“And I still should’ve known. If you get them every damn week, once a month, or every five years, you still should have told me.”
“I realize that now and I truly am sorry for upsetting you. As for my sister, she and I don’t get along. Everyone assumes that twins are inseparable and share everything, but that’s not the case for us. We’re always rubbing each other the wrong way. We had that big blow up a long time ago and we’ve been barely civil to each other ever since.”
“That’s not telling me why you lied to me.”
“I didn’t lie Vaughn. It’s not like I told you I had a sister and you found out I didn’t.”
“No,” he shot back. “You didn’t say anything. That’s worse.”
When he went to walk away she ran around and got in front of him. “What was I supposed to say? That I’m a psychologist that can’t even sustain a healthy, meaningful relationship with her own sister, and a twin sister at that? How do you think that makes me feel? It’s the one thing in my life that isn’t orderly, that I can’t control. I’m very good at what I do, Vaughn. I strive to be the archetype for my profession. I work with all types of people from every walk of life, yet I’m crazed when I’m around her. The only thing we see eye-to-eye on is that we can barely tolerate each other. Do you know how that makes me look?”
“Human?”
“This isn’t a joke,” she snapped. “Do you know that you are the longest lasting relationship I’ve ever had? Most of them implode before they even reach the two month mark, and somewhere in the back of my mind I’m always worrying that Sasha will show up and ruin everything just to get back at me. A psychologist that’s paranoid.” She ran her hand over eyes. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”
“No, Sienna it isn’t. You can’t control everything—or everybody. Life isn’t perfect. It just is. You’re going to have to deal with Sasha one way or another.”
Interview with Love Page 16