Double Or Nothing: Gemini (Zodiac Alphas)

by Gia Star

  “Lauren?” I said, my smile widening. “Yes, I definitely want to see her! I'm so glad you told her to stop by.”

  Today is starting to feel like a high school reunion, I thought.

  Lauren came by about a half an hour later. She pulled up in her dad's beat-up truck. When I stepped out onto the patio, I heard her yell out in excitement.

  Just like everyone else in town, I hadn't seen Lauren in six years. We'd done a pretty good job of staying in touch, though. Weekly chats on the phone and the occasional letter had been our method of connection. I had meant to call her as soon as I'd gotten into town, but the run-in with Castro had flustered me. Luckily, my mom had told her that I'd arrived.

  “Katie McGlass,” Lauren said, as she stepped out of her truck and walked toward me.

  Lauren was a bigger girl, with short and awkward steps. She had girly brown hair that stuck out on her head as though she'd gotten hit by a bolt of lightening. Just like me, she hadn't exactly been the most popular girl in school. We weren't quite exactly outcasts, but we definitely weren't stars of the cheer-leading squad either. None of that mattered to me, though. Lauren had a heart of gold and a positive energy that was unlike anybody I had ever know. Seeing her there in my parent's driveway made me feel so happy.

  “Lauren!” I ran up to her and squealed, pulling her in for a hug.

  She picked me up from the ground, lifting me with ease and squeezing me so tightly that I could hardly breathe.

  “Damn, Katie, you lose weight?” she asked, setting me down. “You're like picking up a feather.”

  “I think you just got stronger,” I said, playfully pushing her shoulder.

  “Come on,” she said. “Hop in. Let's go for a cruise and catch up.”

  “Sounds great,” I said.

  We got in her truck and pulled away from my parent's house. The sun was starting to go down, and the cool air poured in through her windows.

  “So how in the hell have you been?” Lauren asked, with one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the gear shift.

  “I've been doing alright,” I said. “Just working and living in California. Nothing new to report. How are you?”

  Lauren shrugged. “Same old shit around here. Still working my daddy's farm, selling eggs to the locals.”

  “Do you like it?” I asked.

  “Not particularly,” she said, with a chuckle. “But what the hell else am I supposed to do? I never got a college degree.”

  “Lauren, there are plenty of other things you could do,” I said.

  "Working the farm is good for now," she replied, with a sigh. "Besides, my dad needs help with it, and I don't want to let him down."

  “Yeah, that makes sense,” I said. “You're a good daughter. Better than me.”

  “No, you did the right thing by leaving,” Lauren said. “I would have left, too, if I thought I could have. Shit, I know of a whole lot of people we graduated with that would have left this town if they could have.”

  “Really?” I asked. “I was actually wondering how many of our classmates are still living here.”

  “More than I'd care to admit,” Lauren said, as she turned onto Farm Road 93, which pointed East out of town. “Are you telling me you've been here for a few hours and haven't seen anybody yet?”

  “Not exactly,” I said, smiling. “I ran into one person out in front of the Mini Mart.”

  “Oh yeah? Who's that?” she asked. “Let me guess. Billy Thompson? Jake Johnsmiller?”

  “Nope, neither,” I said. “Do you remember Castro?”

  Lauren nodded and glanced upward dreamily. “How could I forget Castro? God, that guy is gorgeous. You saw him today?”

  “Yeah, he's in town for his birthday,” I said.

  “That's right.” Lauren nodded as she shifted the truck up a gear and pressed on the gas. “I forgot about that. I've run into those boys a handful of times. Now that you mention the birthday thing, it makes a lot more sense. I've only ever seen them this time of year.”

  “So you've seen Paolo?” I asked, sitting up in my seat.

  “Oh yeah,” Lauren said. “I've seen him a few times with Castro. Don't know much about him anymore, though. Besides rumors anyway.”

  “Rumors?” I raised my eyebrows.

  “Yeah, you know how those things are, though,” she said. “Especially in a town like this.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “People around here love a good dose of gossip,” she explained. “They thrive on it. You can never really believe what you hear through the grapevine.”

  "Well, what have you heard?" I wasn't about to drop the subject. This was the closest I'd come to hearing something about Paolo. Even if it was just a rumor, it was still better than nothing.

  “From what I hear, Paolo hasn't gone down the same road as his brother,” Lauren said. “In fact, from my understanding, he's gone the opposite direction. You know how Castro went off and became a doctor and all that?”

  I nodded but didn't say anything.

  “Well,” she continued. “Paolo went off and got himself into a whole mess of trouble. Instead of going off to college for four years, I heard he spent that time in prison instead.”

  My jaw dropped so hard that I'm pretty sure it fell into my lap. “You're kidding me.”

  "Like I said, it's probably just rumors," Lauren said. "But the whole family is weird about it. It's like they sweep Paolo under the rug, almost deny that he's part of the family. They don't really talk about him and if you ask, they dodge the subject."

  “That's exactly what I've learned,” I said. “You said you've seen Paolo, though, right? Do you think any of it's true?”

  “I can't say one way or another about the whole prison thing,” she said. “I can tell you this, though. He's not at all the same as his brother. Not in looks, not in personality and not in the way he treats people. In fact, he's kind of a jerk, to be completely honest. When you talk to him, he acts like there are a million other things he'd rather be doing. It's kind of weird, considering how sweet and kind Castro turned out to be.”

  “I'm seriously shocked right now,” I said, shaking my head. “Those two were carbon copies of each other when we were younger. Not just physically either. I thought for sure they both would have gone down the same road as Castro did. I wasn't at all surprised when I found out he was a doctor, but I'm having a hard time believing that Paolo's life went that far downhill. And what you're saying about him being a total jerk. It's like I can't even imagine that.”

  Lauren shrugged. “I don't know how it turned out that way either, but it did. Those brothers are like two sides of the same coin, you know? Opposite ends of the spectrum, if you know what I mean. Honestly, now that they've grown up, it's hard to believe that they were ever identical twins.”

  I faced forward, gazing toward the long and straight dirt road that Lauren was driving us down. We sat in silence for a bit. I was having the hardest time believing what she'd said about Paolo.

  How could he have turned out so different than his brother? I thought. He was so sweet and caring when we were kids. In fact, when after the little bike jump mishap, I'm pretty sure that he was the one who held his hand over my cut to try to stop the bleeding.

  Given all of the potential misinformation about the twins and my general impulsive curiosity, I decided that I would go to their birthday party the following day. I hadn't asked my mom yet if she had made any plans, but I was sure that she'd encourage me to go. She had adored those twins just as much as I once did and I'm sure she'd want me to find out about them.

  I guess all I need to do is figure out what I'm going to wear, I thought.

  Lauren and I continued our cruise, all the way until the sun began to dip behind the horizon. The sky turned orange, and it wasn't more than a few minutes before the lightning bugs began showing up in the bushes along the side of the road. We chatted about everything and spent most of the drive reminiscing about old times and long forgotten
memories. I did my best to stay present and in the moment, but it was hard. I was way too excited for the twin's party. Suddenly, the anticipation was almost too much to handle.

  I can't wait to see the two of them together again, I thought. I'll find out for myself just how much they've changed, if they've even changed that much at all. I know Castro is the same, but I'm going to put these Paolo rumors to rest. I'm sure he's just as sweet as ever, and all of these rumors are just that. Rumors.

  Chapter 4

  The following morning, I woke up and hung out with my parents. We had breakfast together, and then all three of us sat out on the porch swing to drink our coffee. I'd hardly slept at all the night before. It was silly, but I couldn't fall asleep because I was way too excited to see the twins at their birthday party.

  “Did you guys have anything particular planned this afternoon?” I asked, glancing to my parents who were both seated to my right.

  “Not really,” Dad said. “Was thinking it would be fun to take one of the horses out for a trail ride. Why do you ask?”

  “First off, a trail ride sounds amazing. We are definitely going to have to do that before I head back,” I said. “But if you don't have anything set in stone this afternoon, I was thinking about heading over to the twin's birthday party?”

  “Castro and Paolo?” Mom asked, eyes widening.

  “Yeah,” I said. “When I ran into Castro yesterday at the Mini Mart, he invited me. I wasn't going to go, but then the more I thought about it, the more I realized it would be good to catch up with those guys.”

  “You should totally go,” Mom said, patting the top of my knee. “Don't you think, Frank?”

  My dad shrugged. “Sure, go over there. Tell Rosa 'hi' for us.”

  “You guys are sure you don't mind?” I asked.

  “Yes, we're sure,” Mom said. “Just try to get home for dinner. We have the whole day tomorrow to spend with you anyway, right?”

  “Actually, more than that,” I said. “I'm staying until Monday.”

  “Then perfect,” she said. “We'll have plenty of time to spend with you. Go have fun this afternoon. And definitely let me know what everyone is up to in that family. I miss getting to see the twins. They were so sweet.”

  “Great,” I said. “I probably won't stay too long there. Just want to greet them and hang out for a few. I'll be back before dinner.”

  That afternoon

  I'd decided to wear my favorite summer dress to the party. It was pale yellow and had pretty little red flowers sewn into it. I stood in front of the floor to ceiling mirror that hung on the door of my old bedroom and placed my hands on my hips. It wasn't an expensive dress, not by a long shot. In fact, I'd picked it up at a thrift store in San Francisco for less than twenty bucks. Still, it fit perfectly. Better than any other dress I owned. The material hugged my hips just right. It was tight enough to push my cleavage together and make my boobs look good, but not so tight that I looked like a slut.

  I pulled my brush through my long dark hair, suddenly over-focused on the handful of split ends that I had. I'd never really cared that much before, but I found myself wanting to look my best when I saw the twins that day. I suppose it really was going to be like a high school reunion in many ways and I figured I might as well try to make a good impression.

  So when my hair was finally how I liked it and my makeup as flawless as possible, I sprayed on a bit of perfume and then headed out the door. My parents had decided to run some errands, knowing that I wouldn't be around that afternoon. So I headed straight out the door and to my car.

  First stop, the liquor store, I thought, as I pulled away from my parent's house and headed into town.

  It was Saturday afternoon, which meant that the town center was busy. Or at least it was Badger's version of busy, which really wasn't busy at all compared to what I was used to in California. I parked my car and ran inside the liquor store. I had no clue what to buy the boys for a birthday gift, but I figured everybody loves liquor.

  Let's see, I thought, strolling the aisles. Whiskey? No, that's a little rough. Beer? Yeah, maybe some beer.

  Then I thought about how classy Castro had looked when I'd run into him the day before. That perfectly fitting polo and those slacks weren't the kind of attire a whiskey or a beer drinking man would have on. No, clearly Castro was a wine drinker.

  “Wine it is,” I said to myself, as I made my way to the opposite side of the store and grabbed two bottles of wine. One of them was red and the other white. I figured if I got one of each then at least I'd cover my bases and keep everybody happy.

  After paying for the bottles of wine, I headed back out into the heat. My heart was suddenly fluttering behind my rib cage. I found myself a bit nervous. Which was weird, because social occasions never made me nervous. In fact, I was the most bubbly and social person I knew. Somehow, though, this felt different to me. It was like I needed to impress the people at the party. Most especially, though, I felt like I needed to impress Castro and Paolo.

  Rosa's farm house wasn't too far from my parent's, but on the bumpy dirt road, it took forever to get there. I couldn't go over ten miles per hour without it feeling like my car was about to stutter right into the ditch. Luckily, after a little while, I finally pulled off and turned onto the paved driveway that led toward Rosa's home.

  Thank God, I thought, as the ride instantaneously became smoother.

  As I drove up to the farmhouse, I was surprised by how many cars were there. It seemed that these little birthday celebrations for the twins had become a fairly large event. I parked alongside the driveway. With the two wine bottles in hand, I got out of my car. I took a moment to check myself out in the driver's side window. One last check to make sure that I looked my best.

  Hair? Check. Makeup? Check. I thought. Alright, let's do this.

  I exhaled a quick breath and then made my way toward the house. Just walking down the driveway brought back memories. The last time I was on their property, we were racing each other, running down the driveway in sprints to try to see who was the fastest.

  As I approached the house, I could hear music coming from the back yard. It was country music, of course, which seemed to be the only kind that anybody in Badger liked to listen to. It only took two knocks on the front door before Rosa opened it up.

  She did a double take when she saw me, but then her eyes widened, and so did her smile.

  “Katie!” she squealed. “My gosh, you made it. Come in, dear.”

  Rosa pulled open the door and ushered me inside.

  “Hi, Rosa,” I said. “Good to see you.”

  “Good to see you, as well,” she said. “The boys are going to be so happy you've shown up.”

  “Are they both here?” I asked.

  “Castro is,” she said, with a sigh. “No sign of Paolo yet, but I'm not worried. He'll be here. He's not usually on time anyway, but he hasn't missed one of these birthday parties. At least not yet. Come on, everyone is in the back yard having drinks.”

  “I brought some wine,” I said, holding out the bottles. “I wasn't sure if the twins would like it, but I didn't want to come to a birthday party empty-handed.”

  “This is perfect,” she said. “They'll love it.”

  I followed Rosa through the farmhouse and then out the back door. There were a bunch of people there, but most of them I didn't recognize. Based on how well they were all dressed, though, I had to assume that many of them were doctor friends of Castro's. They didn't seem like the usual townsfolk who would be attending a party in Badger.

  We found Castro near the back of the yard, chatting it up with a few people. As soon as we approached, he turned to look. His face beamed with excitement as soon as he laid eyes on me. He walked straight up to me and pulled me in for a hug.

  “Katie McGlass,” he said, squeezing me tight. “I'm so glad you made it.”

  “I decided I couldn't turn it down,” I said. “How often does one get to catch up with an old childhood friend?�
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  “Not often enough,” he said, as he released me from the hug. He then took a step back and gave me a quick once over. “You look absolutely beautiful, Katie.”

  My cheeks tingled, and I knew that I was blushing. Out of reflex, I nervously pushed a few strands off my hair over my ear.

  “Thank you, Castro,” I said. “You don't look too bad yourself.”

  He was dressed to perfection. He had on black slacks, a white dress shirt, and even a black vest to go over it. His clothing was obviously tailored and fit his muscular physique amazingly. On top of that, he had shaved and gotten a fresh haircut since I'd seen him the day before. He looked like a million bucks, almost too good to be hanging out in a town like Badger.

  “I hope it's not weird to tell you this, but I got a haircut and decided to dress up because I was really looking forward you to coming today,” he said. “I wasn't sure if you would, but I wanted to look good just in case.”

  I couldn't help but smile. "That's really sweet, Castro. Oh, hey, these are for you and your brother." I handed him the bottles of wine and his eyes lit up as he read the labels.

  “How did you know I liked Cabernet?” he asked.

  I shrugged. “I didn't, actually. I just got a red wine and a white wine, hoping you'd like one of the two.”

  “This is great, Katie,” he said. “You're such a sweetheart. Come with me to the drink table and we'll pop open the red. How does that sound?”

  “Sounds great,” I said, following Castro across the yard.

  We stepped up to the table and he opened the bottle of red wine, pouring us each a glass.

  “Should we do a cheers?” I asked.

  “I think that sounds like a great idea,” he said. “What should we cheers to?”

  “How about to your birthday?” I suggested.