*****
A few hours later, Geoffrey and Grant returned with Ginny trailing miserably along behind them. She meekly apologized to Sandra for her outburst, but she refused to meet her mother’s eyes, or anybody else’s. She stared at the ground and shuffled her feet, looking like she wanted to be anywhere other than the house. When Sandra reached out and gave her a hug, Ginny visibly tensed. “Its okay, Honey. We understand. What do you say you and I go sit out on the porch and have a little talk?”
Ginny finally looked up. “Mom, I wanna spend some time alone with Gwen today.”
Sandra stiffened, looking as if Gwen had just slapped her across the face. She quickly recovered, plastering a fake smile on her face. “Oh, of course. You two haven’t seen each other in awhile. You must have a lot to talk about.” She was trying so hard to keep her voice light and understanding, but Gwen caught the jealous tone hiding underneath. She was upset Ginny was possibly going to open up to Gwen and not her.
Gwen gave her aunt an apologetic look, but Sandra refused to look at her. She tried not to feel hurt by her aunt’s reaction as she followed Ginny upstairs to her room. She closed the door shut behind them and sat down cross-legged on her bed, waiting for Ginny to speak. She was going to let her cousin direct the conversation and see where it took them. Hopefully she would open up a little bit, and Gwen could get some answers.
For a minute Ginny was silent. She stared at the room around them, her eyes lingering with distaste on the posters that hung on the walls. She took in everything, from the books on her desk to the small TV on the dresser in the corner and the stack of movies beside it. A frown crossed her lips, making her look dissatisfied with everything in the room. When her eyes finally found Gwen’s, they softened, and she sighed, reaching across the space between their beds to lock hands.
Gwen was startled by the contact, but she kept her face impassive, not wanting Ginny to pull away and close herself off even more. She waited patiently for Ginny to say what was clearly on her mind, wondering what she could possibly have to say.
“Gwen, we’ve always been like sisters, right?”
“Of course,” Gwen said, her stomach tightening. Whatever she had been expecting Ginny to say, that hadn’t been the way she thought it would start.
“I only want what’s best for you, always. I don’t wanna see anything bad happen to you, knowing that I could have prevented it.”
“What are you—”
“I want you and Gabe to leave Brighton in the morning and never come back.” Silence stretched between them as Gwen took in Ginny’s words, letting them sink in. Her heart clenched painfully in her chest, and it was suddenly hard for her to breathe.
She can’t mean it, Gwen thought, her mind racing as she searched for some explanation as to why Ginny would ever say that. She’s understandably upset, but she doesn’t really want us to leave. Why would she? Now’s the time for us to be closer than ever, to offer her the support she’s going to need to move on with her life.
Gwen noticed that Ginny’s grip on her hands had tightened until it was almost unbearably painful. Ginny locked eyes with her again, and Gwen was so captivated by the fear she saw in them that she couldn’t bring herself to look away. “Promise me,” Ginny said. “Promise me you and Gabe will get out of Brighton now, while you still can.”
“Ginny, you’re scaring me,” Gwen said quietly. “What’s wrong? Why do we have to leave? Don’t you want us here? I know you’re still upset, and you have every right to be, but making us leave isn’t going to help you.”
Ginny’s face crumpled and she let go of Gwen’s hands, bursting into tears. “Nothing can help me now,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. She drew her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around herself and shutting down as fast as she had opened up. Startled by her response, Gwen slid off her bed and climbed into Ginny’s, putting her arms around her and holding her close. She was deeply bothered by Ginny’s words and her reaction, but it was obvious she wasn’t going to get anything out of Ginny for the time being.
She held her cousin while she cried, and when she was finally done, she wiped her face and climbed out of bed. Gwen watched as she put a movie in and came back to the bed, sliding in beside Gwen. She got the feeling Ginny didn’t want her to move back to her own bed, so she tried her best to relax where she was. As the movie played, Gwen glanced over at Ginny frequently, trying to gauge how she was feeling now that she’d had a chance to cry it out with someone she trusted more than just about anyone else.
Ginny had relaxed a little, but there was still a tenseness to her shoulders that had Gwen worried. She was trying so hard to relax, but she was still on edge, and Gwen couldn’t help but notice that every so often Ginny would turn and glance out the window. Gwen couldn’t imagine why she was so obsessed with what was out there. She knew what was out there—wolves. Lots of aggressive wolves that would hurt Ginny, that had probably hurt her already.
Why does she keep looking to the woods? There’s nothing for her out there except for painful memories. It almost looks like she wants to be out there right now, like she has an intense longing for the woods.
Gwen tried to silence her worried thoughts and enjoy some quality time with Ginny, but the movies passed by in a blur, and honestly she couldn’t recall which ones they had watched. She got the feeling that Ginny wasn’t paying all that much attention to them either, but it was a welcome distraction from her own inner thoughts.
The second movie ended as Sandra called them both downstairs for dinner later. Ginny was slow to respond, practically dragging herself out of bed. As she trudged down the stairs, it was obvious she didn’t want to leave her room, and Gwen almost suggested they grab something to eat and head back upstairs. But that wouldn’t have been fair to the rest of the family. So she sat down at the table, and Ginny took the spot between her and Gabe, sitting down without a word or a glance at anyone else.
Dinner was uncomfortably silent. Nobody said much of anything. Even Sandra was no longer trying to pretend like everything was going to be okay. They all watched Ginny for any sign of an impending explosion, but she just quietly ate her food, picking at it little by little. Gwen noticed that Sandra had taken the time to make some of Ginny’s favorite foods, and she looked crestfallen that it was going so untouched.
When dinner was finally done, Ginny pushed aside her mostly untouched plate and stood. All eyes were on her as she cleared her throat uncertainly. Her hands twisted a napkin so nervously it had been shredded, and she stared down at the table, unable to make eye contact with anyone. Everyone waited with their breath held to hear what Ginny had to say, and Gwen wondered if it would be as odd and discomforting as what Ginny had said to her in private not too long ago.
“There’s something I wanna say, but I’m not sure how I should start,” Ginny confessed. Nobody rushed her, not wanting to upset her and make her close herself off. “I know the last few days have been horrible for you guys. They’ve probably been some of the worst, and it’s all my fault that you guys had to suffer through so much pain and uncertainty. I just wanted to let you all know how much I appreciate what you’ve done for me. I’m sure it wasn’t easy to stay strong during such a horrible time, but you guys did. You never once gave up on me, even though you had every reason to. I know it isn’t much, but thank you. You all mean so much to me, and I just wanted you to know how much I love you all.”
She hadn’t looked up from the table once during her little speech, but Gwen didn’t need to see her face to know that Ginny was in tears again. They dropped to the table in a steady pattern, and Ginny sniffed, reaching up to wipe her nose with the back of her hand. Without another glance at any of them, she left the dining room, her footsteps retreating up the stairs again, leaving a very confused and devastated family in her wake.