The Gemini

10. Homecoming

Lena Matthews

"You've had 3 hours. This was the best you could come up with?" Taylor asked.

"I tried, okay?" Carter complained, throwing his hastily made banner on the floor. Jane-Anne still held up her end, unsure of what to do. Only half of the message that read , "Welcome back Kiara!" was visible.

"Guys!" I exclaimed. "She's in the elevator right now, so you need to-" Before I could warn Taylor and Carter to get along, the elevator chimed behind me. The doors opened to reveal Kiara, wearing a blue Yankees cap and the biggest smile I've ever seen.

Kiara was instantly stampeded by hugs, and Jane-Anne ended up dropping her half of the banner to join in. It crumpled to the ground as shouts and laughter filled the penthouse.

I hung back, nervous to say anything and shatter the perfect moment. When everyone eventually broke away and Kiara's eyes met mine, she tensed. I held my breath until Kiara forced herself to relax.

"It's good to see you, Lena." She said finally.

I was taking that as a win. "Took you long enough." I teased.

"You're the one who teleported without me! I had to hitchhike!" Kiara exclaimed, her initial distrust broken away. "Come on, let's go!"

"Go?" Jessica asked, crossing her arms.

"Out." Kiara clarified matter-of-factly. "We're in New York City! I want to see everything, and Taylor can show us around!"

"This place has changed a lot since I've been here." Taylor pointed out.

"You know, if you don't want to help, you can just say that." said Carter. The two were precariously close to starting yet another argument.

Everyone had been trapped in the penthouse for the past few days, trying to avoid hearing Carter and Taylor argue every time someone so much as sneezed. Jane-Anne and I had turned it into a game, and so far I was winning. I guessed that the two of them would fight three times this morning, while Jane-Anne had guessed one.

It was four and counting.

The rest of the time in the penthouse was spent staring out the large window at night (the curtains were drawn during the day) pinching myself to remember that this was all real, checking to see if Finn had bothered to text (so far nothing), and scanning the internet for information on Atalka.

Googling "Atalka" just resulted in tons of stories and articles about Jacob Wilde, who was living out the career his mother had been dreaming about. I felt bad when I stared at the pictures, but I didn't have enough energy to pity anyone except myself.

"I'm supposed to meet with Monique today. We're trying to find Aaliyah." Jessica explained.

"We don't need a chaperone to leave." said Carter. I never thought I would see him in favor of going outside during the day.

"It's safer inside," said Jessica. "This is a big city, and while that gives us some anonymity, you never know who could be around."

"I didn't leave one cage to walk into another." Kiara interjected. "I'm going out, and you guys can come with me if you want."

"You're changing first." said Taylor, warily eyeing Kiara's gray jumpsuit. "And showering."

"It's not that bad." said Kiara, pulling the collar of her jumpsuit and smelling it. Her attitude instantly changed. "Where's the shower again?"

"Come on," said Taylor, rolling her eyes as she walked up the stairs. Kiara skipped behind her like an excited puppy.

"We did it." Jane-Anne beamed. "Everyone's here." Her face fell when she noticed that no one else was smiling. "I almost forgot about Aaliyah."