As it turns out, it does.
His death has brought to life his real destiny.
He has become War, one of the legendary four horsemen of the apocalypse.
But will anyone believe him?
CHAPTER 7
The next morning, I woke to the sound of my mom talking on the phone.
Actually it was more like yelling, which was what woke me.
Id slept on my stomach without wearing my casts, and hadnt taken any painkillers since yesterday.
I shouldve been howling in pain, but I wasnt.
Id heard my mom raise her voice before.
She was half Irish and didnt take crap from anyone.
But the way she was yelling had an edge that was extra sharp.
And then there was the way shed sounded off on me the day before.
What had always been pretty rare was suddenly happening a lot.
She hung up and I heard footsteps marching toward my room.
Something came up at work, she said.
I have to go in for the next few days, but I talked to your sister.
Shes coming up to watch you.
This was an arrangement theyd already made.
Anna, who was a freshman at Cal Poly and only had classes midweek, would take weekends.
It was a Tuesday, though.
Moms call had thrown a curveball into the schedule.
Anna has school, I said.
Well, shes going to have to just catch up.
Mom, Im
Dont argue with me, Gideon.
Shell be here by dinnertime.
Ill have Mrs. C come over and keep an eye on you until
No thats okay.
Ill be fine until Anna gets here.
Mom dropped a kiss on my forehead, reminded me to take my meds, and left.
I did all of that dressing, packing, and locking up with working limbs.
It gave me perspective, and I needed that badly.
I backed out of the driveway, took the freeway south, and then just… drove.
When I pulled up to my sisters college apartment complex three hours later, nothing made any more sense.
I didnt have a new perspective.
And I had not chilled out.
A luxury resort, pretty much.
With any luck, the glass slider would be unlocked.
A girl with blue-streaked hair was painting her toenails on the patio of the apartment beneath my sisters.
She set the red polish on a stack of textbooks by her feet and looked up at me.
This time I was ready.
Mrs. C, Jackson, and my moms reactions had one thing in common me.
Id been riled with that burning anger around them, so maybeIwas affecting them?
It was insane, but it was also the only guess I had.
I raised my hands, showing her I meant no harm.
Hey, hows it going?
Im Anna Blakes brother.
Her twin, the Army guy?
Her twin, the Army guy.
You dont look very much like her.
Yeah, shes prettier than I am.
I try not to get jealous.
Joys smile went wider.
Youre like Luke and Leia, kind of.
We get that sometimes.
Mind if I use your railing?
Annas not there yet.
Use whatever you need.
I tossed my ruck up to the second- floor balcony.
Then I jumped, grabbing the bars above me, and swung myself up.
Not bad for a guy with a broken arm and leg.
Joy peered up from below.
Were having some people over later.
You should come by.
I thanked her again.
A party sounded like just what I needed to get my mind off things.
Anna really shouldve known better.
I slipped inside and froze when I heard the snuffling sounds of someone crying.
Sitting on the bed, I put my hand on her shoulder.
She shot away with a yelp.
Ive been so worried.
Mom said youd broken your arm and your leg.
She said you almostdied.
I know, I said, hugging her back.
Im fine, Banana.
I was all right everywhere except in the head.
She drew back and studied me.
Like Ive said, Cordero, we dont look much alike.
Not just our coloring.
Shed kill me if she heard me tell you that.
And Im… Well.
Youre looking at me.
I look like my dad.
Like my dad did.
His height and build.
The only thing Anna and I have in common is our dads eyes.
Same shape too, with the downward tilt at the sides.
People call them soulful eyes or smiling eyes.
Or Paul Newman eyes old people always say that.
Id shared a womb with my sister and almost every day of my life since.
I didnt love how hard it was just to look at her.
Anna shook her head, her expression pleading for answers
I didnt have.
Was the accident not as bad as they thought?
The initial reports mightve made it sound worse.
And Im still kind of sore, I said, though I wasnt.
I didnt think youd get hurt training.
But you cant pick when accidents happen, right?
That word,accident, felt like knocking into a bruise that wouldnt heal.
It was the same for Anna, too.
Grief passed over her face.
I had to look away.
On her desk I saw a framed picture from Christmas a year and a half ago.
All of us wearing Santa hats and grinning like loons.
We were still four Blakes then.
What are you doing here, Gideon?
Why arent you at home?
What she meant waswhy arent you bedridden, but I took the questions at face value.
I thought you could look after me here.
That way you dont have to miss any classes.
Then I nodded at her phone, ready to leave the subject of my non-injuries behind.
You want to tell me whats going on?
She shrugged, smoothing her hands on her pajama pants.
Id given them to her the same Christmas from the photo.
Red flannel with Eiffel Towers stamped all over them because her dream was to study in Paris.
My sister was an artist.
Growing up, Anna made beautiful collectible drawings and paintings and pottery.
Bikes, bats, surfboards.
Just kidding on that last one.
Just stuff with Wyatt, she said.
I knew the guy.
He was a spoiled idiot from a private high school near our hometown.
He and Anna started dating senior year when they met in a mock- Senate club.
I was pissed when I found out he was coming to the same college.
High school shouldve been the end of Wyatt Sinclair.
I thought you broke up with that loser.
I did break up with him, Anna said.
I mean, we decided to end it together.
He said he wanted a timeout so I gave it to him.
Like hes a freakin toddler?
That kind of time-out?
He thought we were getting too serious.
He said he wanted to experience college.
She made air quotes.
I thought we were really done.
I know hes been with other girls since.
But we were technically on a break, so it shouldnt matter, right?
What technically mattered was that Wyatt was an ass, but Anna clearly didnt see it that way.
I looked around at the pile of clothes thrown over her chair and the coffee mug on her desk.
I couldnt believe I was talking relationships with her when Id fallen out of a plane a week ago.
And had no injuries to show for it.
Anna lifted her phone.
He just called and said he was wrong about leaving me.
He said he made a terrible error in judgment and that he wants me back.
And you told him to screw himself, right?
I love him, G.
Anna.
Okay, maybe not.
But I do like him.
Hes smart and he treated me well when we were together.
Hes coming over to talk.
I feel like I should at least hear him out.
Hes really coming over?
My fist is dying to talk to his face.
Stay out of this.
As I stared into her eyes, I wondered if this was my fault.
When our dad died I was always gone, off on my own.
Just hiding out alone.
I couldnt be around anyone.
I didnt trust myself to be.
You did whatever it took to not let it beat you.
You fought dirty against grief, period.
Anna didnt love Wyatt.
She loved that hed been there for her during the worst time in her life.
Anna pulled my sleeve up before I could stop her.
Is that a cuff?
I tugged it back down.
Cant I wear jewels?
Its called jewelry, for one.
And you cant hate it your whole life and suddenly start liking it.
I dont hate jewelry.
I just didnt like having anything on me that didnt have a reason to be there.
You dont even wear belts.
Belts and bracelets shared a lot of DNA, in my view.
Id avoided them up until recently.
In the Army, belts were a must.
Anna suddenly looked like shed won the state lottery.
You did, didnt you?
In general we Blake twins were pretty screwed up when it came to relationships.
Anna stayed in a bad one.
I avoided them completely.
Easy there, Banana.
Its called an XT3 Band.
It stands for Experimental Therapy Band, third generation.
Highly classified so thats all I can tell you.
I said all this, but I still had no idea what the cuff really was.
Maybe I was right?
Seriously, whats her name?
You know how I feel about this.
If I wanted a commitment, Id get a dog.
She reached for a black pillow decorated with a big sparkly skull and hugged it.
I made a face, because who the hell wanted to be a romantic?
Then I couldnt look past the skull pillow.
Tell me something, sis.
Why do we have to make skulls cute?
Some things shouldnt be messed with.
Guns, for example.
They should just stay functional.
She rolled her eyes.
If I had a bedazzled toilet, Id love it and so would you.
Dont even have a go at deny it.
Youd love a fancy can.
I did deny it, which led to a healthy debate.
Anna stopped in midsentence and vaulted off the bed.
Douchebag had just arrived.
Hey, Pooh Bear, I heard him drawl in the living room.
All pet names were inherently ridiculous but that one took first place.
Honestly, Ive been better, Anna replied.
I know, Wyatt murmured.
But Im better now that Im with you.
Ive missed you, Pooh.
I grabbed the sparkly skull pillow and dug my fingers into it.Ignore, Blake.
Ignore.I dont know if I can do this again, Wy.
How am I supposed to believe you really want to be with me?
Or that youll stay with me this time?
Youre not, Anna.
Well just take it one day at a time.
You know I never stopped caring about you.
He lowered his voice.
Anna, the others girls were nothing to me.
They didnt mean anything.
Not like you do.
Did he really just say that?
I flew off the bed.
Stop right there, Anna said, the instant I crossed the door.
I did what she said and leaned against the doorjamb.
I couldnt even fight it.
This was about my sister.
My self- control was under siege.
Wyatt gaped at me, taking a half step back.
Yourbrotheris here, Anna?
I thought he was hurt.
Sorry to disappoint, jackass.
Well, that came out.
But I didnt care.
Wyatt might have been good to Anna in the past but he was taking advantage of that.
I told you to stay out of this, Gideon, Anna said.
Stay out of thisplease.
Wyatt pushed a hand through his preppy hair.
As a general rule, I didnt like guys who styled their hair like they just woke up.
Messiness should never be a goal.
It should be a consequence.
I dont think this is going to work.
How are we supposed to talk with him around?
I didnt know he was coming down here, Wyatt.
Was she actually apologizing tohim?
Youre not sorry, Anna.
You are pissed off.
Anna shook her head like she was shuffling her thoughts.
Youve been messing around with other girls for the past month and youre mad thatmy brotheris here?
Now, that was more like it.
Wyatt frowned, clearly surprised by the pushback.
I thought we were trying to fi x things, Pooh Bear.
Hes going to interfere with that.
Im just standing here.
Hes already doing it.
Anna, I thought you wanted to be with me.
Maybe I was wrong.
What a load of guilt- tripping crap.
Dont stand for it, Anna.
This was a mistake, Wyatt.
She opened the apartment door.
I think you should go.
Wyatt stepped toward her, turning his back to me.
I came here because I want you back in my life, he said in a hushed voice.
But were never going to figure this out if youre going to be irrational.
That sounded good to me.Let it rip, sis.
Anna slapped him across the cheek.
Wyatts head whipped to the side.
For a few seconds, no one breathed.
We all just stood there, hearing that fleshy echo, until Anna said, Leave,
Wyatt.
He shot me an accusatory glare, like he suspected I was behind Annas actions.
I was less suspicious.
In fact I was pretty sure Id influenced Annas behavior.
Somehow, Id focused my anger on her and propelled her through the entire thing.
But how was that evenpossible?
After Wyatt left, Anna fell back against the door.
What did I just do?
You took care of business.
You dont need that moron in your life, sis.
You did the right thing.
She looked at her hand like it wasnt part of her.
You were nicer than I wouldve been.
Anna shook her head, her eyes welling up.
That doesnt help, Gideon.
Then she darted past me into her room and slammed the door.
I reached for the handle just as the lock clicked.
Come on, Anna.
Its his loss, sis.
Id succeeded in making her more upset.
Behind me, I heard the quiet scuff of keys as someone entered the apartment.
That had to be Annas roommate, Taylor.
