Free Twins by Francine Pascal Page A

about?” he finally choked out.
    â€œTom, do you understand what’s been happening here? Do you understand how cruel you’ve been to your daughter for the last five years?”
    His words made Tom’s heart shrivel. His feet clenched with tension. He was suddenly stuck in an icy tug-of-war between unbearable shame and irrepressible anger. He didn’t know whether to agree and beg for George’s forgiveness or rip his ignorant, short-sighted eyes out. But he was certainly leaning toward the latter.
    â€œYou know how tortured I’ve been, leaving her all this time,” Tom uttered, feeling rage simmering in his chest and working its way up his neck. “You
know
it. Why would you want to rub that in my face, George? Why would you want to do that?”
    â€œI just think Loki’s got you rattled,” George mumbled. “And it’s affected your judgment.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œOpen your
eyes.”
George leaned in closer to him. “What do you really know about this Natasha and her daughter? I don’t care how good her reputation is, and I don’t care who her father’s great-grandmother was. Is this really the best time to trust a stranger with your daughter? Is this the best time to leave Gaia alone in a totally alien environment? You’re being callous and foolish, and Gaia’s going to be the one paying for it.”
    â€œI don’t have time to listen to this,” Tom breathed. “You tell me what the hell else I’m supposed to do.”
    â€œYou’re supposed to leave her with someone you trust!” George shouted. “You’re supposed to leave her with
me,
Tom.”
    Tom stared at him. “Is that what this is all about?” he squawked.
    â€œI was practically the girl’s father for a year,” George shot back. “I did everything I could for her—”
    â€œAnd so have I,” Tom said. “You tell me, George, should I trust Natasha more or less than you trusted Ella?”
    Once the statement was made, Tom knew he’d officially crossed an unforgivable line. He knew the kind of guilt George must have felt for loving and trusting Ella—who had not only turned out to be a spy for Loki, buthad actually attempted to kill Gaia in cold blood. It was nothing less than cruel to rub that fact in his face. But Tom hadn’t said it to be cruel. He’d only said it out of his own dire obsessive need to justify his choices. Especially after George had laid into them with such blunt disapproval. He needed George to recognize and confirm what an impossible task it was to protect Gaia and to make choices that would help her rather than harm her.
    George’s expression turned gravely serious. His anger no longer even seemed to be the issue. “What happened with Ella should be a lesson to you, Tom,” he said. “You’re making a terrible mistake—”
    â€œI have to go,” Tom interrupted, standing up. George had his own issues to deal with, whatever they might be, and he’d picked the absolute wrong moment to challenge Tom’s fathering. It was out of line, and Tom had heard enough. He walked to the door.
    â€œI’m
her father, George. She only needs one.”

The Phantom Zone
    IT DIDN’T SEEM QUITE AS PATHETIC until he’d seen himself in the mirror. But Ed just happened to catch a glimpse of himself as he pressed down on theliquefy button. Now he was frozen in place, staring at his own sunken eyes as the loud whir of the blender echoed through the kitchen.
    Milk shakes.
    Gaia was gone, and Ed was churning out black-and-white milk shakes. It was time for a much needed sanity status check. Unfortunately, he looked like a zombie. There was no discernable expression on his face. The sacks under his eyes had turned a vicious shade of eggplant, while the eyes themselves were a crackled road map of little pink highways and access roads-owing to that