CHAPTER TWELVE: TWENTY-SIX QUESTIONS
June 5th, 2020
Rowan was seconds from falling asleep before he heard his phone ring. He almost didn't want to answer, because who the hell would be calling him at almost one o'clock in the morning, though his curiosity sparked at the same time. He opened his eyes wider to view his phone screen, which displayed the letters LP across the caller ID.
Confusion filled Rowan's thoughts. He wondered why Olivia Perry was calling him -- especially at almost 1AM.
"Hello?" he hesitated before answering, considering Avery was in a deep sleep next to him at her apartment.
"Um, hi Rowan." Liv sounded nervous. As he heard Gemma's younger sister's voice over the line, he began to wonder why Olivia kept his number all these years. He could be asking himself the same thing, though, as his nickname for Olivia lit up across his phone screen.
"Why are you calling me, Liv?" he questioned. There had to be an exact reason why she was calling, because why else would she?
"Well," Olivia paused. Rowan heard groaning over the line, which added to his confusion more. "Do you remember that time you and Gemma were at that party - "
Liv didn't even need to finish her sentence, for the exact memory to resurface in Rowan's brain. He remembered holding a crying, panicked Gemma in his arms, stroking her hair and kissing all over her face to calm her down. She fell asleep with her head in his lap as they watched her favorite shows.
"I remember," Rowan gulped, not really knowing what to do with this newfound information of Gemma getting roofied, again.
"She's uh - freaking out and Marcie and I don't know what to do," Olivia's voice was thick with stress. Rowan couldn't help but feel bad for the sixteen-year-old, given this was the second time she was seeing her older sister in such a bad state. She was only fourteen the last time it happened. Liv was scared, and Rowan could hear it in her voice. "So I was wondering," she continued, "if you could come here?"
Rowan was slightly taken back by Liv's question. Even though he could easily imagine the state Gemma was in, it wasn't his place to be the one to calm her down. He was with Avery, and jumping to his ex girlfriend's rescue wasn't something he wanted to have to tell his fiancé about the next morning.
"I can't, Liv. And you know that." He sighed. Before Liv could respond, he could hear Gemma let out a sob over the line. Her frightened voice kept repeating what's happening to me? To which Marcie would respond, you're okay Gemma. You are safe.
Olivia let out a quiet cry. Rowan felt his heart breaking as he pictured the scene happening behind the phone call.
"Rowan, please." Liv was crying now.
"Liv - " Rowan mumbled. He realized he could be speaking quieter as Avery tossed and turned in her sleep. "I'm with Avery. I can't be there for Gemma this time."
"Please," Liv begged again. She sounded desperate. She was desperate. "Nothing that we're doing is working. We put her favorite shows on. We've been constantly telling her that she's okay. But nothing is working. She's freaking out."
"Olivia - "
"Rowan, I wouldn't ask if it wasn't serious. Please."
Rowan sighed. His eyes drifted over towards Avery, who was fast asleep. Avery was a deep sleeper. She never woke up during the night, unless there were severe thunderstorms. And as far as Rowan knew, there weren't supposed to be severe thunderstorms tonight. He glanced at the time. It was now 1:02AM.
Although he knew it wasn't a good idea, he felt sorry for a crying Olivia on the opposite side of the call.
"Okay," he gave in. "I'll be there soon. But I'm not staying long."
â¥â¥â¥
Somehow in the span of ten minutes, Gemma's body stopped violently shaking. She was, however, still violently sobbing. No matter what Marcie or Olivia did, they could not get her to stop crying. Just as Olivia was starting another episode of Bob's Burgers; one of Gemma's comfort shows, the one other person who could come to Gemma's rescue walked into the room.
"Thank you for coming," Olivia attempted to smile at Rowan as he walked into the room.
"What can you do that we haven't already done?" Marcie asked with attitude. She was no longer drunk at this point, considering her entire demeanor was focused on helping her best friend.
"I'm not sure, honestly," Rowan admitted. "Who knows if this will even work."
Rowan sat beside Gemma's bed, which her sweaty body was almost falling off of. He placed his hand on top of hers, surprised to feel how warm she was.
"Gemma," he spoke quietly, hoping to not startle her. "Gems," he said again when she didn't respond.
"Rowan?" Gemma blinked, and blinked, and blinked, until Rowan's face came into view. She wondered if she was dreaming -- because why would Rowan Taylor be in Gemma's bedroom?
"How are you feeling, Gems?"
Her heartbeat lowered as she felt Rowan's hand on hers. She squeezed his hand, feeling her breathing steady as he spoke to her using her nickname.
"What's going on, Rowan?" The room was still moving in strange motions, but Gemma was finding herself feeling better as Liv and Marcie stood clearer in her vision. Before, she could only hear their voices, but couldn't find them in the space she was trapped in.
"You were roofied, Gemma." Rowan responded, honestly. He thought that maybe hearing the truth, the full truth, would help Gemma escape the bad trip she was experiencing.
"Oh," Gemma closed her eyes, listening as her organs moved in sync with the sounds coming from her laptop.
"You guys good from here?" Liv asked, followed by a loud noise erupting from her stomach. "I'm starving."
"Yeah," Marcie nodded. "You good, Rowan? I'm gonna go with Liv."
Rowan looked back and forth between Gemma's best friend and sister. He wasn't sure how he felt being alone with Gemma, but then again, the two would only be just downstairs. And at this point, it did not seem as if their presence was doing much in helping Gemma calm down. It wasn't until Rowan showed up, that Gemma truly started coming down from her high.
"I guess?" his voice sounded more like a question, one that neither Olivia nor Marcie answered. Before he could ask at least one of them to stay, the two of them exited the room and seconds later, their footsteps were heard trailing down the stairs.
"Rowan," Gemma mumbled, opening her eyes and locking eyes with the first man she ever loved. In that moment, all Gemma could think of was Rowan being there in her time of need. She seemed to completely forget that Avery existed in Rowan's life, as his fiancé, as she laced her fingers through his.
Rowan gulped. He wanted to stop Gemma -- though he convinced himself that she was just high and did not know what she was doing. She was holding his hand to make herself feel better, and Rowan figured he could not deprive her of that, especially in a time like this.
"Are you okay, Gemma?"
"I think so," she yawned. She was tired, but knew her body would not let her sleep anytime soon. "I think I'm high."
"You are," Rowan chuckled.
"Of all things that could make me feel better," Gemma locked eyes with Rowan. He was the only thing in the room that she could see. "Why you?"
Rowan sighed. He asked himself the same question, though he already knew the answer. "Because I was with you the last time this happened to you."
"Oh. Yeah." The memories resurfaced in Gemma's brain. She was at a frat party with Rowan, and accidentally picked up a drink that was not hers. But how was she supposed to know? All the drinks looked the same. The vodka mixed drink glided down her throat but before she knew it, her body broke into a fit of sweat and she couldn't stop crying. Rowan took her home and stayed with her all night. They watched her favorite shows. They talked. They kissed. From what she could remember, she left multiple hickey's on Rowan's neck and chest. He played with her hair and she fell asleep with her head in his lap. She was in love, and so was he.
As the memories of that night began to fade, reality began to catch up.
"What about Avery?" Gemma asked. "Does she know you're here?"
"No," Rowan admitted. "But she was asleep. She'll never know I was gone."
"Okay," Gemma yawned, noticing their entwined hands. As pieces of her moral compass were coming back to her, she knew it was wrong to be holding Rowan's hand. But she couldn't let go, at least that's what she was trying to convince herself. So she continued holding it, acting as if she did not notice the strange feelings she was gaining from holding his hand. It had to be the high, she told herself. It had to be.
"Wanna play twenty-six questions?" Gemma asked and immediately regretted it. Being on drugs was pushing her to do things she shouldn't be doing, though she was shocked to hear Rowan say yes.
It didn't feel right saying yes to playing the game that the two played when they first became friends, but Rowan's brain did not seem to be connected to his mouth when he agreed. Closure. Rowan thought, trying to justify it. This will give me closure. The game's rules were simple: each player asked twenty-six questions, though each question had to start with the letters of the alphabet. If Gemma's first question started with A, Rowan's first question had to start with B.
"Avery," Gemma began. "How did you meet?"
Starting off personal, it seemed.
"We matched on Tinder." Rowan answered. He figured he may as well be as honest as possible. He wasn't sure how much of this conversation Gemma would even remember. "Best part about New York?"
"Making films. Doing what I love."
Rowan wasn't sure why, but Gemma's answer hit him harder than it should have. He ignored these feelings though, as he anticipated the next question.
"Can you believe we're graduated?"
"Still hasn't hit me," Rowan half smiled. "I'll be starting my career in physical therapy in August."
"That's amazing," Gemma smiled, finding herself squeezing Rowan's hand. She knew that working in physical therapy and helping those in need was always one of Rowan's passions.
At this point in the night and based on how much Gemma was yawning, Rowan was not sure if Gemma would even remember playing twenty-six questions. So, he decided to ask a personal question, knowing it might help him gain the closure he'd been wanting since he first laid eyes on Gemma again that day at Clementine's.
"Did you ever miss me when you were in New York?"
Gemma, despite her altered state of mind, was surprised to hear Rowan ask such a personal question. She had nothing to lose though, so figured she may as well answer honestly.
"I did," she paused. "I'm sorry - " Gemma apologized for the first time ever, which Rowan was not expecting. His eyes widened as she broke the eye contact they'd been holding for the last few minutes. "For everything I said to you that night. I know it was fucked up."
"Yeah," Rowan didn't know what else to say. "It was. But it's okay. It's in the past."
The game continued and after awhile, the personal questions subsided and instead, Row and Gems found themselves catching up after two years. Gemma asked about Wes, who was in college studying business management. Rowan asked about Gemma's family: how her dad's business is doing, how her mother's health problems were, and more. By the time they got to the letter Y, at least an hour had passed. Marcie and Olivia never came back but after awhile, both Gemma and Rowan forgot about them as they were just focused on each other.
It was Gemma's turn to ask a question by the time the letter Y came up in the alphabet, which was also nearing the end of the game. Gemma wanted to ask you know how Avery went ghost on me and was a terrible friend to me, right? So how the hell could you be engaged to someone so terrible? but she didn't. It was harsh, and a small part of Gemma wondered if Avery truly changed over the years, which could be why Rowan fell in love with her. So she refrained from asking and said instead, "You should probably get back to your fiancé."
"You're right," Rowan nodded, looking at the time on his phone which read 2:04AM. "I hope you're feeling better, Gems."
"I am," Gemma smiled. She finally broke her fingers free from Rowan's, locking eyes with him as she did. "Thank you for being here."
"Anytime," Rowan stood up awkwardly, not knowing what else to say. "Don't get roofied again."
"I'll try not to."
Rowan wasn't sure if he should hug Gemma before leaving. It felt like the right thing to do, but he didn't. He had Avery sleeping back at her apartment, who had no idea he was gone. He felt slightly guilty for leaving, and knew the right thing to do was get back there, now.
"Goodnight, Gemma." Rowan said as he started walking towards the door.
"Goodnight, Rowan." Gemma mumbled and closed her eyes. She was asleep within minutes, and she didn't question the tingling feelings in her stomach as he pulled the door shut.
As Rowan walked into the living room, he noticed Marcie and Olivia passed out on the couches. He walked out, locking the front door to the Perry household since this was something he remembered that they always forgot to do at night.
As he unlocked his car, ready to get back to his sleeping fiancé, Rowan finally felt as if he got the closure he'd been hoping for.
â¥â¥â¥