Worth the Effort

"You ready?" asked Casey.

"As I'll ever be," said Morgan. "My stomach is full of butterflies, but I guess I'll survive."

She looked around the store, pleased with the setup. They'd cleared out part of the game room and set up chairs, and a table for Morgan to sign copies of the book. There was a screen to project some pages from the book, since as a graphic novel, a typical book reading wouldn't quite work. Morgan also planned to show some of her draft artwork after Jenna had suggested it.

Still concerned about security, she and Casey had everyone on staff in to help look for potential trouble. Vincent and Astrid had also volunteered to help, which would free the staff up for non-signing business. Shane said he'd help as well, and that Evan would help if he came.

The door chimed and she looked up, happy to see Shane come in. He crossed the store and gave her a hug and a kiss that she sorely needed.

"Hey, you," he said. "Hi Casey. How's everything going?"

"Hey, Shane. So far, we're okay. Morgan's not panicking yet, so that's good."

He looked at Morgan. "You're going to panic?"

She made a strangled noise. "No. I'm trying not to. I'm nervous. Maybe it's stage fright." She turned to Casey. "What if I go in the back and we do this virtually? If I don't have to see everyone's face, I can pretend it's all good news."

Casey turned a wry face to Shane. "Can you believe this?"

"Are you okay?" Shane asked Morgan. "You didn't seem this worried last time we talked."

"I wasn't." She sighed. "It's just that now it's actually here. It wasn't so bad when the critics were faceless. Now they'll be sitting within throwing distance of me."

"I really think you don't need to worry so much," he said with a smile. "Your book is terrific, and I haven't seen a single rotten vegetable since I got here."

"I keep telling her," said Casey, "fake it 'til you make it. Go out there, make like they fucking love your book and you know it, and it'll be great."

"Okay." Morgan laughed, but was still nervous. "Okay. I'll try."

The door chimed again and to Morgan was astonished when Brianna walked in. She tensed, but she noticed Brianna didn't look herself. Her sister appeared tired, with circles under her eyes and her hair in a messy ponytail.

"Hi, Brianna," said Morgan tentatively. "You okay?"

"I'm not, and it's your fault," Brianna said, but with no heat behind the words.

"Hello, Brianna," said Shane.

"Hi," she said, but didn't look at him.

"Brianna, seriously, are you all right?" Morgan was starting to worry.

"No, I'm not." Brianna bit her lip and sniffled. "I want to talk to you."

"Now's not a great time," Shane began, but Morgan stopped him with a hand on his arm. She appreciated the thought, but she didn't need him to protect her all the time.

"Of course it's not," said Brianna. "I should have known. Never mind." She turned as though to leave.

"Okay, stop," Morgan said firmly. "I have some time. Come with me to the back room." She patted Shane's hand. "Thank you, but it's all good. Come on, Brianna." Morgan walked to the breakroom, not looking back.

Brianna followed, and stepped in as Morgan held the door open.

"Now, what's going on?" Morgan asked, indicating they should sit.

"My life's falling apart, that's all, and it's your fault. You started it," said Brianna with a half-hearted glare.

"I really don't think so."

"You did, first with that fight in front of everyone at Evan's parents' house, and then at Mom and Dad's. You got everyone on your side, just like you always do, and now—now it's just all gone." Brianna, to Morgan's astonishment, began to cry.

"What? Wait—what are you—here." Morgan handed her sister a box of tissues. She let Brianna go for a few minutes because she was taken aback; she'd hadn't seen Brianna cry since they were children. In her darker moments, she'd wondered if her sister even could.

She bought herself a little more time by finding a bottle of water and handing it to Brianna. After Brianna took a sip, Morgan said, "Look, can you please start at the beginning? I really don't understand."

"The beginning? I don't even know anymore. I just know that Evan called off the wedding, and it's—"

"All my fault, yes, I know. I'm sorry Evan called things off, but I didn't have anything to do with that."

"You didn't even call or text to tell me," Brianna said. "An expression of sympathy might have been nice."

"I didn't think you wanted to hear from me," said Morgan. "Why did he call off the wedding?"

"You mean you don't know?" Brianna's anger seemed to be fading; she sounded dull.

"I don't. I mean, Shane told me it was off, but that's all I know."

"He said it was because of you."

Morgan cocked her head. "I know you want to blame me, but I seriously doubt that. Come on, Brianna. Be honest. What did he really say?"

"He said he wasn't sure he could—he could be with someone who treated you like I did." Brianna took another tissue. "I told you it was because of you." She was quiet for a minute. "Are you—are you seeing Evan?"

Morgan stared at her sister and then sputtered before she got herself under control. "What? Are you serious? Of course I'm not. I'm seeing Shane. You know that."

"I just need it to make some sense," said Brianna. "It's like, we were fine, and then we weren't. If he was seeing you, or someone else, then at least I'd know what was going on, at least there'd be—"

"Someone to blame," Morgan finished.

"Yes." Brianna stared at the floor.

"Look, Bri, I don't know quite what to say." Morgan couldn't remember the last time she'd used her sister's nickname. It had felt too intimate once their relationship had cooled. "I really, really am sorry. I'll cut you some slack because I know you're upset, but I am not seeing Evan, and I've never wanted to. I didn't know Evan was going to call off the wedding, and I didn't tell him to."

"It's not just him," said Brianna. "Everyone else. Katelyn and Dev told me I was mean to you at the wedding meeting."

"Well, you were," said Morgan, "but it wasn't just me. I don't mean to pile on, but you've been mean to a lot of people lately."

"Thanks." Brianna blew her nose.

"But he didn't break up with you, right?"

"No, but I don't know if it's worse this way." Brianna dabbed at her eyes with the tissue. "Dammit, I didn't want to cry."

"You can cry if you want. No one will judge you here. That's not what we're about."

"Ha, right." Brianna scoffed. "You do nothing but judge me."

"Brianna, out of the two of us, who criticizes the other's choice of job, hairstyle, and clothing?"

"Well, if you'd—"

"Yes, yes." Morgan sighed. "If I'd meet your standards, you wouldn't have to say anything. But you know what? I don't have to meet your standards, I only have to meet mine, and you can actually choose not to say anything."

There was a knock and Casey poked her head in. "Two things. Jenna's here, and we need to get going soon."

"Thanks, Case. Jenna can come in, and I think I need a few more minutes."

"Sure." Casey stepped aside and Jenna came in and sat at one of the chairs.

"Hey," Jenna said after Casey left. "Brianna, are you all right?"

Brianna shrugged.

Jenna turned to Morgan. "What's up?"

"Evan called off the wedding, and Brianna's upset. She came here because she said it was my fault, but I think she's realizing it isn't."

"Just go, Morgan. Whatever it is you have planned, just go do it," said Brianna.

"It can wait a minute, Bri. This is important."

"I'm really sorry, Brianna," said Jenna.

"Why? It's what you wanted, both of you."

Morgan and Jenna exchanged confused looks. Brianna's words were typical of what they expected, but the anger wasn't there. Brianna sounded like she was reading off a script.

"That's not true, Brianna, and you know it," said Jenna, but her voice was gentle. "What we wanted, or at least what I wanted, was for you to respect me a little. To appreciate what people were doing for you. And you didn't. You were mean."

"Because I wanted a nice wedding?" Brianna covered her eyes with a tissue.

"Of course not," said Jenna. "Because of the way you treated people. You acted like you were entitled to all of this, and you're not."

Morgan wondered if people had a daily surprise quota, because with Jenna talking like this, Morgan was sure hers had been exceeded.

"I'm not entitled," Brianna protested. "Not any more than anyone else. I just wanted a really nice wedding."

"And we want you to have one," said Morgan. "We love you, Brianna. You're our sister, we want you to be happy. But you cannot order people around, or manipulate them, and insist on how they spend their money and time. People have limits."

"Morgan's right," said Jenna. "I didn't want to skip your bachelorette party, but I just couldn't go. That was over my limit. I was willing to do other things, but they weren't good enough for you, and honestly, Brianna, I'm tired of you thinking I'm not good enough."

"I don't think that." Brianna was startled.

"Maybe not, but you've said so," said Morgan. "You've said it almost those words, to both of us. Tell me, Brianna, why would I go to the wedding of someone who dislikes me so much?"

"But I don't. I don't." Brianna looked at each of them. "I can't believe I have to say this. I'm jealous of you guys. You get what you want. You have your jobs and everyone thinks it's so great. I work really hard, sometimes twelve-hour days, and everyone thinks I just sit and stare at a monitor all day, or scroll through Twitter or TikTok. My company does good work for people."

"I know it does. We work hard, too, Brianna." Morgan held up a hand. "I'm not trying to get into a game of one-upmanship; there's nothing to be jealous about. Mom and Dad are proud of you, I know they are. Them being proud of us doesn't make them less proud of you."

"Right. There's enough to go around," said Jenna. She touched Brianna's hand. "It's not zero-sum, you know."

"I don't—I don't know what—" Brianna sank back on the couch. "God, I'm so exhausted."

"Look, why don't you stay here for a while," said Morgan. "I have to go out for the book signing. You can go home when you're ready, or if you want, come to my place after I'm done."

"Really?" Brianna stared at her. "You've never invited me to your apartment."

"I never thought you'd want to come."

"Okay," said Brianna. Her eyes watered a little. "It's lonely going back to my place with Evan . . . "

"I understand." On impulse, Morgan gave Brianna a hug. "It's up to you. You can come back with me and we can talk more, if you want. Or if you just want a place to crash, that's fine too."

Morgan opened the door to find Shane about to knock. He glanced around at the women, then came back to her. "You ready? The natives are getting restless."

"Stop it." Morgan poked him in the chest. "You're making me nervous."

"You're nervous?" asked Brianna. "I didn't think you ever got nervous."

Morgan shrugged. "I do. Guess I'll just pretend I'm not." She took a deep breath. "Okay, let's go before I run out the back."

Shane laughed and put an arm around her shoulders and dropped a kiss on her head. She snuggled into him for just a second, before stepping out into the store area. Morgan nodded to Casey, who was at the signing table with a microphone.

"All right, everyone, here we go. I am so happy to introduce the author of

Angles of the Worlds

, and my best friend, Morgan Blake."

There was a good number of people, Morgan noticed as she walked up to the table. She had a moment of panic when she saw the cards she'd prepared with notes weren't on the table, but relaxed when Casey handed them to her.

"Thank you all so much for coming," she said into the microphone. "I spent a lot of time writing and drawing this, and I'm excited to share it with all of you. Petrified, as well, but mostly excited." People laughed. "So, let me tell you a bit of what I was thinking, and share some drawings, and then we'll have some questions."

Jenna waved from her seat in the second row. Morgan tapped her cards on the table, took a breath, and began.

x-x-x-x-x-x

"She doesn't seem nervous."

Shane glanced down and saw Brianna standing next to him. Her eyes were red and she looked tired. She didn't look at him, but watched as Morgan described her writing and projected drafts of drawings and writings onto a screen they'd set up in front of the main window.

"I think she may be less nervous now," he said, "but she's been pretty worried for the last few days."

"I never pictured her as nervous," said Brianna. "Morgan always seemed confident, sure of herself. She would decide what she wanted and then go get it."

Shane nodded. "I can see that. She can certainly be focused when she wants."

"Shane, do you think I'm an awful person?"

Startled, he glanced at her, but Brianna was still watching Morgan. "I—I don't know, Brianna. I don't know you very well."

"I think maybe I am." She sighed. "I have had everything pulled out from under me, and I wanted to blame Morgan for it. It always seemed like she got everything she wanted, and I had to fight for it."

"I have a feeling she would see it differently," he said. It was a weird conversation, and he didn't want to upset Brianna, but he wasn't going to lie.

"You think so?"

"I do." He nodded. "Morgan's told me a bit about you all growing up, and I know everyone has their biases and all, but I think it's safe to say she felt that you—got your way more often than not."

"Oh. I want to say that's just siblings," she said. "But if I think about it, I mean really be honest with myself, then Morgan is probably right, about a lot of it anyway."

"She might be," he agreed. "I've noticed she can be right about a lot of things. She's good with people, reads them fairly well I think."

"You know, when she got her first tattoo, the flower on her arm, I was so upset," Brianna said. "And then I was upset because our parents weren't. I mean, I know lots of people get tattoos, but I guess since I thought I didn't want one, she wouldn't. Then everyone thought it was so cool and I was just—mad. I don't know why."

"I think we all project sometimes," said Shane. "We want people to like us, but also to be like us in a lot of ways."

"I think you're right," said Brianna.

They were silent for a minute, listening to Morgan describe a scene, and then Shane said, "I'm sorry about the wedding, Brianna."

"Thanks. Do you, um, do you know how Evan's doing?" She swallowed and closed her eyes for a moment. "Do you think he'd talk to me?"

"You can find out." Shane nodded at the door. "He's here."

"What? Oh, my god. I look awful."

Shane mostly hid his laugh. "For what it's worth, you look fine."

"No, I can't—ugh, where's Jenna?" Brianna ran back to the breakroom before Evan could reach them.

Shane turned his attention back to Morgan, nodding hello to Evan as his friend walked over. He chuckled when he saw Jenna check her phone, then hurry back to the breakroom.

"Hey." Evan looked apprehensive. "What's going on? Why is Brianna here?"

"She came to yell at Morgan about things."

"Why? It's not Morgan's fault."

"I think Brianna knows that now, but her first instinct was to blame Morgan."

"See?" Evan shook his head glumly. "That's just isn't right."

"It isn't," Shane agreed, "and like I said, I think she knows that now. I probably shouldn't say anything, but she's in the back room with Jenna. Saw you coming."

"And what? Now she's afraid of me?"

"No, doofus." Shane rolled his eyes. "She wanted to freshen up. It was a classic 'she didn't want you to see her looking that way' situation."

"Oh." Evan was nonplussed. "Oh. Now what?"

"Now I think you should go talk to her," said Shane. "You can probably talk in the back room, I don't think anyone will go in."

"Do you need any help? Is everything okay, security-wise?"

"Looks quiet. I was going to go ask Sharon if there was anything on the cameras. So far, though, it's smooth sailing."

Evan chuckled. "You've really gotten to know everyone here. Morgan should hire you when people go on vacation."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess so. I hadn't thought about it." Shane realized Evan was right. With all the time he'd been spending at The Neutral Zone, he'd met the entire staff and even a few of the delivery drivers. They weren't exactly friends, he supposed, but it was nice to know he could stop in and chat with someone even if Morgan wasn't there.

"Okay, then," said Evan. "I guess I'll go talk to Brianna."

Shane clapped him on the shoulder. "Good idea. Take a breath, though. You look like you might pass out."

Evan gave him a dour look and walked back to the breakroom. Shane watched him knock, and then Jenna came out as Evan went in.

"What's the word?" Shane asked her.

"Well, I can't guarantee they'll fix things, but I really think Brianna has learned a lesson. I don't think she realized how much Evan meant to her until now." Jenna looked up with a hopeful smile. "I hope they work it out. I think he's good for her. Excuse me, I'm going to go back to my seat."

"Sure. I'm going to check with Sharon."

Jenna managed to reclaim her seat and he saw her give Morgan a discreet thumbs up.

Smiling himself, Shane went over to Sharon at the counter. "Hey, Sharon. Everything okay?" he asked.

Sharon nodded, her dark ponytail bobbing with her. She gestured at the monitors. "So far so good, from what I can tell." There wasn't much activity. A few people walked by the store, not even looking over. The alley behind the store was empty too.

"Good. I was worried," he admitted.

"Oh, god, me too," said Sharon. "I don't know if Morgan told you, but we had some really awful stuff on social media today. Someone even threatened to dox her."

"What? Why?" He shook his head. "Never mind. Dumb question." But it made him worry. Bad enough she had to worry about assholes making trouble at the store, he didn't want her to have to worry about it at home if someone published her address online.

"How's business today?" he asked.

"Good," said Sharon. "We sold a lot of copies of Morgan's book, and there have been a lot of people getting this and that while they're here." She grinned. "How about you? Can we start you on a series?"

"I wouldn't even know where to start," he said, "but maybe next time."

He returned to the game room and leaned against the doorway as Morgan moved to the question and answer section.

"Okay, thanks for all your attention so far. Let's see if I can keep it a little longer," Morgan said. "Yes?" She nodded at a guy three rows back.

"Yeah, so I wondered, how many dykes does it take to run a comic book store?" he asked, arms crossed and a nasty grin on his face.

"Please, leave, sir. Thank you." Morgan kept her face impassive, but Shane knew it was an effort. "Someone else?"

A woman raised her hand, but the first guy stood up and Shane had a bad feeling.

"Hey, it's a Q&A, right? I asked a question. Where's my answer?"

"Sir, I asked you to leave," Morgan said, her voice rising slightly.

"I don't have to leave, I have a right—"

Casey grabbed the microphone. "Hey, fuckface. Time to leave. This is a Q&A session with an author, not a harassment session for assholes. Get out."

Shane made his way over to the guy, who looked furious after Casey's colorful statement. He wished she'd been a bit more diplomatic, but by now he knew Casey well enough to know that "diplomatic" wasn't exactly in her wheelhouse at the best of times.

"Hey, man," said Shane. "Let's not have trouble. Come on."

"Who the fuck are you?"

"I'm the one asking you politely to leave," said Shane, "before we call the cops." He saw that Vincent had his phone out, as Astrid and Casey had theirs.