Twinsequences (A Twisted Twin Series) (22 page)

He
 looked
 even
 sadder.
 “I
 get
 it.
 I
 mean,
 I
 don’t
 like
 it,
 but
 I
 get
 it.”
 
He
 just
 held
 me
 for
 the
 longest
 time,
 there
 in
 my
 bed,
 without
 saying
 another
 
word.
 Being
 in
 his
 arms
 made
 me
 feel
 like
 I
 wasn’t
 alone
 anymore.
 Part
 of
 me
 didn’t
 
want
 him
 to
 ever
 let
 go.
 
I
 wasn’t
 a
 fool.
 I
 knew
 he’d
 betrayed
 me,
 but
 the
 extent
 of
 his
 deception
 
wasn’t
 unforgivable.
 If
 Stosh
 was
 telling
 me
 the
 truth,
 and
 he
 did
 do
 all
 of
 that
 for
 a
 
chance
 to
 be
 with
 me,
 I
 couldn’t
 exactly
 hate
 him.
 It
 was
 almost
 like
 a
 desperate
 plea.
 
 
I
 got
 that
 he
 plotted
 with
 my
 sister,
 but
 he
 was
 there
 with
 me,
 just
 me.
 
Further
 into
 the
 night,
 we
 climbed
 under
 the
 covers
 and
 slept.
 As
 much
 as
 I
 
wanted
 to
 have
 hot
 magical
 sex
 with
 the
 man,
 we
 still
 needed
 rest
 to
 be
 able
 to
 
perform.
 
I
 had
 so
 much
 weighing
 on
 me,
 especially
 the
 fact
 that
 I
 hadn’t
 gone
 through
 
with
 the
 abortion.
 Now,
 I
 was
 the
 one
 keeping
 the
 secrets.
 
 
The
 decision
 that
 I’d
 made
 was
 life
 changing,
 but
 the
 most
 important
 part
 of
 
it
 was
 keeping
 my
 secret
 safe
 until
 I
 knew
 that
 Stosh
 could
 be
 trusted.
 I
 wasn’t
 going
 
to
 be
 naïve
 and
 let
 my
 guard
 down
 when
 it
 came
 to
 that.
 
The
 next
 morning,
 I
 woke
 to
 the
 smell
 of
 coffee.
 I
 stretched,
 went
 in
 the
 
bathroom
 to
 freshen
 up,
 and
 even
 made
 sure
 my
 hair
 was
 decent,
 before
 going
 out
 
to
 look
 for
 Stosh.
 I
 found
 him
 watching
 the
 sports
 channel.
 He
 had
 a
 cup
 of
 coffee
 in
 
one
 hand
 and
 an
 apple
 fritter
 in
 the
 other.
 
 
“Good
 morning,
 beautiful.”
 
I
 put
 my
 hands
 on
 my
 hips.
 “I
 bet
 you
 say
 that
 to
 all
 the
 girls.”
 
“Only
 the
 ones
 that
 put
 out.”
 He
 winked
 and
 took
 another
 bite
 of
 his
 fritter.
 
“This
 tastes
 so
 good.”
 He
 was
 making
 these
 faces
 like
 it
 was
 the
 best
 thing
 he’d
 ever
 
tasted.
 “Oh,
 sorry.
 Did
 you
 want
 one?”
 
I
 walked
 into
 the
 kitchen
 and
 found
 a
 box
 from
 a
 local
 bakery.
 Inside
 were
 
three
 more
 fritters.
 I
 peeked
 out
 past
 the
 breakfast
 bar
 and
 saw
 him
 smiling.
 “Are
 
you
 trying
 to
 earn
 brownie
 points?”
 
“Is
 it
 working?”
 
I
 grabbed
 one
 and
 took
 a
 bite,
 savoring
 the
 taste
 for
 a
 second.
 “Maybe.”
 
“Your
 coffee
 is
 in
 the
 microwave.
 I
 wasn’t
 sure
 how
 much
 beauty
 rest
 was
 
required
 to
 keep
 up
 that
 model
 like
 appearance.”
 
I
 picked
 up
 the
 roll
 of
 paper
 towels
 and
 tossed
 them
 at
 him.
 “I’ll
 have
 you
 
know
 that
 I
 look
 like
 this
 every
 day
 even
 without
 sleep!”
 
He
 just
 shook
 his
 head
 and
 laughed
 at
 me.
 “I
 bet
 you
 do!”
 
 
Once
 I
 had
 my
 coffee
 heated,
 I
 went
 and
 cuddled
 up
 next
 to
 Stosh.
 I
 wrapped
 
my
 arms
 around
 his
 upper
 body.
 “This
 is
 nice.”
 
“This
 is
 how
 it’s
 supposed
 to
 be.”
 
He
 picked
 up
 one
 of
 my
 hands
 and
 intertwined
 our
 fingers.
 
 
I
 liked
 seeing
 them
 bound
 together,
 like
 we
 were
 one,
 and
 nothing
 was
 ever
 
going
 to
 tear
 us
 apart.
 
At
 around
 ten
 in
 the
 morning,
 his
 phone
 started
 blowing
 up.
 He
 finally
 had
 to
 
put
 the
 thing
 on
 silent
 because
 we
 were
 tired
 of
 hearing
 it
 ring.
 “I’m
 sorry.”
 
I
 tried
 to
 smile.
 “It’s
 fine.
 I
 know
 this
 is
 part
 of
 the
 process.”
 
 
He
 kissed
 me
 again.
 “You’re
 worth
 it!”
 
I
 sat
 up.
 “Maybe
 you
 should
 answer
 it.
 They
 obviously
 aren’t
 going
 to
 stop.
 It
 
could
 be
 something
 important.
 He
 gave
 me
 a
 dirty
 look
 and
 picked
 up
 his
 phone.
 
“Hi,
 Mom.
 .
 .
 No!
 I’m
 not
 discussing
 that
 with
 you.
 .
 .
 I
 don’t
 care
 what
 she’s
 
says.
 .
 .It
 doesn’t
 matter
 where
 I
 am.
 .
 .Yes,
 I
 understand.
 .
 .
 I
 know
 what’s
 at
 stake
 
and
 I
 don’t
 care.
 I
 will
 explain
 later.
 Just
 know
 that
 I’m
 fine
 and
 I
 have
 my
 reasons.
 .
 .
 
Okay,
 goodbye!”
 
I
 didn’t
 want
 to
 ask
 what
 it
 was
 about.
 It
 was
 obvious.
 My
 sister
 had
 called
 his
 
parents.
 
He
 grabbed
 my
 hand
 and
 wrapped
 it
 around
 his
 own
 body.
 “Apparently,
 she’s
 
keeping
 tabs
 on
 me.
 I
 haven’t
 even
 heard
 from
 her
 and
 the
 day
 I
 leave
 town
 she’s
 
calling
 my
 parents.
 She’s
 like
 a
 fucking
 stalker.”
 
“I
 assume
 they’re
 mad?”
 
“They
 don’t
 understand.
 They
 think
 I’ve
 been
 unfaithful
 to
 a
 perfect
 wife.
 
They
 have
 no
 clue
 that
 she’s
 a
 monster,
 nobody
 does.”
 He
 shook
 his
 head.
 
“I
 do!
 That
 monster
 is
 doing
 her
 best
 to
 ruin
 my
 life.”
 
He
 rubbed
 my
 cheek.
 “Good
 thing
 your
 knight
 in
 shining
 armor
 is
 here
 to
 
save
 the
 day.”
 
“You’re
 not
 wearing
 any
 metal,”
 I
 teased.
 
“Keep
 joking
 and
 I
 won’t
 be
 wearing
 anything”
 It
 was
 a
 threat
 that
 I
 intended
 
to
 see
 through.
 
 
 
 
“I
 won’t
 fight
 you
 on
 that
 decision,
 you
 know.”
 
We
 both
 began
 to
 laugh.
 
Things
 got
 quiet
 for
 a
 little
 while,
 but
 the
 longer
 it
 was
 like
 that,
 the
 longer
 I
 
wondered
 what
 exactly
 his
 mother
 had
 said.
 I
 wanted
 to
 know
 if
 I
 was
 the
 whore
 
that
 Ivy
 had
 made
 me
 out
 to
 be.
 It
 crushed
 me
 thinking
 about
 those
 people
 hating
 
me
 for
 something
 that
 wasn’t
 even
 true.
 
“Stosh,
 do
 your
 parents
 hate
 me?”
 I
 lifted
 my
 head
 off
 of
 his
 chest
 and
 looked
 
right
 at
 him.
 
 
“They
 don’t
 know
 the
 truth,
 Will.
 It
 doesn’t
 matter
 what
 they
 think.
 When
 all
 
the
 truth
 comes
 out,
 they’ll
 love
 you
 as
 much
 as
 I
 do.”
 
His
 words
 were
 reassuring,
 but
 they
 didn’t
 make
 me
 feel
 any
 better.
 It
 was
 
hard
 to
 be
 hated
 by
 someone.
 It
 was
 harder
 to
 consider
 that
 one
 day,
 they
 could
 
possibly
 be
 my
 in-‐laws.
 I
 didn’t
 want
 that
 kind
 of
 animosity
 between
 us
 from
 the
 
start.
 
 
We
 didn’t
 have
 time
 to
 wait
 for
 Ivy
 to
 screw
 up.
 It
 was
 up
 to
 me
 to
 take
 her
 
down.
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter
 14
 
Twin
 Envy.
 
 
It
 hadn’t
 taken
 Ivy
 long
 to
 locate
 her
 estranged
 husband.
 She
 should
 have
 
known
 she
 could
 find
 him
 in
 my
 bed,
 where
 he
 belonged.
 I
 hadn’t
 pitched
 my
 plan
 to
 
Stosh,
 but
 after
 just
 one
 night
 with
 him,
 I
 knew
 his
 intentions
 were
 real.
 It
 wasn’t
 in
 
the
 way
 he
 was
 acting,
 or
 even
 treating
 me.
 Somehow,
 I
 just
 knew
 it.
 I
 could
 feel
 it
 
every
 time
 we
 touched.
 
 
It
 wasn’t
 until
 later
 that
 afternoon
 that
 I
 started
 getting
 the
 hateful
 messages.
 
He’s
 with
 you
 isn’t
 he?
 –
 I
 
Answer
 me,
 bitch!
 –
 I
 
He’s
 mine!
 Just
 remember
 that!
 He
 always
 comes
 running
 to
 me.
 –
 I
 
 
Each
 message
 made
 me
 more
 angry.
 I
 think
 Stosh
 knew
 it,
 because
 he
 
continued
 reassuring
 me
 that
 she
 was
 just
 blowing
 smoke.
 I
 wanted
 nothing
 more
 
than
 to
 believe
 him,
 but
 this
 was
 still
 a
 test.
 I
 had
 to
 be
 sure,
 before
 I
 could
 tell
 him
 
about
 my
 pregnancy.
 
 
The
 threats
 continued
 late
 into
 the
 night.
 The
 more
 my
 phone
 rang,
 the
 more
 
we
 ignored
 it.
 However,
 she
 did
 manage
 to
 kill
 the
 mood
 for
 me.
 Poor
 Stosh
 begged
 
me
 to
 go
 out
 for
 a
 movie,
 but
 all
 I
 wanted
 to
 do
 was
 sulk
 and
 stay
 held
 up
 in
 my
 
apartment.
 I
 felt
 like
 if
 we
 stepped
 out
 of
 the
 building,
 we
 weren’t
 going
 to
 be
 safe.
 
 
We
 ordered
 from
 a
 local
 Chinese
 delivery
 and
 watched
 movies
 in
 the
 living
 
room
 while
 we
 ate
 out
 of
 the
 little
 white
 boxes.
 Stosh
 tried
 to
 make
 me
 laugh,
 by
 
attempting
 to
 eat
 using
 chopsticks.
 He’d
 dropped
 most
 of
 his
 food
 back
 into
 the
 
boxes,
 by
 the
 time
 it
 made
 it
 to
 his
 mouth.
 
 
After
 dinner,
 his
 phone
 started
 ringing
 again.
 Like
 the
 first
 time,
 he
 ignored
 
the
 calls,
 but
 after
 a
 while,
 it
 just
 got
 annoying.
 He
 took
 the
 battery
 out
 and
 tossed
 
the
 two
 pieces
 on
 the
 table.
 “Where
 were
 we?”
 
Our
 lips
 met
 and
 soon
 our
 one
 kiss
 became
 many.
 
 
Just
 like
 every
 time
 something
 was
 going
 good,
 we
 were
 distracted
 once
 
more.
 This
 time,
 it
 was
 my
 cell
 phone
 that
 was
 ringing.
 After
 three
 times,
 I
 ran
 into
 
my
 room,
 where
 I’d
 had
 it
 charging,
 
 to
 see
 what
 could
 possibly
 be
 so
 urgent.
 The
 
number
 was
 one
 that
 I
 recognized.
 I
 remembered
 the
 day
 that
 I’d
 given
 Stosh
 that
 
number
 when
 we
 first
 planned
 to
 study
 together.
 
It
 was
 my
 parent’s
 house
 number.
 
Hello?
 
Willow,
 this
 is
 your
 father.
 I
 need
 you
 to
 tell
 me
 the
 truth,
 right
 now.
 Do
 you
 
know
 where
 Stoshua
 is?
 
 
I
 looked
 toward
 the
 doorway
 and
 didn’t
 see
 him
 anywhere
 near
 my
 bedroom.