Twinsequences (A Twisted Twin Series) (4 page)

Since
 I
 was
 so
 early,
 I
 decided
 to
 get
 out
 at
 a
 local
 park
 and
 do
 my
 morning
 
run.
 It
 usually
 took
 about
 an
 hour
 and
 it
 was
 a
 perfect
 day.
 Changing
 in
 my
 car
 
wasn’t
 so
 hard
 considering
 that
 I
 was
 already
 wearing
 a
 pair
 of
 yoga
 pants.
 I
 took
 off
 
my
 flip-‐flops
 and
 put
 on
 my
 tennis
 shoes.
 After
 pulling
 up
 my
 long
 hair,
 I
 headed
 out
 
to
 take
 in
 the
 fresh
 air.
 
This
 particular
 route
 of
 my
 run
 was
 a
 little
 scenic
 trail
 on
 the
 one
 side
 of
 our
 
town.
 I
 ran
 past
 the
 high
 school
 and
 thought
 about
 all
 of
 the
 eventful
 moments
 that
 
I’d
 spent
 there.
 It
 made
 me
 run
 faster,
 causing
 me
 to
 get
 out
 of
 breath
 much
 sooner
 
than
 I
 was
 used
 to.
 
 
After
 getting
 myself
 so
 upset,
 I
 rethought
 my
 decision
 and
 considered
 turning
 
around
 and
 heading
 back
 home.
 There
 was
 nothing
 left
 here
 for
 me.
 
 
Sure,
 I
 could
 move
 on
 easily.
 I’d
 dated
 in
 college
 and
 even
 had
 one
 serious
 
relationship.
 Unfortunately,
 none
 of
 them
 gave
 me
 the
 same
 feelings
 that
 Stosh
 had
 
given
 me
 when
 he
 kissed
 me.
 I
 know
 it
 was
 hard
 to
 believe,
 but
 I
 knew
 I’d
 been
 in
 
love
 with
 him.
 My
 feelings
 were
 true
 and
 I
 wasn’t
 sure
 if
 they’d
 ever
 be
 able
 to
 
completely
 go
 away.
 
Now
 that
 he’d
 been
 married
 to
 my
 sister
 for
 four
 years,
 I’d
 spent
 that
 time
 
being
 cordial
 with
 him
 on
 the
 phone.
 He
 would
 say
 hi,
 but
 our
 friendship
 didn’t
 
survive
 their
 relationship.
 I
 kept
 our
 conversations
 to
 a
 minimum
 and
 couldn’t
 deal
 
with
 hearing
 my
 sister
 go
 on
 and
 on
 about
 the
 little
 things
 he
 did
 that
 annoyed
 her.
 
 
I
 hate
 to
 say
 this,
 but
 I
 almost
 hoped
 that
 they
 would
 get
 an
 annulment
 just
 to
 
calm
 the
 stake
 that
 was
 permanently
 being
 stabbed
 into
 my
 heart.
 I’d
 deleted
 my
 
Facebook
 page,
 because
 I
 got
 tired
 of
 my
 sister
 posting
 statuses
 involving
 places
 that
 
his
 parents
 and
 my
 parents
 were
 taking
 them.
 
Jealousy
 had
 gotten
 the
 best
 of
 me,
 that’s
 for
 sure.
 
By
 twelve,
 I’d
 been
 sitting
 in
 my
 car,
 in
 the
 airport
 parking
 lot,
 for
 more
 than
 
an
 hour.
 When
 I
 saw
 my
 sister
 pulling
 up,
 I
 knew
 that
 I
 couldn’t
 turn
 my
 back
 on
 her,
 
even
 if
 it
 was
 what
 I
 should
 have
 done.
 
 
It
 was
 just
 a
 couple
 of
 days.
 
 
What
 could
 go
 wrong?
 
 
When
 I
 first
 saw
 her
 sitting
 down,
 I
 could
 tell
 that
 she’d
 been
 through
 
something.
 She
 appeared
 to
 have
 been
 crying
 for
 days.
 “Spill
 it,
 Ivy.
 I
 just
 drove
 all
 
this
 way
 and
 deserve
 to
 hear
 what
 the
 hell
 is
 going
 on.”
 
 
She
 covered
 her
 face
 into
 her
 hands.
 “You
 wouldn’t
 understand.
 Can’t
 you
 
just
 take
 my
 word
 for
 it?”
 
“You’re
 asking
 me
 to
 be
 you.
 Not
 only
 is
 it
 against
 the
 law,
 but
 I
 can’t
 be
 
someone
 that
 I
 haven’t
 been
 around
 in
 years.”
 
She
 ignored
 my
 comment
 and
 ran
 her
 fingers
 through
 my
 hair.
 “Our
 lengths
 
are
 almost
 identical.”
 
I
 pulled
 away
 from
 her.
 “Ivy,
 are
 you
 freaking
 serious?
 I
 can’t
 believe
 I
 was
 so
 
stupid.”
 
She
 stood
 up
 and
 put
 her
 hands
 on
 her
 hips.
 “Will,
 please.
 I’m
 begging
 you.”
 
“Do
 you
 even
 understand
 what
 you’re
 asking
 me
 to
 do?
 I
 can’t
 be
 you,
 Ivy.
 I
 
can’t
 go
 and
 pretend
 to
 be
 married
 to
 your
 husband.
 I
 don’t
 know
 where
 anything
 in
 
your
 house
 is
 and
 I
 sure
 don’t
 know
 how
 to
 act
 around
 him.
 He
 will
 know.”
 
She
 smiled,
 but
 somehow
 looked
 annoyed.
 “You
 don’t
 know
 anything
 about
 
marriage.
 Not
 only
 will
 Stosh
 not
 notice,
 but
 you
 may
 not
 even
 have
 to
 see
 him.
 He’s
 
playing
 cards
 with
 his
 friends
 like
 he
 does
 this
 same
 time
 every
 week.
 When
 he
 
comes
 home
 he’ll
 be
 so
 drunk
 he’ll
 pass
 out
 on
 the
 couch.
 Tomorrow
 he
 has
 an
 
appointment
 with
 a
 buyer
 out
 of
 town.
 He
 usually
 stays
 the
 whole
 night
 there
 and
 
doesn’t
 come
 home
 until
 lunch
 time
 the
 next
 day.
 He’s
 got
 bowling
 the
 following
 
night
 after
 work,
 so
 you’ll
 be
 fine
 until
 I
 get
 back.”
 
I
 hated
 that
 she’d
 planned
 this
 all
 out
 in
 her
 head,
 knowing
 I
 would
 come
 
running
 to
 her
 rescue.
 I
 may
 not
 have
 been
 with
 her
 much
 in
 the
 past
 four
 years,
 but
 
that
 didn’t
 mean
 I
 wasn’t
 bailing
 her
 out
 all
 of
 the
 time.
 It
 never
 failed.
 My
 sister
 was
 
terrible
 with
 money.
 I
 was
 forever
 sending
 it
 to
 her.
 In
 fact,
 I
 think
 I’d
 paid
 her
 
phone
 bill
 three
 times
 in
 the
 past
 year.
 She
 was
 so
 irresponsible.
 “I
 don’t
 know…”
 
“Look,
 I
 don’t
 have
 time
 to
 beg,
 Will.
 I
 need
 you,
 more
 than
 ever
 before.
 Just
 
do
 this
 for
 me.
 I
 won’t
 ask
 for
 anything
 else.”
 
She
 sounded
 like
 a
 kid
 instead
 of
 someone
 who
 was
 twenty
 two.
 “Fine.
 I’ll
 do
 
it,
 but
 as
 soon
 as
 someone
 realizes
 that
 I’m
 not
 you.
 I’m
 out
 of
 this
 convoluted
 plan
 
of
 yours,
 got
 it?”
 
She
 hugged
 me.
 “Thank
 you,
 Will.
 I
 knew
 I
 could
 count
 on
 you.”
 
A
 short
 while
 later,
 I
 watched
 my
 sister
 wave
 good
 bye
 to
 me.
 She
 left
 me
 
with
 her
 keys,
 her
 car,
 her
 purse,
 her
 cell
 phone
 and
 her
 wedding
 ring.
 She’d
 also
 
called
 a
 local
 salon
 for
 me
 to
 have
 my
 hair
 cut
 and
 colored
 to
 match
 hers.
 
 
I
 should
 have
 known
 that
 she
 was
 going
 to
 extreme
 measures
 to
 make
 me
 
look
 like
 her
 for
 a
 reason
 that
 wasn’t
 good.
 She
 refused
 to
 tell
 me
 what
 she
 was
 
involved
 in
 and
 I
 figured
 that
 the
 less
 I
 knew
 the
 better
 off
 I
 would
 be.
 As
 long
 as
 I
 
didn’t
 have
 to
 be
 around
 Stoshua,
 I
 knew
 I
 could
 get
 through
 the
 next
 couple
 of
 days
 
and
 go
 back
 to
 my
 normal
 life.
 
Since
 I
 hadn’t
 been
 in
 town
 in
 so
 long,
 it
 took
 me
 a
 while
 to
 find
 the
 house.
 
They’d
 moved
 three
 times
 and
 were
 renting
 the
 pool
 house
 of
 someone
 my
 father
 
worked
 with.
 It
 had
 a
 separate
 entrance
 and
 there
 wasn’t
 anyone
 at
 the
 main
 house
 
when
 I
 pulled
 in.
 
Their
 place
 was
 cute
 for
 the
 two
 of
 them.
 When
 I
 unlocked
 the
 door,
 the
 first
 
thing
 I
 noticed
 was
 that
 the
 place
 was
 even
 cuter
 on
 the
 inside.
 Then
 I
 noticed
 how
 
messy
 it
 was.
 
 
Ivy
 wasn’t
 ever
 the
 kind
 of
 girl
 to
 keep
 her
 room
 neat
 and
 tidy.
 Her
 clothes
 
were
 always
 thrown
 all
 over
 the
 floor
 and
 the
 bathroom
 that
 we
 shared
 was
 always
 
a
 mess.
 As
 I
 walked
 around
 the
 house
 exploring,
 I
 felt
 like
 we
 were
 back
 at
 home.
 
Dishes
 were
 in
 the
 sink,
 even
 though
 they
 had
 a
 dishwasher.
 Magazines
 were
 all
 
over
 the
 living
 room
 floor
 and
 the
 couch
 looked
 like
 it
 was
 used
 for
 a
 bed
 instead
 of
 
a
 place
 to
 sit
 down
 and
 relax.
 In
 the
 bathroom,
 there
 were
 more
 products
 than
 one
 
could
 possibly
 use
 in
 one
 day.
 
 
 
There
 was
 no
 way
 I
 was
 going
 to
 be
 able
 to
 stay
 in
 this
 house
 without
 
straightening
 it
 up.
 I
 started
 in
 the
 bathroom
 and
 then
 worked
 my
 way
 through,
 
until
 the
 house
 was
 spotless.
 It
 also
 helped
 me
 manage
 some
 of
 my
 frustration
 for
 
signing
 onto
 something
 so
 stupid.
 My
 sister
 was
 a
 grown
 woman.
 I
 never
 should
 
have
 helped
 her
 with
 anything.
 It
 wasn’t
 like
 I
 owed
 her.
 She
 owed
 me
 more
 than
 
she’d
 ever
 be
 able
 to
 pay
 back.
 
 
After
 I
 had
 explored
 the
 house,
 including
 every
 closet
 and
 drawer,
 I
 sat
 down
 
on
 the
 couch
 and
 watched
 television.
 My
 sister
 had
 assured
 me
 that
 I
 wouldn’t
 see
 
Stosh,
 so
 when
 I
 heard
 keys
 dropping
 on
 the
 table,
 I
 started
 to
 panic.
 
I
 heard
 him
 walk
 into
 the
 kitchen
 and
 open
 the
 refrigerator.
 “What
 the
 hell
 
happened
 in
 here?
 I
 know
 you
 didn’t
 do
 all
 this.”
 
It
 wasn’t
 how
 I
 imagined
 a
 husband
 greeting
 his
 wife.
 
 I
 watched
 him
 take
 a
 
swig
 of
 beer,
 before
 emptying
 his
 pockets
 and
 walking
 into
 the
 bedroom.
 
 
He
 must
 have
 been
 shocked
 that
 I’d
 put
 all
 of
 his
 clothes
 away,
 because
 he
 
peeked
 his
 head
 out
 the
 door
 and
 started
 to
 say
 something.
 I
 thought
 he’d
 figured
 it
 
out
 without
 me
 even
 talking
 to
 him.
 After
 he
 gave
 me
 a
 questionable
 look,
 he
 smiled
 
and
 walked
 back
 into
 the
 bedroom.
 I
 didn’t
 know
 what
 to
 do,
 so
 I
 got
 up
 and
 looked
 
for
 something
 to
 cook.
 My
 sister
 didn’t
 have
 much.
 She
 never
 could
 cook
 anything.
 
 
I
 found
 a
 couple
 steaks,
 an
 opened
 package
 of
 bacon,
 half
 an
 onion
 and
 a
 can
 
of
 beans.
 In
 the
 freezer
 was
 a
 pack
 of
 sausage
 and
 some
 frozen
 green
 beans.
 It
 was
 
enough
 to
 work
 with.