Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 50770 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50770 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
Sophie meets me in front of the store, the wind whips at my face as I stare out at the beach, I can’t even meet her eyes.
“So, this is how this is going to go.” She leans against the wall. “You’re not going to say shit about last night, not that he’d believe you, I’m very good at impersonating your sad innocent face, have been for years, and I won’t tell him that you have Lupus and are constantly fainting and laying in bed like the loser you are. And you let me go on a date with him.”
“What?” I jerk my head toward her. “He’s not an object! And I barely know him!”
“And yet…” She grins. “…you took him to the movie theater, and you went into the old section, trust me, that was one of the best moments of his life, he’s not going anywhere. Plus, he’s decided to take a gap year, so he’s here for a while, not just vacation, I mean, what’s the worst that can happen? He gets a ton of action for like months on end? Would any guy say no to that?”
“Stop!” I yell. “Just stop! He’s a person and a really good person from what I know, you can’t just—he’s fragile right now and I won’t do this—“
“—Again?” She grins. “You mean you won’t do this again.” She taps her mouth with her fingertip. “Because isn’t this kind of sort of what you did Senior year when I was dating Brax?”
“He was in on it and I had no idea!” I hiss under my breath. “He hurt me, he hurt us!”
“He”—she seethes—“was the love of my life and you stole him from me because at the end of the day, he chose you, not me. So right now, I’m going to choose Quinn and you’re going to deal with it, but don’t worry, I’ll leave you some scraps, even dogs deserve a bone.”
She walks off.
My heart cracks in my chest.
I never meant to hurt her and had no idea Brax had this weird fascination with twins or that he was purposefully doing it because he was a sick bastard and no matter how many times I tell her she doesn’t believe me.
Her hatred has always run deep.
Years ago, she dressed differently.
Years ago, she did her makeup differently.
The minute things happened with Brax—she started copying everything I did, almost like she lost her own personality or individuality but I know the truth, she did it to hurt me and then told my parents that it was because she felt bad for me when I was diagnosed.
She walks away and skips into Quinn’s arms, and he spins her around.
He spins who he thinks is me.
I take a step toward them and then feel dumb about how split I am about telling him because he’s the only happiness I’ve had for the last year. What if he runs away because of my illness? It wouldn’t be the first time.
I stare down at my clothes.
He’ll notice immediately that it’s not me or that I’m not her.
I should just march right up to him and give up.
Maybe I’ll go jump in the ocean and take a deep breath.
How did the last twenty-four hours turn out this way?
I watch as Sophie grabs his hand, smiles, and walks off with them.
To go get ice cream.
Chapter Nine
Quinn
I didn’t expect her to be downtown or chase after me, but she did, which on one hand is kind of cool, on the other, totally unexpected, it seems completely against her character, but I’m not mad about it.
Again, gap year, taking in the sights, not worrying about everything and staying with my rich best friend despite the fact I have the money, just not the townhouse or the will to suddenly purchase one. What could really go wrong in this entire scenario?
Find a hot girl? Check.
Have a one-night stand? Check.
Get the best ice cream in the world? Um, double check.
Apparently near-death experiences make me super lucky, I turn and look at Chloe. “I’m really glad I met you. Plus, now I finally get the ice cream I promised last night but never delivered on.”
Her grin doesn’t reach her eyes. “Oh, you delivered on a lot of things.”
“Damn right I did.” I lick the cone and wink while she grabs her own cone and laughs, again I don’t know what it is, but I’m a laugh guy and her laugh sounds just mildly off, maybe she’s not as happy to be hanging out with me as I am her. Ambrose would say I’m bad at sex, and while I’m fully ready to admit when I’m bad at things, sex is not one of those things that I struggle with—kissing, foreplay, A+, now ask me to become an engineer and do calculus for four straight years and I might just flunk out of school, I may be smart but math is where I refuse to even embark on the struggle.