Page 47 of My Twin Sister

“Hey, drop me off at Mom and Dad’s, please,” Grace says from behind me.

“What? No, just come home with me.”

I drive past the turn to our parents’ house. Grace leans forward.

“I want to sleep there. Please just take me there, Geny.”

I don’t slow down. She’s being ridiculous. And I feel better when she’s home with me. When I know where she is and that I’ll see her in the morning.

“Grace, you’re drunk,” I say. “You don’t have your car. Just come home with me and I can drop you off to get your car tomorrow morning.”

“I can walk to get my car from Mom and Dad’s. Why aren’t you listening to me?”

Wyatt watches cautiously from the passenger seat. Grace keeps talking, but I try to ignore her. She’s just drunk. There’s no reason to sleep over there. We’re pulling onto my road when Grace gets louder.

“Geny! I don’t even have any of my stuff at your house. I took it all to Mom and Dad’s when you were at work. You can’t decide for me where I stay.”

I look at her in the rearview mirror. “Why would you move all your stuff?”

“Because I want to stay over there. It’s more comfortable for me.” She’s on the verge of yelling.

I pull in front of the house, and she flies out of the car. I hurry out behind her. She’s walking toward the road like she’s going to walk all the way back.

“Will you stop?” I grab her arm and she spins on me.

“No. You can’t force me to stay here. I’m not comfortable here.”

Another gut punch. Like I’m one of the bags she used to punch in her other life. “Why not?”

I don’t know why I ask. I can assume the answer, but the words come out before I can stop them.

“Oh, I don’t know, Geny. Maybe because it’s weird for me to watch my sister and the boy I loved playing house together.” She spits the words and I flinch. I don’t know where Wyatt is, but I know he’s near and hears her.

“Don’t do that. That’s not fair.”

“Not fair? Nothing is fair. Nothing has ever been fair. That’s beside the point.”

My hands tremble. I ball them into fists. “You disappeared,” I say. “I used to think you drowned and your life was taken away and that wasn’t fair for you, but that’s not what happened. You can say you don’t remember, but you’re lying and we both know it. You stayed away. That was your choice. Everything was always your choice, but guess what. Wyatt chose me. He chose to marry me and have a family with me. And that’s something you’re going to have to accept.”

She laughs. It’s a nasty sound. “What choice? I was gone. I wasn’t an option. You were a default answer.”

I want to hit her like Tara did. To make her bleed and put a stop to her words.

“Guys, stop. Come on,” Wyatt says uselessly.

“You didn’t care about him!” I shout. “You never did. You cheated on him and he was still going to go back to you!”

She takes a step back, shock clear on her face. She didn’t think I knew. She never thought I knew anything, but I did. Always way more than she thought I did.

“You were fucking his dad, and you still want to act like the victim. So typical of you.”

She runs at me and I react instinctively, putting my hands up to stop her. We collide in a clash of arms and hands, and then Wyatt is there pushing us away from each other.

“That’s enough!” he shouts. “Geny, go in the house. This is done.”

“No,” I say. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Yes you are.” He keeps an eye on Grace as he puts his hands on my shoulders. She stands behind him with rage on her face, breathing hard, but not coming for me again. “Hey, look at me.”