Page 53 of My Twin Sister

“There she is!”

My heart pounds in my chest. Does she know? Has Wyatt told our friends what I’ve done? Tara points to a cooler when I get closer.

“Murphy bought some stuff if you want any.”

“What’d he get?” I walk toward the cooler to peek inside. Maybe some alcohol will help me calm down.

“UV Blue, Burnett’s, but I don’t know what kind. I have Mountain Dew for a mixer.”

I turn one of the bottles over and see the Pink Lemonade label on the bottle of Burnett’s and weigh my options. Before I can decide, Wyatt and Murphy come tromping out of the woods with armfuls of firewood. They drop their load near the fire, and Wyatt and I make eye contact.

My stomach flips and my heart feels like it’s going to implode. It will destroy me if he can’t forgive me. I don’t expect him to. I don’t deserve it. But a few hours ago, I thought I’d survive no matter what he decided. Now I know that’s not true. If it isn’t Wyatt, it isn’t anyone. I only wish I’d figured that out before making the biggest mistake of my life.

“Hey,” he says.

So casual. So loaded.

“Hey.”

He puts his hands in his jeans pockets. The breeze coming off the lake is cold despite the night being hot and humid. I want to beg him to forgive me. Tell him I’ll do anything he wants for as long as we live. That I’ll never make fun of the way he runs again. That I’ll finally agree to five kids after we get married. That I’ll even stop changing his car air fresheners out for the Black Ice ones I love but he hates.

I don’t say any of that though. Because it wouldn’t be fair. I know Wyatt loves me and I’ve put him in an impossible situation. If I say all that, I’ll be using his feelings to get what I want. Normally, I wouldn’t be above doing that. But not this time. Not after what I did.

“Do you want to go in the water?” he asks.

My breath catches. “Together?”

He grins, but he looks nervous. Upset maybe. But of course he is. “Yeah, together.”

I nod, stand up, and strip down to my bathing suit, which lives underneath my clothes permanently in the summer. Wyatt walks closer to the shore before he takes off his clothes down to his boxer briefs. There’s something crumpled up in his hand, but he angles away from me when I get closer so I can’t see what it is.

And then I’m distracted by his tan skin covered in goosebumps. He doesn’t like the cold water. But he always gets in anyway because I love it, and I reward him with making out, which he loves. This is a good sign. It has to be.

He leads me into the water. When we’re deep enough, he pulls me to him, and without thought, my legs wrap around his waist. His arms wrap around me, and their warmth makes me shiver. I need this forever. Please, God. Don’t take him away no matter how much I deserve it.

I’m afraid to say anything, so I wait for him to talk. He moves us slowly to the deeper end where the trees guard us from our friends on the shore. The butterflies in my stomach are wild.

“I love you, Grace. You know that,” he says.

“I know. I love you too. I’m so sorry—”

“Shh. I know. I know you are. It’s okay.”

I start to shake my head, but he stops me.

“No. Listen. It’s okay. It’s not your fault, Grace. He’s the adult. It’s wrong what he did.”

Tears slip from my eyes. But Wyatt isn’t done. He’s starts talking faster.

“I need you to know that I don’t blame you and that I love you. And you have to go.”

“What?”

“Frank is spinning out. He thinks you’re going to tell everyone.”

I shake my head. “I’m not—”

“It doesn’t matter. He thinks you’re going to. He’s sure of it. I heard him talking on the phone and he’s . . . Fuck. He’s arranging to have you killed.”