Page 80 of My Twin Sister

I sigh. “What are you talking about?”

“I pretended to be you. That night. After Wyatt dumped me and was going to go back to you even after what you did. I hated you. I went to the lot he always parked at during his patrol. Where you guys would sneak around.”

My face goes hot and my stomach clenches but she doesn’t stop.

“I pretended to be you, and I told him I was going to tell everyone about you two. I told him I was going to ruin his life and then I left.”

My mind is buzzing. I don’t know what to say or what to think. Frank looks just as dumbfounded as I feel. So does Wyatt for that matter.

“I didn’t know what would happen. I knew you’d get in trouble probably. Or that Frank would try to ruin you first. I didn’t think Wyatt would hurt you.”

Wyatt takes a step toward her, and she takes a step back. “You knew?”

She nods.

He looks around, confused and angry. “You thought I killed Grace . . .”

It isn’t a question but Geny answers anyway. “Yes.”

“Why would you marry me if you thought I killed your sister?”

It’s a good question. One I’d like to know as well.

“I didn’t blame you,” she says in a whisper. She shrugs. “How could I? I created the situation and you protected your dad. Grace hurt you. How could I blame you for hurting her back? And it was my fault. If I’d let you go and walked away none of it would have happened.”

She can’t fight back the tears any longer and begins to sob. I have a lot of feelings about the new information she’s given me, but it doesn’t overshadow Frank or what I know I need to do.

“I forgive you, Geny. Wyatt, take her home.”

I turn toward Frank and level the gun at his chest.

Aim for center mass. Never the head. It’s too easy to miss. Unless you’re in the zombie apocalypse, the chest will do just fine. I can hear my dad’s voice clear as day, though this is a different situation than he ever anticipated me being in. Frank is tied up. I could walk right up to him and point the gun against his skin, guaranteed not to miss. But I know not to get too close. Tied up or not, he won’t be in reach of the gun.

There’s a scuffle behind me, and Geny shouts at Wyatt to leave her alone. I’m jolted forward and hands grapple with my own. Geny is on me, trying to wrestle the gun away from me. Wyatt is trying to pull her away, but she has hold of me and she’s not letting go. I’m so afraid of the gun going off and shooting someone I love that I let it go.

Geny grabs onto it and pulls away from both me and Wyatt. We both step back. We should’ve gotten her help a long time ago. It’s too late now, and whatever she does next is on Wyatt and me. All the signs were there, but we were too busy to do anything about it.

She points the gun at the floor but has a solid grip on it, ready to point and shoot at any moment.

“I won’t let you ruin your life any more than it already has been,” she says.

I want to cry. To scream at her that this isn’t up to her and beg her not to take this away from me.

“He deserves to die, Geny. He’s a fucking monster, and he’s not going to stop until he’s in the ground.”

“I agree with you. But he isn’t the monster you think he is.”

And then time slows down. I thought that only happened in the movies, but every second stretches in front of me, and I am powerless to do anything. The sound of the gunshot is so much louder than I remembered when practicing. But I guess I always had earplugs.

Frank slouches in the chair and the three of us are stuck, frozen in place. I don’t know for how long. Time still feels weird.

I come out of my shock slowly, and then all at once. “Why would you do that?”

Upstairs, a scream erupts and we all look at the ceiling. Tina screams Frank’s name and my chest burns. I hurry to Geny and try to take the gun from her, but she pulls away.

“Geny, give me the gun. You have to get out of here. If someone calls the police, you can’t be here.” I say it in a whisper, hoping Tina doesn’t hear. Hoping she just woke up and didn’t hear us all talking this whole time.

Geny shakes her head. “No. You need to leave. I’m staying.”