Page 10 of The Banshee’s Unmistakable Love

Standing there, even as countless people walk around us, time seems to stand still. All that moves are his eyes as they scan my face. Something flickers within the depths of them, something I can’t decipher.

Has he realized I’m not Blair?

Or is it my worst nightmare, and he’s falling for my twin?

“Want to do the Ferris wheel first?” he asks, gesturing with his head toward the giant circular ride that emits various white and pink lights.

The fair always does an amazing job choosing colors that shine enchantingly against the surrounding wisteria trees. If it weren’t for the immense amount of people and my crippling tendency to overthink, I might actually enjoy the fair.

I nod. “Sure.”

This is the perfect ride—isolated for the most part from a group of people. Plus, we’ll get a beautiful view of the fall decorations from above.

The line isn’t too long at this time of day; most people like to go on at sunset or after dark. I’d much prefer to see the view in the middle of the day. The sun will shine brightly against the purples of the eternal wisterias, and sometimes the petals almost seem to shimmer.

From above, I bet it’ll be a sight like no other. The cherry on top is that I get to see it for the first time with Zander…except he doesn’t know I’m me.

Maybe at the tippy-top, I’ll tell him the truth.

That could be romantic, right? Or an awful choice, really, since we’ll be stuck up there together. It all depends on his reaction.

Just thinking about all the ways this could go makes me queasy, which is not a good feeling before going on a ride. Even if said ride isn’t a super crazy moving one.

“You okay?” Zander asks, his arm gently bumping mine.

Fighting against the nerves piling up like rocks in my stomach, I nod. “Never better.”

The line begins to move slowly as they fill each gondola. My hands find each other in front of me, and I can’t help but pick at the tiny dry spots on my cuticles.

The fair is full of grandparents this afternoon. Any one of them could potentially trigger my banshee scream. Then there’s the added anxiety of telling Zander the truth. So much stress, and most of it stems from my doing.

Once we’re inside the gondola and seated across from each other, my nerves calm slightly, maybe one or two rocks of stress lighter in my stomach.

“So, Blair.” He pauses as the gondola sways and we begin to move. “Last night you said we could talk more today about Briar.”

Everything stills—except for the slow spin of the Ferris wheel.

Wait, what?

Blair never texted me to tell me about any of this. I thought she was going to help me with this ordeal, not set me up for failure. What did they talk about that has to do with me?

How am I supposed to continue a conversation I wasn’t actually part of?

“Right, yeah. Refresh my memory on what we said last.” I nod, letting out a nervous laugh.

Observing me, his lips curl into the smile that makes my knees weak. No matter if it’s a small smile or a toothy grin, all of them beam into my soul.

He tilts his head, wavy hair moving across his forehead. “You seem forgetful lately.”

Panic bubbles inside me, and as we near the top of the Ferris wheel, it only grows stronger. This is the perfect moment to come clean.

All I have to do is take it—or throw up.

Chapter 6

THE SCREAM OF DEATH

ZANDER