Scarlet Awakening (Sweet Secrets #2) (8 page)

Chapter 14

I pulled the car to a stop in front of an average sized two-story home and cut the engine off. Grandpa had allowed us to use his car to get out of the house for a while after our conversation. He thought we were headed to meet some friends at the diner we used to hang out at, but instead we were parked outside of John Symmes’ house, not knowing what to do next. We hadn’t really planned what to do once we had gotten here. The idea of us just walking up to the front door, ringing the bell and demanding to see the twins just didn’t seem appropriate.

Earlier, after our conversation with our grandparents, we had rushed upstairs to search the yellow pages using his last name. Thankfully, since he had a pretty unique last name, we had only found one person in the area with a match. Not wanting to wait any longer, we had scribbled the address down and been on our way. Now we sat staring at the house.

“Why do I feel like this is such a bad idea?” Ella asked, staring out the passenger window with wide eyes.

I unclicked my seat belt. It felt restricting now that we were parked. “Normally when something
feels
like a bad idea, it is.”

Ella leaned back until her back was pressed against her seat and let out a deep sigh. “Yeah, well, we can’t turn back now. This is exactly what we wanted. Our little brothers, or little sisters, or brother
and
sister are behind the walls of that house, and we need to meet them.”

I glanced over the house again. It was crazy to think that this is where the twins had been growing up since they were born. This was their home, and it wasn’t more than a few miles from the house that Ella and I had grown up in until we had moved across the country. We were so far, and yet so close.

“What if they aren’t even home?” I wondered aloud. There was a silver truck parked in the driveway under a wooden car park that had the same roofing as the house did, but just because there was a car didn’t mean that they were home. For all we know they could have two cars.

“Then we’d come back later, but we won’t know the answer to that question until we knock on the door.”

“Yeah,” I responded, “but what do we even say?”

Ella shrugged. “How about, ‘We’re Christine Snotty’s children, and we want to meet the twins. When he knew Mom she was still Christine Snotty, so that would work. It’s short and to the point.”

“No. He could just say no and turn us away.”

She scrunched up her face a little, wrinkling her nose and furrowing her eyebrows. “Can’t he just say no and turn us away anyway?”

Well, she had me there. He had the right to tell us no. It wasn’t for sure that we would see the twins anyway. “If he says no then he’s a tool.”

Ella laughed. “He’s a tool anyway for seducing Mom and being a home-wrecker, but that’s beside the point. We aren’t here for him; we’re here for the twins,” she pointed out. “What if we said we were contractors with the city’s water company or something, and we were going to each house on the street to check the water meters.”

I looked down at her floral romper, and my short shorts and halter-top. “Yeah, because he would
totally
believe that.”

Ella chuckled lightly, saying, “It was worth a shot.” She cracked a smile and stared at me as I looked down and opened the middle compartment of the car. Grandpa always kept gum in there, and I used to have a chain-chewing problem. I hadn’t bought a pack of gum in a while though, but right now I needed some. Chewing on gum was a good distraction. It keeps my jaw busy, and makes it harder to talk. Therefore if we did go and knock on the door, brandishing the picture that was folded in half in my pocket and revealing our true identities, then Ella would have to do most of the talking. My gum would act as an excuse for me to be quieter than usual.

Finally, after digging under a stack of napkins, pens, and ketchup packets, I found a pack of Big Red gum with a few pieces left in it. Big Red was my favorite kind. I hurriedly pulled out a piece, unwrapped it, and tossed it into my mouth just as the sound of loud knocking on the passenger window began. Ella jumped and screamed, while I nearly swallowed my stick of gum whole and hit my head on the roof of the car.

One startled look at the passenger side window caused my heart to drop from my chest into my stomach. Standing outside of the car was the man from the picture. He was the father of our twin siblings, and also the man who we had come to see: John Symmes.

He was now standing outside of the car with his hands on his hips and a slight scowl lining his face. I started the car in preparation to speed off if I needed to, but before I did anything hasty I rolled the passenger window down slightly, just enough for us to talk through it.

John Symmes looked more annoyed than angry as he leaned down to look in through the window. “Can I help you ladies?” he asked, his eyes squinted at us.

Shit, we’re busted.

When we didn’t respond, John ran a hand through his thick brown hair. I instantly wondered how old he was. He looked significantly younger than Dad. He was probably in his early forties like Mom was, while Dad was a year away from being fifty. “Explain why you’ve been sitting outside of my house and watching it for the past half hour or I’m going to call the cops and you can explain it to them instead.”

I cracked a smile at that. Let him call the cops. We would be gone before he even had time to pull out his phone.

Unlike me, Ella was scared by his empty threat and said, “No, don’t call the police.” She waved a hand between her chest and mine as she added, “We’re Christine Snotty’s children.”

John widened his eyes at the mention of our mom. He glanced between the two of us, his thin lips pressing together in a tight line. It was obvious that he was noticing all of the resemblances between us and our mom from the way he searched our faces with his eyes before they widened in recognition. “Lena and Gabriella?” he asked, frowning slightly. His eyebrows were deeply furrowed and he looked like he was choosing his next words carefully. “Your mom used to talk about you two a lot,” he added, as if we had asked how he knew our names. His expression slowly became friendlier as he said, “How is Christine?” For him, our mom was probably the one who got away.

“She’s doing great,” I answered, not wanting to air Mom’s dirty laundry. Telling the truth would only make her look bad, despite how far she had come since last year.

He smiled, and I saw what Mom saw in him. He was handsome. Despite how annoyed that fact made me, it was true. He was fair skinned, with pale blue eyes that practically lit up when he smiled. From the way he smiled at the mention of my mom, I knew that he truly cared about her, even after what she had done. “I’m happy to hear that,” he responded, glancing down at the ground. When he looked up, he smiled softly. Then he asked, “So, what brings you girls here?”

Ella and I shared a look. John noticed, but didn’t say anything. Instead he just glanced between us with a curious look on his face.

“We came to see if you would allow us to meet the twins,” I answered, feeling like I had just sewed my heart on my sleeve. He could deny us, and send us on our way. I would be angry, but I would understand if he wanted to raise his children without any connection to us. Our mom had turned them away to keep her family together, but even when that hadn’t worked out she still hadn’t been in contact with John, according to Grandpa.

John nodded. “I knew they had something to do with this.” He stood up straight, and backed away from the door. I thought he was going to tell us to leave, but instead he reached to pull the passenger door open. I unlocked the doors after his first attempt proved unsuccessful, and he pulled on the door again. He looked down into the car and said, “What type of man would I be if I denied you to see them?”

Ella unbuckled her seatbelt at the speed of lightning and was out of the car before I even had the chance to turn the engine off. I followed her action after I took the keys out of the ignition, and got out. Once we were all standing outside of the car, Ella asked, “Are you seriously serious?” She looked like she was on the verge of tears. Her smile was wide, and contagious. I was excited too, and had a huge grin etched onto my face.

John nodded and chuckled at her excitement. “Does your mom know you’re here?” He looked hopeful, like us being here meant that she was going to stop by tomorrow and assume her position as mother.

“No,” Ella answered, looking down at her hands.

“She doesn’t know, and she probably wouldn’t approve either, but we couldn’t go back to Virginia without at least seeing them once.”

John nodded, and said, “Well, if you want to meet them then you’re more than welcome to come in.”

We nodded simultaneously, and then he led us to the house. On the inside it was a lot like a bachelor pad. There were no fancy decorations, only the main essentials. Other than that, the entrance to the house was pretty bare. When we walked in we passed the living room that consisted of two tan leather couches, a coffee table, and a lamp. There were no pictures hanging on the walls, and even though I was moments from meeting the twins, I couldn’t help but search for a picture that told me their sexes.

As we headed down the hallway, we turned into a room that held toys of all kinds and a small loveseat. Sitting on the loveseat was an old woman who was bouncing a chunky baby on her lap. Standing on the floor by her legs and using her knee to balance was a wobbly little boy.

Ella screeched loudly as she made her way into the room, causing John to laugh. I, on the other hand, could produce no sound from my mouth. I barely registered that I was crying until I felt the warm tears slide down my cheeks.

“Mom, this is Lena and Gabriella,” he introduced us to the white haired woman on the couch. “Lena, Gabriella, this is my mom. She moved in when the twins were born to help out.”

“I’m Ella, and that’s Lena,” Ella said, gesturing to us as she sat on the floor next to the baby boy, who had wisps of brown hair on his otherwise bald head.

John’s mom smiled at us and said, “Nice to meet you.”

John stared his mom in the eye meaningfully as he said, “These are Christine’s oldest children.”

His mom widened her eyes and stared between us. “Isn’t that wonderful,” she said. Then she looked at me and used her head to gesture toward the seat next to her on the couch.

I slowly went to sit, and as I did so I stared at the baby she was holding on her lap. The little brown haired girl stared back at me with a toothless smile on her cherubic face. She screeched and babbled and then began bouncing on her grandmother’s thighs animatedly.

“This is Cameron,” she said, lifting the baby and handing her to me.

I wiped my eyes and smiled as I took her. She was so chubby that she had dimples in her hands. Cameron babbled loudly, and drool dripped from her little mouth and onto her bib that said,
‘Daddy’s #1 Girl’.

John’s mom looked down at the floor where Ella was happily playing with the little boy; our little brother, Taylor. She was holding his hands in hers and helping him stand. He looked exactly like I had imagined, fair skinned with tiny bowed lips that were a smaller version of my mom’s, fat cheeks, and wide eyes. “That’s Taylor,” she said, smiling as she watched us with the twins.

Ella had tears streaming down her face now, and her cheeks were so red that they matched her hair. “I should’ve worn waterproof mascara,” she said.

I laughed, sitting Cameron down on my lap so I could wipe the tears away. “Me too.” Then I looked into Cameron’s wide blue eyes. “Hi Cameron,” I cooed, bouncing her on my thighs.

She babbled a stream of incoherent words back at me.

John took a seat on the floor by a motorized car that neither of the twins were big enough to use yet. “The perks of having twins? There’s one for each of you to hold.”

On the floor, Taylor let out a screech and began trying to jump. Ella just laughed and helped him by raising him up each time he would have come off of the ground.

I stroked Cameron’s wispy brown hair with one hand, continuing to smile so hard that my cheeks burned. “They’re beautiful,” I said to no one in particular. I had been sure that I had two little brothers somewhere, but this was even better. I had the best of both worlds—a little brother
and
another little sister.

This was the happiest moment in my life.

Chapter 15

“Why are we sitting out here?” Ella groaned, wiping sweat from her head with a hand towel. “It’s hot as hell out here. I feel like I’m going to melt into a puddle.”

“Only witches melt into puddles, and that’s from water not the sun,” I responded. “Just avoid water and you’ll be fine,” I joked, earning a hit from her towel.

We were sitting in lawn chairs in the front yard. I was trying to tan, while Ella was complaining constantly, like she was being forced to sit out here with me.

“Ha ha, aren’t you a comedian,” she said with sarcasm dripping from her words.

“If you’re so hot then go inside.”

Ella groaned. “But I want to talk to you.”

“Then talk,” I urged. I swiped my damp hair from one shoulder to the other and leaned back, pulling my shades down from where they were tucked into my hair. Now the world was tinted a shade of red. I liked it better this way.

“I think John still has feelings for Mom.”

I laughed. “Yeah, that was pretty obvious by the way his face lit up when we mentioned her.”

“I know. It’s been a year and he’s still not over her.”

I bit my lip. Sometimes it takes longer than a year to get over someone. I knew that for a fact. You may think that you’re over them, but when you see them again all of your old feelings can just rush back. “She’s the mother of his children,” I responded.

“She chose us over them. That’s gotta hurt.”

I nodded, trying to think about how hard that must have been to be rejected like that. For all I know, she hasn’t been in contact with him since the twins were born ten months ago. John wasn’t even aware that she was back in town until we told him why we were here for the summer. He had assumed that we were visiting our grandparents. “I bet Mom beats herself up about that. From the way she acts, I bet she wants to contact him and be in their lives, but she doesn’t know how John will react.”

Ella held her hand out and examined her nails as she said, “He seems like a nice enough guy. I retract my prior statement about him being a tool.”

“I do too. He didn’t have to let us meet the twins, but he did.” I couldn’t help the smile that appeared at the thought of Taylor and Cameron. John had told us everything about them that he could think of to make us feel like we hadn’t missed anything. Taylor was born five minutes before Cameron. He was a long, skinny baby, while Cameron had been short and fat. Our mom had let him name them both, so he named Taylor after his late father, and Cameron because he always liked unisex names. Her nickname was Cammie, though.

“I want to go see them again,” she stated. “I want them to be permanently in our lives, and to grow up knowing that we’re their older sisters, and we would do anything for them.”

“I’m sure John will let us see them again, but I don’t know how we could get that last part to happen.”

Ella smirked. “I know how. It’s obvious. John isn’t over Mom, and I’m sure Mom wants to be in their lives. She loved him. All we have to do is get them back together.”

“I don’t know,” I said hesitantly. “I’m not a matchmaker.”
I can barely handle my own problems. How would I fix someone else’s?
“Besides, haven’t we intruded on Mom’s life enough for one week?”

“But Lena, what if it could help Mom for the better? Maybe she wouldn’t be so depressed if she was in the twin’s lives, and was back with John. She wouldn’t be restricted by marriage anymore.”

I was about to respond when someone said, “Hey.” I turned my attention from Ella to Carter, who was standing on the sidewalk in front of the house.

“Hey Carter,” Ella responded, glancing sideways at me and smiling. She hurriedly pushed herself up and out of her chair. “I, uh, need to pee,” she said. “Nice to see you again, Carter,” she called out behind her as she hurried inside the house, leaving us alone.

“I didn’t mean to make her leave,” Carter said. I almost groaned at the fact that he wasn’t oblivious to her leaving in order to give us privacy.

I nodded, not knowing what to say. So instead of speaking, I just patted the now empty seat next to me. He sat down.

He was quiet for a second so I spoke up, saying what was on my mind. “I thought you were going to call?”
Not just show up
, I thought.

Carter turned his head to me and smiled, showing off the dimples that dotted each cheek. He was two shades darker than when I saw him a few days ago on the beach.

He lowered his head, and sighed. “Yeah, well, I decided to come by. I feel like we have a lot of things that we left unsaid the other day, and I don’t think we can move on without talking everything out. Certain things should be said in person.” When I met his eyes, he gave me a soft smile.

I instantly got nervous, knowing that he was referring to how I ended things. He wanted me to answer some questions, and clear up the reasons why I said what I said and ended things with him. Now all of my reasons seemed stupid. I couldn’t think of one good thing that truly couldn’t be worked through.

Nonetheless, I still opened my mouth and apologized, just as Carter opened his to say the last thing that I thought he would.

“I’m sorry.”

“I want you back.”

“Wait, what?” I said after his words had registered in my mind. Now I was confused.

Carter stood, lifting the chair with him and turning slightly to be closer and facing me before he sat back down. He reached for my hand, and then gripped it tightly in his. My palms were sweaty from the heat, but my hands felt nice in his. They were large, and comforting. He rubbed his thumb over the back of my hand slowly as he said, “I remember everything you said to me last year before you left, but I don’t care. We were so close for a long time, and then you left and I didn’t hear from you for months. It was torture. I tried to move on when you left, but I just couldn’t get over you.” He squeezed my hand. “I even went on a date with April a few months ago as a last resort to try and get over you. That was very…” he trailed off as he searched for the right word. “Awkward.”

I forced an amused smile to cover up the annoyed feeling that washed over me. April was one of the girls that hung out with Carter’s group. She was gorgeous. Short, curvy, and naturally tan, with thick, curly hair that stopped at her shoulders. She was mixed; her mom was black, and her dad was El Salvadorian. All of the boys thought she was so exotic, but in reality she’s just a bitch. She never liked me—not even before I was dating Carter. I bet she felt smug about finally getting to go on a date with him. I couldn’t help but be satisfied that he hadn’t been interested in her. Ha.

“What was awkward about it?” I asked, although I truly didn’t care as long as it hadn’t worked out.

Carter’s cheeks burned, and he looked at his feet, then looked up and met my eyes. “Don’t laugh,” he ordered. “And also, don’t be mad. We were broken up, and I was trying to get you out of my mind.”

I nodded slowly, hoping this wasn’t headed where I thought it was.

He sighed, and shook his head slowly. “We had sex after our first date, and I started to call her Lena before I caught myself.”

My eyes widened, and before I could stop myself I let out a loud laugh. The idea that she had been so easy was funny, but so was his almost name slip. Carter and I had only slept together once. It was right after my parents told me we were moving. It had been both of our first times. I was a little hurt that he had slept with someone else so easily, but I had broken up with him, and moved across the country. I didn’t expect him to wait for me, and he didn’t expect me to wait for him. I just hadn’t had a connection with any guys other than him.

Carter scowled at me. “I said not to laugh.”

“I couldn’t help it. It was pretty funny.”

“No, it’s not. I felt like shit afterwards. I think she really liked me, and I used her.” He sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

I squeezed his hand. “You’re a good guy. I’m sure she got over it.”

He nodded in response. “She did. She still talks to me; we just pretend like it never happened. At least, I do.”

I didn’t want to ask what that meant. Instead, I said, “I am sorry though.” He stared into my eyes. “About what I said before I left,” I clarified.

Carter nodded.

He didn’t say anything, so I continued. I felt like I needed to make him understand. I didn’t want him to think that I had ended things because I no longer had feelings for him, because from the way just holding his hand shot tingles up my arm, I knew that wasn’t true. “I didn’t think I would be coming back. When we left, my parents said we were done with California. My grandparents would come see us, not the other way around. So I was scared we wouldn’t see each other again, and I didn’t want you to wait around for me if we couldn’t make it work out. Long distance relationships kind of scare me, and I had been going through so much emotional stress already. So, I just said whatever I could to try and make you hate me enough to no longer want to be with me. I’m so sorry.”

Carter nodded slowly. Then, he stood to his feet, and pulled me up as well. He held me at arm’s length as he said, “Yeah, I figured that out. I know you well enough to realize you were trying to hurt me. That doesn’t mean that it didn’t hurt, because it did, but I just felt better knowing that it wasn’t how you truly felt.”

I stood in front of him, staring into his eyes. The streaks of green and speckles of gold were mesmerizing.

“I want to make it work now,” he said quietly. It came out almost as a whisper.

“But I leave again at the end of summer.”

“I know, but your mom is here now, so you’ll have to come visit.” He looked so hopeful. It was so cute.

I didn’t know what to say. I was lost in my thoughts. Could I make a long distance relationship work? Could we just have this summer, if I couldn’t?

When I didn’t say anything, Carter’s face fell. “I get it if you don’t have an answer for me right now. I just wanted to be with you again.” He shrugged, dropping his hands from my arms. “Just call me when you make a decision.” And with that, he left. I watched him walk down the street with his head held low until he disappeared around the corner.

I hadn’t even realized that Ella had joined me until she said, “That’s the smell of defeat. Poor guy. You should give him another chance.”