Twinsequences (A Twisted Twin Series) (30 page)

When
 I
 pulled
 up
 and
 saw
 the
 size
 of
 his
 house,
 I
 was
 in
 shock.
 My
 sister
 had
 
picked
 him
 for
 a
 reason.
 I
 wasn’t
 sure
 what
 he
 did
 for
 a
 living,
 but
 he
 definitely
 had
 
money.
 His
 house
 wasn’t
 a
 mansion,
 but
 it
 was
 damn
 near
 one.
 
 
I
 knocked
 on
 the
 door
 several
 times,
 before
 he
 answered
 it
 wearing
 only
 a
 
robe
 and
 pair
 of
 boxers.
 The
 smile
 on
 his
 face
 let
 me
 know
 that
 I
 still
 had
 him
 faked
 
out.
 It
 amazed
 me
 that
 all
 these
 people
 had
 no
 clue
 the
 kind
 of
 person
 that
 my
 sister
 
really
 was.
 She’d
 told
 so
 many
 lies
 to
 so
 many
 people.
 
“Hello,
 my
 love.
 Come
 in,
 come
 in.”
 I
 hated
 feeling
 him
 put
 his
 arm
 around
 me
 
and
 lead
 me
 inside.
 “I’m
 making
 your
 favorite
 breakfast.”
 
“I
 can’t
 stay
 long.
 I
 have
 a
 doctor’s
 appointment.”
 Maybe
 I
 should
 just
 be
 a
 
professional
 liar.
 I
 was
 getting
 pretty
 good
 at
 it.
 
“We
 must
 discuss
 what
 is
 happening.”
 
I
 sat
 down
 on
 the
 other
 side
 of
 the
 kitchen
 table
 and
 tried
 not
 to
 look
 around
 
the
 house.
 Ivy
 would
 have
 known
 where
 everything
 was,
 so
 I
 had
 to
 make
 it
 seem
 
like
 I
 was
 comfortable.
 “Rafe,
 I
 appreciate
 that
 you
 stuck
 by
 me
 when
 things
 were
 at
 
the
 their
 worse.
 I
 just
 can’t
 continue
 this
 with
 you.
 It
 isn’t
 fair
 to
 you
 or
 to
 me.”
 
“But,
 you
 were
 the
 one
 who
 said
 we
 had
 to
 leave.
 You
 told
 me
 we
 were
 going
 
to
 be
 a
 family.
 I’ve
 already
 paid
 for
 the
 house
 in
 Malta.”
 
Did
 he
 say
 Malta?
 
Holy
 shit!
 “My
 feelings
 have
 changed.
 I
 want
 to
 work
 things
 out
 with
 my
 
husband.
 
 I
 owe
 it
 to
 him.”
 
He
 shook
 his
 head
 and
 approached
 me,
 crouching
 down
 on
 his
 knees.
 He
 
grabbed
 my
 hands.
 “Please
 don’t
 say
 these
 things.
 I
 love
 you
 and
 you
 love
 me.”
 
I
 pulled
 my
 hands
 away
 from
 him,
 stood
 up
 and
 walked
 past
 him.
 He
 was
 still
 
on
 his
 knees,
 waiting
 for
 me
 to
 say
 something.
 I
 saw
 the
 pain
 in
 his
 eyes
 and
 I
 knew
 
he
 was
 heartbroken,
 grasping
 at
 straws
 for
 something
 to
 hold
 onto.
 “I’m
 so
 sorry,
 
Rafe.”
 
He
 shook
 his
 head
 and
 looked
 down.
 He
 really
 was
 a
 gorgeous
 man.
 I
 could
 
see
 how
 Ivy
 would
 want
 to
 be
 with
 him.
 “I
 won’t
 give
 up.
 You’ll
 come
 back,
 you
 
always
 do.”
 He
 poured
 himself
 a
 drink,
 even
 though
 it
 was
 still
 early
 in
 the
 morning.
 
I
 could
 see
 his
 hands
 shaking
 as
 he
 tipped
 it
 back
 and
 sipped
 from
 it.
 I’d
 forced
 a
 
man
 to
 be
 an
 alcoholic.
 This
 was
 yet
 another
 reason
 that
 my
 life
 was
 off
 track.
 
I
 wondered
 how
 many
 times
 my
 sister
 had
 told
 him
 it
 was
 over.
 Maybe
 she
 
didn’t
 know
 who
 she
 wanted
 to
 be
 with.
 “Look,
 I
 came
 to
 tell
 you
 in
 person.
 I’d
 
appreciate
 it
 if
 you
 let
 me
 move
 on.
 What
 we
 had
 was
 great,
 but
 it’s
 over.”
 
This
 guy
 couldn’t
 take
 a
 hint.
 He
 ran
 up
 behind
 me
 and
 wrapped
 his
 arms
 
around
 my
 waist,
 keeping
 me
 from
 going
 anywhere.
 I
 tried
 to
 pull
 way,
 but
 he
 was
 
too
 strong.
 “Please.
 I
 don’t
 want
 you
 to
 go
 back
 to
 him.
 He
 beat
 you
 and
 cheated
 on
 
you.
 How
 could
 I
 be
 okay
 with
 that?
 You
 deserve
 to
 be
 happy.
 I
 can
 make
 you
 happy,
 
Ivy.”
 
I
 kept
 my
 body
 as
 still
 as
 possible.
 Fear
 was
 overwhelming
 me.
 “Please
 get
 
your
 hands
 off
 of
 me.”
 
Finally,
 he
 let
 go.
 I
 ran
 out
 of
 the
 door
 and
 didn’t
 look
 back.
 I
 have
 no
 idea
 if
 
he’d
 followed
 me
 outside,
 but
 I
 didn’t
 want
 to
 take
 the
 chance
 and
 have
 him
 catch
 
me.
 That
 man
 was
 creepy
 and
 obsessed.
 
I
 drove
 out
 of
 his
 private
 development
 and
 finally
 parked
 at
 a
 nearby
 grocery
 
store.
 I
 needed
 to
 relax
 before
 I
 walked
 back
 into
 Stosh’s
 place
 all
 worked
 up.
 
Besides,
 being
 stressed
 couldn’t
 have
 been
 good
 for
 the
 baby.
 
While
 I
 was
 there,
 I
 went
 into
 a
 pharmacy.
 While
 browsing
 around,
 I
 finally
 
spotted
 what
 I’d
 came
 there
 to
 look
 for.
 I
 grabbed
 a
 bottle
 of
 prenatal
 vitamins
 and
 a
 
bottle
 of
 Tylenol.
 Once
 I
 paid
 and
 got
 back
 into
 my
 car,
 I
 emptied
 the
 Tylenol
 into
 
another
 half
 empty
 bottle
 and
 filled
 that
 bottle
 with
 the
 prenatal
 vitamins.
 Then
 I
 
discarded
 the
 prenatal
 vitamin
 container
 so
 that
 nobody
 would
 ever
 know
 that
 I’d
 
purchased
 them.
 
I
 didn’t
 want
 to
 keep
 the
 secret
 much
 longer,
 but
 the
 timing
 had
 to
 be
 right
 
for
 me
 to
 finally
 be
 able
 to
 tell
 people
 the
 news.
 I
 kept
 picturing
 Stosh’s
 face
 when
 I
 
told
 him
 that
 he
 was
 going
 to
 be
 a
 daddy.
 
 
It
 was
 going
 to
 make
 him
 more
 happy
 than
 he’d
 ever
 been
 before.
 I
 rubbed
 
my
 stomach
 and
 thought
 about
 our
 little
 bean
 growing
 inside
 of
 me.
 I
 hoped
 that
 all
 
of
 the
 stress
 that
 I
 was
 under
 wasn’t
 harming
 it.
 The
 last
 thing
 I
 wanted
 was
 
complications.
 I
 just
 wanted
 he
 or
 she
 to
 be
 healthy
 and
 have
 a
 loving
 family
 to
 
belong
 to.
 Stosh
 was
 a
 part
 of
 that
 now
 and
 I
 couldn’t
 wait
 to
 be
 able
 to
 be
 free
 of
 all
 
of
 this
 bullshit
 that
 was
 going
 on
 around
 us.
 
When
 I
 got
 home,
 it
 was
 nearly
 twelve.
 I’d
 stopped
 by
 and
 grabbed
 two
 
salads
 from
 a
 local
 deli.
 
 I
 could
 have
 just
 bought
 one,
 considering
 they
 were
 enough
 
to
 feed
 a
 small
 summer
 camp
 full
 of
 kids.
 
 
I
 went
 inside
 and
 sat
 the
 bag
 down
 on
 the
 countertop.
 Stosh
 wasn’t
 in
 the
 
living
 room.
 I
 knew
 he
 was
 home
 because
 his
 car
 was
 in
 the
 driveway.
 I
 checked
 the
 
bedroom
 and
 the
 bathroom,
 but
 he
 wasn’t
 there
 either.
 
I
 walked
 out
 to
 the
 main
 house
 and
 checked
 the
 door.
 It
 was
 locked,
 so
 I
 
knew
 he
 couldn’t
 be
 inside.
 He
 wasn’t
 out
 by
 the
 pool
 or
 anywhere
 in
 the
 yard.
 
 
I
 started
 to
 panic,
 thinking
 back
 when
 I
 felt
 like
 he’d
 betrayed
 me
 in
 the
 worst
 
way.
 There
 was
 one
 more
 room
 to
 check
 and
 I
 was
 too
 afraid
 to
 open
 the
 door.
 What
 
if
 they
 were
 in
 on
 some
 kind
 of
 master
 plan.
 What
 if
 he’d
 been
 lying
 to
 me
 the
 whole
 
time?
 
The
 more
 I
 stood
 on
 the
 other
 side
 of
 the
 door
 wondering,
 the
 more
 upset
 I
 
made
 myself.
 With
 my
 hand
 on
 the
 doorknob,
 I
 took
 a
 few
 breaths
 and
 opened
 the
 
door.
 Nothing
 could
 have
 prepared
 me
 for
 what
 I
 saw
 when
 it
 opened.
 The
 pain
 I
 felt
 
was
 unbelievable
 and
 I
 didn’t
 know
 what
 I
 was
 going
 to
 do.
 
 
 
 
Chapter
 19
 
What
 the…
 
 
I
 just
 stared
 for
 a
 few
 moments,
 trying
 to
 picture
 that
 what
 I
 was
 seeing
 
wasn’t
 actually
 happening.
 Stosh
 was
 laying
 down
 on
 his
 back.
 His
 eyes
 were
 closed
 
and
 so
 were
 Ivy’s.
 She
 was
 laying
 on
 top
 of
 him,
 but
 that
 wasn’t
 what
 alarmed
 me.
 
 
Ivy’s
 hands
 were
 undone
 and
 next
 to
 her
 lay
 a
 baseball
 bat.
 
I
 ran
 over
 toward
 them
 and
 pushed
 my
 sister
 off
 of
 Stosh.
 She
 didn’t
 wake
 up.
 
“Stosh,
 can
 you
 hear
 me?”
 I
 put
 my
 head
 against
 his
 chest
 and
 heard
 his
 heart
 
beating.
 That
 was
 my
 first
 concern.
 I
 just
 needed
 to
 know
 that
 he
 was
 still
 alive.
 
 
Upon
 further
 inspecting
 him,
 I
 noticed
 that
 he
 had
 a
 gash
 on
 the
 other
 side
 of
 
his
 forehead.
 It
 was
 bleeding
 down
 onto
 the
 carpet
 and
 there
 was
 a
 puddle
 already
 
there.
 
 
I
 looked
 around
 the
 room
 and
 saw
 that
 it
 was
 in
 a
 disarray,
 like
 she
 untied
 
herself
 and
 waited
 for
 him
 to
 come
 in.
 What
 she
 must
 not
 have
 figured
 was
 that
 he
 
would
 have
 fought
 back.
 
 
He
 started
 to
 stir
 and
 I
 leaned
 in
 close
 to
 his
 face.
 “Can
 you
 hear
 me?”
 
“Yeah,”
 he
 whispered.
 
“I
 was
 so
 worried.
 What
 happened?”
 
Before
 he
 could
 respond,
 I
 watched
 his
 eyes
 get
 really
 big.
 Just
 as
 I
 turned
 
around,
 I
 felt
 my
 sister’s
 fist
 punching
 me
 right
 in
 the
 face.
 I
 went
 down
 hard,
 
landing
 next
 to
 Stosh
 and
 right
 in
 his
 pile
 of
 blood.
 
 
I
 could
 see
 him
 trying
 to
 focus
 enough
 to
 stand
 up
 and
 help
 me,
 but
 it
 was
 
obvious
 he
 had
 a
 concussion.
 He
 needed
 to
 get
 to
 a
 hospital.
 
I
 put
 my
 hand
 over
 my
 face
 to
 block
 any
 more
 blows
 that
 were
 coming
 my
 
way.
 “Ivy
 stop!”
 
She
 shoved
 me
 out
 of
 the
 way
 and
 made
 a
 dash
 for
 the
 door.
 Unfortunately,
 I
 
was
 just
 as
 fast.
 I
 grabbed
 the
 leg
 of
 her
 pants
 and
 sent
 her
 falling
 face
 first.
 She
 
landed
 hard
 on
 the
 floor
 and
 it
 must
 have
 taken
 her
 breath
 away.
 While
 I
 stood
 up
 
and
 rushed
 for
 the
 door,
 she
 remained
 still,
 trying
 to
 catch
 her
 breath.
 I
 grabbed
 her
 
by
 the
 hair
 and
 pulled
 her
 back
 in
 the
 bedroom.
 “Get
 the
 fuck
 off
 of
 me!”