Twinsequences (A Twisted Twin Series) (44 page)

I
 sipped
 at
 the
 honey
 tea
 and
 sat
 it
 down
 on
 my
 bedside
 table.
 “Thank
 you.”
 
“Sweetie,
 things
 are
 going
 to
 be
 okay.
 I
 know
 he
 loves
 you.
 His
 mother
 and
 I
 
talked
 about
 it
 tonight.
 He’s
 being
 stubborn,
 like
 every
 man
 does
 when
 something
 
goes
 wrong.
 You
 just
 be
 patient
 with
 him.
 Let
 him
 get
 used
 to
 what’s
 happened
 to
 
him.
 He’s
 not
 going
 to
 let
 you
 walk
 away.
 I
 promise!”
 
“I
 wish
 I
 could
 get
 a
 do-‐over
 of
 the
 last
 five
 years.”
 
She
 stroked
 her
 fingers
 through
 my
 hair.
 “We
 all
 want
 one
 of
 those.”
 
“What
 if
 he
 doesn’t
 want
 me
 anymore?
 How
 will
 I
 be
 able
 to
 raise
 a
 baby?
 I
 
gave
 up
 my
 new
 apartment
 and
 my
 job
 to
 be
 with
 him.
 We
 were
 going
 to
 run
 away
 
and
 raise
 our
 baby
 together.”
 
“You’re
 not
 alone,
 Willow.
 Your
 father
 and
 I
 will
 help
 take
 care
 of
 you
 and
 the
 
baby.
 You
 can
 move
 in
 with
 us
 and
 find
 a
 job
 locally.
 Your
 dad
 and
 I
 have
 plenty
 of
 
connections
 to
 get
 you
 started
 with
 something
 here.
 Please
 consider
 it.”
 
Since
 I
 had
 no
 other
 options
 and
 I
 couldn’t
 have
 a
 do-‐over,
 I
 knew
 it
 was
 my
 
only
 option.
 “I’d
 like
 that.”
 
She
 leaned
 down
 and
 kissed
 me.
 “I
 would
 too.
 Get
 some
 sleep,
 baby.
 I’m
 right
 
down
 the
 hall
 if
 you
 need
 me.”
 
“Mom?”
 She
 turned
 around
 and
 looked
 at
 me.
 “Are
 you
 okay?
 You’ve
 all
 been
 
so
 worried
 about
 me.
 I
 never
 thought
 to
 ask
 you.”
 
“Your
 father
 and
 I
 will
 be
 fine.
 After
 learning
 everything
 that
 our
 other
 
daughter
 had
 done
 to
 
 you,
 what
 she
 did
 to
 us
 was
 minimal.
 I’m
 just
 glad
 we’re
 all
 
safe.
 Get
 some
 sleep.”
 
When
 she
 closed
 the
 door,
 I
 couldn’t
 help
 but
 cry
 a
 little
 more.
 
 
I
 found
 my
 yearbook
 in
 my
 bedside
 table
 where
 I’d
 left
 it.
 After
 flipping
 
through
 a
 couple
 pages,
 I
 got
 to
 the
 seniors.
 Under
 each
 picture
 the
 students
 listed
 
what
 they
 saw
 for
 their
 future.
 What
 Stosh
 wrote
 finally
 made
 sense.
 
 
Be
 successful.
 
Marry
 the
 girl
 of
 my
 dreams.
 
Start
 a
 family.
 
 
I
 traced
 over
 his
 words.
 That
 statement
 had
 been
 about
 me.
 
 
A
 love
 like
 that
 doesn’t
 just
 go
 away.
 I
 was
 going
 to
 wait
 for
 him,
 like
 he’d
 
waited
 for
 me.
 
His
 life
 with
 my
 sister
 no
 longer
 mattered.
 I
 couldn’t
 let
 his
 past
 stand
 in
 the
 
way
 of
 our
 future.
 Stosh
 was
 mine
 and
 I
 wasn’t
 letting
 him
 go
 without
 a
 fight.
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter
 28
 
Starting
 a
 new
 life.
 
 
My
 attempts
 at
 getting
 Stosh
 back
 fell
 flat.
 As
 unfortunate
 as
 it
 was,
 I
 had
 to
 
keep
 trying.
 
For
 the
 first
 couple
 weeks,
 my
 family
 had
 so
 much
 going
 on.
 Between
 my
 
sister
 being
 arraigned
 and
 deciding
 what
 they
 were
 going
 to
 do
 about
 getting
 her
 a
 
lawyer,
 they
 were
 completely
 on
 edge.
 My
 father
 wanted
 her
 to
 just
 magically
 get
 
better,
 while
 my
 mother
 thought
 more
 rationally.
 She
 knew
 that
 Ivy
 needed
 
professional
 help.
 Whether
 it
 have
 been
 in
 jail
 or
 in
 a
 mental
 facility,
 she
 wouldn’t
 
pose
 a
 threat.
 They
 argued
 every
 single
 night
 about
 posting
 her
 million-‐dollar
 bail.
 
 
I
 think
 what
 finally
 settled
 the
 quarrel
 was
 the
 fact
 that
 I
 threatened
 to
 leave
 
if
 she
 were
 to
 come
 home,
 even
 for
 a
 temporary
 stay
 until
 her
 actual
 trial.
 
It
 was
 hard
 for
 them
 to
 have
 to
 pick
 which
 daughter
 to
 help.
 I
 got
 that.
 I
 just
 
couldn’t
 forgive
 like
 they
 wanted
 to.
 
My
 days
 of
 being
 friends
 with
 my
 sister
 were
 very
 over.
 
 
Ever
 since
 finding
 out
 the
 whole
 story,
 Stosh’s
 mother
 and
 I
 had
 grown
 very
 
close.
 She
 called
 every
 couple
 of
 days
 and
 kept
 me
 optimistic
 about
 having
 a
 future
 
with
 her
 son.
 I
 knew
 part
 of
 it
 was
 so
 that
 they
 could
 have
 a
 life
 with
 their
 first
 
grandchild,
 but
 it
 didn’t
 matter,
 because
 I
 wanted
 that,
 too.
 
Stosh
 was
 having
 a
 difficult
 time.
 He’d
 been
 released
 from
 the
 hospital
 and
 
had
 started
 physical
 therapy.
 Unfortunately,
 since
 the
 shooting,
 he’d
 not
 been
 able
 
to
 feel
 anything
 below
 the
 waist.
 
 
His
 mother
 said
 that
 he
 wasn’t
 even
 back
 to
 work
 yet.
 They’d
 paid
 his
 rent,
 so
 
that
 he
 wouldn’t
 lose
 his
 place.
 He
 was
 staying
 there
 all
 alone
 and
 giving
 up
 on
 
everything
 that
 ever
 meant
 something
 to
 him.
 
 
It
 saddened
 me
 so
 much.
 We
 could
 be
 happy
 together,
 but
 he
 insisted
 on
 
being
 so
 damn
 stubborn.
 I
 tried
 calling
 him.
 His
 parents
 even
 tried
 to
 talk
 some
 
sense
 into
 him.
 
Nothing
 was
 helping.
 
Finally,
 sometime
 during
 the
 fourth
 week,
 I
 couldn’t
 take
 it
 any
 longer.
 Going
 
against
 everyone’s
 advice,
 I
 found
 myself
 standing
 outside
 of
 Stosh’s
 place.
 I
 could
 
hear
 the
 television
 on,
 so
 I
 knew
 he
 was
 home.
 
 
I
 knocked
 twice,
 before
 I
 heard
 him
 yell,
 “it’s
 open.”
 
I
 assume
 that
 he
 figured
 I
 was
 his
 mom,
 when
 he
 just
 invited
 me
 in.
 The
 look
 
on
 his
 face
 confirmed
 my
 inclinations.
 He
 creased
 his
 brow
 and
 shook
 his
 head.
 “You
 
shouldn’t
 be
 here.”
 
I
 looked
 around
 and
 noticed
 all
 of
 the
 furniture
 had
 been
 moved
 to
 allow
 a
 
wheelchair
 to
 get
 around.
 Stosh
 was
 sitting
 on
 the
 couch
 with
 the
 chair
 right
 next
 to
 
him.
 I
 sat
 down
 on
 the
 opposite
 end
 of
 the
 couch.
 “It
 was
 my
 decision,
 not
 yours.”
 
“Why
 did
 you
 come?
 Did
 you
 want
 to
 see
 how
 awful
 it
 is?
 Are
 you
 satisfied,
 or
 
do
 you
 need
 to
 see
 me
 struggle
 to
 get
 a
 glass
 of
 water,
 or
 watch
 me
 trying
 to
 climb
 
on
 the
 toilet
 to
 be
 able
 to
 take
 a
 shit?”
 
I
 wasn’t
 prepared
 to
 feel
 sorry
 for
 him,
 but
 that
 was
 exactly
 what
 was
 
happening.
 Since
 he
 had
 no
 feeling
 below
 the
 waist,
 I
 knew
 that
 maneuvering
 
around
 was
 extremely
 difficult.
 “I
 can
 see
 it’s
 been
 hard
 for
 you.”
 
The
 room
 got
 quiet.
 I
 didn’t
 know
 what
 to
 say
 to
 him.
 He
 was
 miserable
 and
 I
 
couldn’t
 take
 that
 pain
 away.
 I
 thought
 about
 our
 baby
 and
 instinctively
 rubbed
 my
 
stomach.
 Since
 I
 was
 jobless,
 all
 I’d
 been
 doing
 was
 eating.
 A
 little
 bump
 was
 starting
 
to
 form
 and
 in
 just
 a
 few
 more
 weeks
 I
 would
 be
 having
 a
 sonogram
 to
 see
 what
 the
 
sex
 of
 our
 baby
 was.
 
 
Stosh
 saw
 me
 rubbing
 my
 bump.
 “How
 are
 you
 feeling?”
 
I
 shrugged.
 “I’m
 not
 getting
 sick,
 but
 it
 hasn’t
 been
 easy.
 I’m
 not
 supposed
 to
 
be
 stressed
 and
 it’s
 all
 I’ve
 been
 my
 whole
 pregnancy.
 My
 parents
 have
 been
 helping
 
me.
 They
 offered
 to
 let
 me
 live
 with
 them
 until
 I
 can
 get
 back
 on
 my
 feet.
 They
 think
 I
 
should
 just
 wait
 until
 after
 the
 baby
 is
 born
 to
 go
 back
 to
 work.”
 
“Sounds
 like
 you
 have
 things
 figured
 out.”
 He
 flipped
 through
 the
 channels,
 
refusing
 to
 look
 at
 me.
 
“I
 miss
 you.”
 Maybe
 I
 shouldn’t
 have
 just
 come
 out
 with
 it
 like
 that.
 I
 couldn’t
 
sit
 there
 any
 longer
 without
 expressing
 my
 feelings.
 
He
 shook
 his
 head
 and
 turned
 off
 the
 television.
 After
 running
 his
 hands
 over
 
his
 face,
 he
 finally
 turned
 to
 face
 me.
 “Will,
 I’m
 not
 going
 to
 lie
 to
 you.
 I
 miss
 you,
 too.
 
It’s
 just…I
 can’t
 see
 us
 ever
 being
 happy
 with
 me
 in
 that
 damn
 chair.”
 
“Well,
 I
 can’t
 see
 us
 ever
 
being
 happy
 without
 
being
 
together.
 I
 want
 you.
 I
 
want
 every
 part
 of
 you.
 Don’t
 you
 get
 that?”
 
I
 knew
 he
 wanted
 to
 stand
 up
 and
 walk
 away,
 except
 he
 couldn’t
 and
 it
 was
 
driving
 him
 crazy.
 “Don’t
 you
 think
 I’ve
 thought
 of
 every
 possible
 way
 for
 us
 to
 be
 
together?
 Willow,
 I
 can’t
 feel
 anything
 anymore.
 Do
 you
 get
 what
 that
 means?
 I
 may
 
never
 be
 able
 to
 give
 you
 what
 you
 need.”
 
My
 jaw
 dropped.
 “Do
 you
 seriously
 think
 that
 all
 I
 care
 about
 is
 having
 sex?
 
There
 are
 other
 things
 that
 people
 can
 do
 to
 be
 intimate
 with
 each
 other.
 Besides,
 I
 
want
 you,
 not
 your
 dick!”
 
Perhaps
 he
 was
 a
 bit
 shocked
 at
 what
 came
 out
 of
 my
 mouth.
 He
 waited
 a
 few
 
seconds
 before
 answering.
 “It
 will
 get
 old.
 I
 can’t
 take
 the
 rejection.
 Do
 you
 
understand
 that
 I’d
 rather
 not
 be
 together
 now,
 then
 spend
 five
 to
 ten
 years
 
together
 and
 have
 you
 leave
 me.
 I
 don’t
 want
 to
 taste
 happiness,
 when
 I
 know
 it
 isn’t
 
going
 to
 last.”
 
I
 got
 down
 on
 the
 floor
 and
 positioned
 myself
 between
 his
 legs.
 “There
 are
 no
 
guarantees
 in
 life,
 Stosh.
 I
 could
 walk
 out
 that
 door
 and
 get
 into
 an
 accident.
 I
 could
 
be
 hit
 by
 lightning
 and
 die.
 You
 can
 sit
 there
 and
 say
 you
 don’t
 want
 to
 try.
 You
 can
 
sit
 there
 and
 act
 like
 a
 little
 bitch,
 but
 I
 know
 what
 I
 want.
 I
 know
 what
 we’re
 up
 
against
 and
 all
 of
 it
 is
 worth
 it,
 if
 it
 lets
 us
 be
 together.”