It's Lust, Not Love

Part 22

Lewis’s POV

I stared at her, my out wide open. It couldn’t be…could it? She looked a little startled as well.

“How did you know my sister?” Her sister? Cara had a twin sister?

“You’re not—? I mean, we were friends when I lived in Australia.” I didn’t like where this was going. Had Cara told her sister about me? Cara’s sister stood next to Ana’s father, unmoving, just staring at me.

“Oh. She never mentioned you. We never talked much…” She pursed her lips. “Did you keep in touch before the…you know…?”

“Before what?” What was she talking about?

“You don’t know?” She stared at me wide-eyed. I shook my head, confused.

“No, we…we sort of fell out of touch.”

“She got into a—an accident...a boat accident. She fell off and—“ The woman’s voice broke, tears filling her eyes.

“Is she….” I hesitated to say the word. “Is she…ok?” The woman shook her head.

“I’m sorry Lewis. I didn’t realize not everyone who knew her knew what happened. I would have invited you to the funeral…” She sat down in her chair, and Ana’s father held her hand and stroked it comfortingly.

“No, not it’s fine. I just never knew she had a twin sister.” I just couldn’t believe Cara was dead. I had hated her so long, but I guess it hadn’t really been hate that I felt, because I felt upset over her death. If I had hated her, I would have felt a different emotion, not sadness.

“Well, I’m Marissa.”

“Lewis.” I replied, smiling at her. Cara and Marissa. Marissa and Cara. Why had she never told me about her twin?

“Yes, I know.” She laughed. “What a way to start off dinner!” She began serving food to each of us, and the questioning began.

“Do you plan on going to college after graduating, Lewis?” Ana’s father started, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Ana, who was sitting next to me, turn pale and bite her lip, but I looked her father in the eye and answered him.

“Yessir!”

“And what occupation do you want to pursue?”

“I’d like to be a teacher, I think.” I grinned at Ana and patted her leg under the table, trying to get her to relax.

Her father grunted, I think in approval, and Marissa chimed in.

“That’s wonderful! If you were a teacher right now, I expect all the female students would have little high school crushes on you!” She laughed and continued. “Even Ana, I expect!”Marissa kept giggling, and even Ana’s father chuckled a bit. I forced myself to laugh a little, but Ana was pale as a ghost and her hands were shaking. Marissa noticed.

“Oh, I’m so sorry Ana! I’m embarrassing you, aren’t I?” Ana gave a little nod and glanced at me for support.

“So, um, Mr. Rogers, uh,” I desperately racked my brains for something to say. “Do you, er, work?” What a dumb question, but Mr. Rogers seemed not to mind. In fact, he began to tell me all about his work (he was a business man). I considered acting younger than my age, but business was easy for me to talk about and it stopped the questions I had to lie about and make up answers to, so Mr. Rogers and I began talking business, and Ana visibly relaxed.

Ana’s POV

Lewis never ceased to impress me! All evening he had chatted away with my father and still managed to avoid arousing any suspicion about his age, even though he acted far more mature than any high school boy I was acquainted with. At the end of the night, he got a hug good-bye from Marissa and once he was out the door my father called him a “good kid”. Little did he know… One thing that bothered me though was finding out my dad was marrying the twin of the woman who had broken Lewis’s heart, and not only that, but that meant Marissa was around Lewis’s age, 22, while my father was, well I wasn’t sure how old he was exactly but there was at least a 20 year difference. Ugh! But they made each other happy, and who was I to judge?