The Twins & Me

Tracked

He grins, laughs.

I grin back. "You done in here? I have to get to class, but you can lock up if you want to stay to clean the bathroom."

He shakes his head. "No, I'm all done here. Should get into work."

I wait for him to put on his shoes and jacket, and we walk down together.

"You need a ride to campus? Laurent, right?" he asks out on the sidewalk.

A fierce gust of wind encircles us. "No, that's okay," I say, wrapping my arms around myself.

He gestures to a gray car parked against the curb. "It's no trouble, really. I'm late anyways."

I hop from foot to foot for a second, then relent. "Okay, thanks."

I learn Roark went to school on the west coast, and his family is from Oregon. He learned I don't have a goal as far as the-rest-of-my-life goes, but really like art history. When we're nearly to the library, where I asked him to drop me off, I get a text from Arlo.

Grab a coffee before class?

I reply, Getting a ride from one of Lila's friends. Will be getting there just in time.

He doesn't respond, which is a little odd, but I don't worry about it because Roark asks to hear more about Lila's sleepwalking.

I laugh. "I'll only embarrass her more if you tell me about this Brian guy."

Roark peeks at me. "She hasn't mentioned him?"

I shake my head, gauging his reaction carefully. "No. Are they dating?"

He shrugs a shoulder, but I catch the small smile on his lips. "I don't really know."

I watch him. Does he like her?

We pull up to the library shortly after that, and I thank him for the ride. Though the sun is struggling to make an appearance today, the wind isn't as intense in the center of campus. As I turn from watching Roark's car disappear from view, I spot Arlo walking towards me.

My heart leaps; he's holding two coffees and is wearing a very comfy-looking sweater. A chain dangles around his neck with a star pendant.

I grin up at him. "Look who's trying to steal my style—"

"You could've asked me for a ride," he says curtly.

His tone stops me short. There's not a trace of a smile on his face, and his eyes are hard. He's never looked at me like this. I don't know what to say.

He looks in the direction of Roark. "Who was that? Do you even know him?"

My mouth opens and closes, but no sound comes out.

"And why did you take the long way getting here?"

I suddenly find my voice, and my words come out broken. "The long way? I—were—were you tracking me?"

He stares down at me, and his silence says it all.

"Arlo!" I yank my phone out of my pocket, not believing what's going on. "How? When did you—"

"It was me."

I turn at the sound of Ollie behind me. His hair is disheveled and he's also wearing a star necklace. A part of me wants to swoon at this, but the larger part of me is angry at what he's doing. It's one thing to track his brother, who knows he's doing it, but another to do it without my knowledge.

I cringe, looking between them. "Why?"

"For shit like this," Ollie answers, pointing at my phone. "Who the fuck knows who that guy could've been?"

"He works with my sister," I defend. It's probably best not to mention he grabbed my ass. "And that's not the point, Ollie."

"Why did he take a longer route getting here?" Arlo cuts in. I ignore the hurt in his voice.

"He's never been to campus. I give shitty directions."

The twins look at each other.

I stick my phone out to Ollie. "Whatever you're using to track me, take it off."

"No," he says flatly.

"That's illegal."

"It's a rule," he snaps back.

I scoff. "Liar."

He points at me. "And I don't like you riding around with other dudes, Wren. You scared baby brother half to death."

I squint at him. "I scared Arlo, sure." He can't hide the fear in his own eyes. I really put them through something just now, and I didn't even realize it.

Ollie's eye twitches at me calling him out. "Arlo drives you to school from now on. And you're getting punished for breaking a rule."

My mouth drops open. "What rule? Pissing you off?"

He tucks a lock of hair behind my ear and gives my lobe a little tug. His smile is bitter. "You got it."

I look to Arlo to help, but I can see he's already settled on this. He hands me a coffee without a word.