TweetyGram

3 - #BFF

Meanwhile, I looked like an ordinary girl next door.

A cute one, but still.

Something stirred within me at the comparison, and a foreign creature emerged from the darkest part of my mind. The creature bore an uncanny resemblance to me, except for her bright bottle-green eyes. As her blood-red lips stretched into an eerie grin, she reminded me of a life I could've lived.

How I could've been a beloved TV star like Nat.

How I could've had 12.5 million followers on TweetyGram like Nat.

How I could've lived a whole different life if only that May accident had never happened.

No, no, no. There's no use dwelling on what could've been, Lindsey. Focus on the present. Focus on the present.

I closed my eyes, drew in a deep breath, and released it in a sigh. "I guess I just don't want her to see how terrible my life is when her life is so," I narrowed my eyes and joked, "TweetyGrammable."

Bree chuckled. "Our lives aren't so bad."

"I know, and I'm grateful for what we have. It's just that we're not Aubrey and Lindsey Darling, daughters of a beloved soap opera star anymore. We're Aubrey and Lindsey Darling, daughters of an alleged criminal. And she's Natalie Winters, star of Malibu, 90265. I don't belong in her world anymore. She's a superstar, and I'm just an ordinary person."

Bree pulled her mouth into a line. "You don't have to accept her follow request if you don't want to. But the way I see it, you can learn a thing or two about her impostor from her. You are going to write about Faux Natalie Winters, right?"

I sucked in an exaggerated gasp. "You were eavesdropping on Goldilocks and me?"

"I wouldn't call it eavesdropping. You two had the conversation in the kitchen—which we share—and I happen to have an excellent hearing. If you don't want me listening in on your conversation, then next time you should have it in your bedroom."

I scowled at her. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." Bree's flat expression made it hard for me to tell if she was joking or serious.

I clicked my tongue and redirected the conversation. "Do you think it's okay if I asked Nat about her wolf? I haven't talked to her in years, and the last time I did, I kept cooking up excuses every time she invited me to hang out. If I contact her for the article now, it feels like I'm just using her as a means to an end."

Bree didn't answer right away. "Think of it like this. If you write that article, you'll be doing everyone a huge favor. You might get your dream job. People would be aware of social media impostors—"

"Wolves," I corrected her.

"Wolves." She nodded. "As for Nat, every publicity is good publicity for celebrities, remember?" She stood up and gave me an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "Just think about it."

As Bree walked back into the kitchen to continue her experiment, I stared at Nat's follow request, weighing my options.

Bree made a good point. Every publicity is good publicity for celebrities. Plus, Nat wouldn't want some creep impersonating her online and getting away with scamming her fans out of their money, so I could be doing her a favor too.

Right. You're not selfish for doing this, Lindsey.

With a determined breath, I tapped the accept button and followed her back.

Seconds later, a speech bubble with the number 1 appeared on the envelope icon at the top right of the app.

There was a new message from Nat.