"THANKS FOR HELPING me out with Brent," I told Holden once my twin was sound asleep. He looked so peaceful when he wasn't conscious, his face so relaxed and boyish.
He waved me off. "It's my fault for letting his self-medicating get too out of hand."
I was leaning against the doorframe of Brenton's bedroom as I watched him, Holden standing beside me. "Do you know what happened between him and Amber?"
He clicked his tongue and shook his head. "I've not a clue. He wouldn't tell me anything."
Fair enough. All I knew was that Brenton initiated the breakup, but I couldn't figure out why. They seemed so loved up last I saw them and I didn't understand how things could go so wrong so suddenly.
"I didn't get to properly tell you how sorry I am about Maya," I said. "You guys were really great together."
"Eh, I don't know about that." When I raised my eyebrows, he explained further. "I just haven't been with anyone where it's really felt right, you know? Like the feeling you probably get with... I'm an idiot."
I couldn't stop my lips from curving up. "You can say his name, Holden."
"I can't believe he didn't show up," he said, continuing the topic that I very badly wanted to change. "I'd never leave you hanging if you were my girlfriend." He paused, his eyes bulging. "I didn't mean it like that."
I rolled my eyes at him. Behind his expensive suit and big boy stubble, Holden was the same goofy loser he always was. "You're so lame."
He laughed softly. "It's been really nice seeing you. Too bad you don't go to Birch Mount."
The smile on my face disappeared. At the time I thought Cortland was the best school for me, but having changed programs twice already, I was beginning to question if I had been making the right choices lately. All of my friends went to Birch Mount, my boyfriend was at Penbrooke, and I was alone at a school I didn't love, studying something I didn't care for, and actually preferring to be back in Stone Creek over spending another miserable day at Cortland. It had only taken three years for me to begin to realize I might have made a mistake.
~*~
After the party was over, I washed off my makeup and changed into a pair of pyjamas before knocking out. There was something about sleeping in your childhood bed that no other bed could compare to. I slept like a log all night, not waking up once until morning.
With an extra hop in my step due to a restful slumber, I changed into a pair of dark grey compression leggings and a purple sports bra. I tied my hair into a ponytail and grabbed my phone and earbuds before going to the bathroom to brush my teeth.
I was leafing through my notifications as I walked to our shared sibling bathroom —the only thing I preferred about Cortland— but I stopped when I heard the shower running. I banged on the door a few times but no one responded, further ruining my mood. Since when did my brothers shower, let alone in the morning?
Tired of waiting, I swung the door wide open so I could complete my morning rituals. Besides, it's not like I was at risk of seeing something I hadn't already seen before. Just as I barged in, the culprit stepped out of the shower. When my eyes accidentally locked in on their back, I froze in place. Since when did any of my brothers have a scorpion tattoo on the back of their left shoulder? When the person turned around, I let out a scream so loud, it woke up the entire house.
~*~
"Would you like some coffee?" Mom offered, still wearing her robe.
I had my arms folded across my chest as I sat at the dining table, refusing to make eye contact with her.
"Forget about coffee!" Brenton spat, now completely sober. "You've got some explaining to do."
"I need therapy," Alex mumbled, a grimace on his face.
"I wanted to tell you three after the party," Mom said, though none of us believed her.
"Well, it's after the party, so start talking," Brenton snapped.
Mom looked at her whatever-he-was before looking at us. "I am so sorry about this morning. Adam stayed late to help me clean up and he drank a bit so I offered him to stay the night," she said apologetically.
"Why was he using our shower?" Alex demanded.
"Because I offered, Alexander," she said offhandedly.
This Adam character gave us a sheepish smile. "Small world, don't you think?"
For the first time since walking in on Mom's beau, I spoke. "It sure is, Officer Shaw."
Mom looked at us confusedly. "You two know each other?"
Aw, shit.
Curse me and my stupid big mouth. Now, this narc was going to tell Mom all about my lack of licence, Brenton's temper, us abducting Alex, and our jail time.
He answered her question before any of us could. "I ran into the kids at a gas station yesterday. We had a lovely conversation about Cortland University."
My eyebrows shot up and I looked at the narc before looking at Brenton and Alex, who also had similar expressions. This man had a massive stick up his ass yesterday, so what changed? He probably assumed his new girlfriend —excuse me while I go vomit— would not be pleased to learn he booked in her children. I eyed him strangely but he returned my expression with a smile.
"Well," Mom spoke. "That's wonderful! Did you know Adam was in the graduating—"
"Class of '94, we know," my brothers and I said simultaneously.
She raised her eyebrows. "It looks like the four of you are better acquainted than I thought."
This poor excuse of a replacement for a fatherly figure was far from an acquaintance.
~*~
After the most awkward of mornings, I finally went out on a run, my twin deciding to accompany me. "I have to say," Brenton panted as our run slowed down to a jog. "I'm impressed by your stamina."
I couldn't help but beam, pleased with the compliment from my star-studded athlete brother. "I had to start going on runs. It was the only way I could fit into my jeans after Thanksgiving." It wasn't a lie either. College had taken its toll on me, and I had to do something about my health if I wanted to keep eating the junk I consumed on the daily without having to update my wardrobe every season.
"You know," Brenton called from a few feet ahead of me. "Amber almost dumped me when I made her start working out with me."
I shot him an incredulous look as I caught up to him. "How did you two stay together for so long?" Seriously, they were polar opposites. The whole notion of opposites attract made sense for people like James and me, but Amber and Brenton were something else. The only thing they had in common was that they both adored Brenton.
"Who cares? I'm just happy it's over." With those closing words, Brenton sprinted past me. Today he was anti-Amber, but last night it seemed like he really missed her. Worst of all, I still didn't know why they broke up, and it was eating at me.
"Hey." I leaned forward with my hands on my knees, breathing heavily. "Want to cut this short and grab a smoothie?"
Brenton shook his head at me. "Only if you race me there."
I gawked at his retreating figure. This psychopath really expected me to run all the way to the Stone Creek Café? Then again, we were closer to the diner than our house... Heaving a sigh, I pumped my arms and legs as I tried to catch up to him.
~*~
Holden wasn't in when we got to the diner, so we ordered fruit smoothies to-go. Brenton retrieved our drinks, and we went outside to begin our walk home. We were only about a twenty-minute walk away so it couldn't be too bad.
Of course, I jinxed it.
The gorgeous sunny day took a turn for the worse when dark grey clouds filled the sky, followed by the rumbling of thunder.
"We better get a move on before the rain starts." Brenton ran ahead, and I had no choice but to follow him. We were about seven minutes in when a large clap of thunder boomed, and it started to pour. We were too far from the diner to turn back so we continued running in search of shelter. My phone buzzed and I took it out of my pocket to see a text from an unsaved number.
Can I see you tonight?
I powered off my phone before Brenton could see the message, and I slipped it back inside my pocket. I picked up my pace to catch up to him as the rain soaked every part of my body. I squinted my eyes as I peered at the street up ahead.
"Brenton," I yelled over the pouring of the rain. "I see Amber's house."
"Hell no," he replied. "Let's keep going, we're almost home."
"Don't be dumb, let's go." I grabbed his arm and forced him to come with me to Amber's house. We ran up to her porch and I rang the doorbell. The door swung open to reveal Amber's aunt.
She blinked in surprise when she saw us. "Dani Parker?"
"Hey, Chastity."
Despite me being drenched to the bone, she pulled me in for a bear hug. "Last I saw you, you were thirteen," she reminisced. "When did you get so hot?"
Chastity was the equivalent of my dream aunt. She was only a few years older than us, being twenty-seven, and she was super laidback and spunky. She was Amber's mom's sister and came to visit every now and then, usually when Amber's parents were out of town.
"Yeah, yeah, she gets it from her brother," Brenton piped in from behind me. "Now can we come in? I'm soaked."
Chastity opened the door wider to let us in. When Brenton walked by she mouthed, Is that the ex? He's cute.
I pretended to gag and Chastity rolled her eyes. "I'll grab some towels," she offered before saying, "Oh, Amber, we have company!"
"I should have stayed outside," Brenton grumbled. Despite his clothes dripping with rainwater, he took a seat on the nearby barstool, his head hanging low in defeat.
I wasn't used to seeing my overtly cocky brother look so glum, so I walked over to him and patted the top of his head. "What's making you so bitchy?"
"Her." He jabbed his thumb in the direction of a family photo of Amber and her parents. "I just wanted to get away from her, but everywhere I turn she's all I see."
I let my hand drop and rest on his shoulder. "It'll get better. The beginning of breakups is always the hardest, but you'll both move on."
He shook his head, droplets of water flying from his hair. "I don't want her to move on, Dan. I want her to suffer."
I let out a low whistle. "Isn't that kind of harsh coming from the guy who broke it off?"
"Whatever," he grumbled, not pleased with my reply.
"Dani, I brought towels," Amber's voice called out as she entered the kitchen. The smile on her face completely disappeared when she saw Brenton. I was guessing Chastity conveniently forgot to mention her ex-boyfriend was here. "I'll leave these here," Amber muttered, setting the towels on the table before turning around and heading for the staircase.
I gave Brenton a pointed look, and he exhaled loudly through his nostrils. "It's your house, Amber. I'll go wait outside."
She frowned. "But it's pouring, B."
"Brenton," my twin said through gritted teeth. "My name is Brenton."
I casted him a weird look as I grabbed a towel. "Okay, and the first letter is B. Sit your ass back down and stop being dramatic."
It felt nice not being the lovesick sibling for once.
Brenton obliged and dried himself off, but not before giving me a dirty look. I knew I'd pay for this later, but come on! The girl was giving us shelter and towels in the middle of a storm. I'd even be nice to Cade of all people if he did that for me.
"Do you guys want anything to drink?" Amber offered. Brenton held up his smoothie cup in reply, while I decided to play the polite sibling.
"Can I have some water?"
She nodded before walking over to the sink and filling up a glass from the faucet. "It's too bad the rain ruined your plans, huh?"
"What do you mean?" Sure it cut our run short, but I was not complaining at all.
"The carnival." She handed me the glass of water. "Don't you and James go every year?"
My grip tightened around the glass as it sunk in. She was right. Today was the summer solstice yet my boyfriend was nowhere to be found. Setting the glass down before I could break it, I dug through my pocket for my phone to see if I had missed a notification from James, but there was nothing. He couldn't even be bothered to send me an apology or another lame-ass excuse. My eyes lingered on the unread message on my phone and I opened it.
Can I see you tonight?
My thumbs twiddled against my phone as I contemplated my reply.
Meet me at 9:30.
I felt a sinking feeling in my chest, guilt washing over me as I put my phone away, but I didn't want to dwell on it longer than necessary. I was so consumed in my thoughts I didn't notice that the sound of rain falling stopped.
"Want to go?" Brenton asked.
I nodded my head as I stood up. "Thanks for everything, Amber," I told her earnestly. "Bye, Chastity!" I yelled loud enough for her to hear.
Unwilling to stay inside longer, Brenton wordlessly left Amber's house and started jogging toward our own. I waved at her before following my brother's lead.
~*~
I made a beeline for the shower once we got home, double-checking to ensure no cops were casually in there, naked. I washed off all of the sweat and grime from my body and swapped my wet workout clothes for a white oversized hoodie and black biker shorts. I blowdried my wet hair before tying my natural waves into a ponytail and applying some light makeup. Once I touched up my concealer and mascara, I exited the bathroom to see a grumpy, sweaty Brenton waiting outside.
"It took you long enough."
"Bite me," I sneered.
Those two words were Brenton's breaking point because the next thing I knew, he had me in a headlock, forcing the stench of his stinky armpits in my nose.
"Brent," I cried. "Get off of me, you smell like shit!"
"Wuss," he grumbled, releasing me. I took in a dramatic breath of air, my eyes watering from his odor.
Unwilling to let my twin get the win, I ran back into our bathroom and grabbed his favourite cologne before bolting down the hallway and stairs.
"You immature bitch," he yelled, the sound of his footsteps echoing through the house. "They discontinued that line!"
I peered over my shoulder as I ran, ready to hide his cologne until he decided to stop being annoying. I let out a squeal when Brenton's fingers made contact with my ponytail, narrowly managing to get away. I had just made it down the stairs when he tackled me to the ground from behind. Brenton was sitting on my back, his weight crushing my spine. He tried to grab the bottle of cologne from my hands, but I kept wiggling it out of his grasp.
"Give it back," he demanded.
"Get off," I wheezed.
"Not until you give it back."
"Not until you get off."
"Evangeline."
"Wilhelm."
"Bitch."
"Dick."
"Daniella Evangeline Parker, give me back my cologne, you catfish mother f—"
"I'm home!" The door suddenly swung open, revealing the eldest of the Parker siblings. His grin wiped off his face when he saw the situation before him. "What the hell are you dummies doing?"
"Dani stole my cologne!" my twin answered at the same time I said, "Brenton shoved his pits in my face!"
Niko shook his head at us. "I regret asking." Being the older sibling he was, he snatched the cologne bottle out of my hands before pulling Brenton to his feet. Once my heavy twin was off of me, I got up and ran into Niko's arms. I threw my arms around his neck and he spun me around, chuckling. "See? This is the welcome I deserve."
I hugged his torso after he put me down, squeezing him tightly. "I missed you."
He mussed my hair lovingly. "It's only been two months, Dan."
"What happened to seeing each other every other week?"
"You're right." He kissed the top of my head. "But you'll forgive me when you hear why I've been so absent."
"It better be a good reason," Brenton said as he hugged Niko, not before shoving me in the process.
When they broke their hug, Niko beamed at us. "I'm getting married!"