Twinsequences (Twisted Twin #1)(4)
Author: Jennifer Foor

My sister and I kept in touch, but nothing was ever the same as before he came into our lives. She could never know what she’d taken from me. I loved her enough to never hurt her like that.

So I thought…

Chapter 2

The mirror has two faces.

I should probably explain the conversation that put all of this into play.

The call from my sister came around four in the morning. When my cell phone started vibrating across my bedside table, I should have known it was her. Since I’d left for college, she never called unless she needed something, or wanted to brag about her perfect life.

I shared a house with four other girls and our lease was up in one month. Since we’d all graduated, we’d already started packing up our things.

I attempted to reach for my phone with my eyes still closed, but ended up knocking it into a box on the floor.

The vibrating stopped and then started back again.

I finally felt it and pulled it out to see my sister’s face displayed on the screen. I doubled checked the time before answering.

Hello?

It’s me. I’m in trouble and I need you to come home.

Ivy, it’s four in the morning. Call me back in a couple of hours.

I can’t. Look I don’t have time to explain. I need you to come here. Will, I need you to be me for a couple of days.

I sat up straight. Are you crazy?

No. I’m desperate. Please, Will. Please help me. She started to sob and I immediately felt sorry for her.

I’m not doing anything until you tell me what’s wrong. Where’s Stosh? Why can’t he help you?

He can’t know! He can’t ever find out. That’s why I need you to be me.

You’re crazy. He’s your husband. He’s going to know I’m not you.

No, he really won’t. We barely see each other. He is obsessed with work and doesn’t pay attention to anything I do.

Ivy, this is insane. I have a life here. I can’t just get up and be you. It’s not feasible.

Will, I’m begging you. It’s life or death.

What? What have you done, Ivy?

How fast can you get here?

She wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

I don’t know.

Will, please. I wouldn’t ask you if it wasn’t so important. Please. I have to leave today. I don’t have a choice.

Her cryptic reasoning was making me worry. My sister was always an open book.

Ivy, if I drive four hours and this is over a past due electric bill, I am going to kill you.

Meet me at the airport at noon. I will explain everything.

You better!

She was still crying when we hung up. Something was wrong and I hated that I didn’t know what it was. I felt like I wanted to call Stosh and ask him what was going on, but Ivy insisted that he couldn’t know. I knew it wasn’t my parents. She would have told me something like that.

Without knowing what could have been going on, I got out of bed and packed a bag. There was a chance that I’d be heading home once I heard her out.

I sucked down my latte as I headed toward the interstate. It was going to be a long lonely drive. Luckily, my vehicle had satellite radio. I hated commercials and needed my fix of nineties music.

I arrived into town a little before ten. There had been two accidents that caused major delays. Since it had been so long that I’d been home, I was surprised to see that the small town had built up. Convenience stores and fast food restaurants had been added, as well as a Super Walmart.

Since I was so early, I decided to get out at a local park and do my morning run. It usually took about an hour and it was a perfect day. Changing in my car wasn’t so hard considering that I was already wearing a pair of yoga pants. I took off my flip-‐flops and put on my tennis shoes. After pulling up my long hair, I headed out to take in the fresh air.

This particular route of my run was a little scenic trail on the one side of our town. I ran past the high school and thought about all of the eventful moments that I’d spent there. It made me run faster, causing me to get out of breath much sooner than I was used to.

After getting myself so upset, I rethought my decision and considered turning around and heading back home. There was nothing left here for me.

Sure, I could move on easily. I’d dated in college and even had one serious relationship. Unfortunately, none of them gave me the same feelings that Stosh had given me when he kissed me. I know it was hard to believe, but I knew I’d been in love with him. My feelings were true and I wasn’t sure if they’d ever be able to completely go away.

Now that he’d been married to my sister for four years, I’d spent that time being cordial with him on the phone. He would say hi, but our friendship didn’t survive their relationship. I kept our conversations to a minimum and couldn’t deal with hearing my sister go on and on about the little things he did that annoyed her.

I hate to say this, but I almost hoped that they would get an annulment just to calm the stake that was permanently being stabbed into my heart. I’d deleted my Facebook page, because I got tired of my sister posting statuses involving places that his parents and my parents were taking them.

Jealousy had gotten the best of me, that’s for sure.

By twelve, I’d been sitting in my car, in the airport parking lot, for more than an hour. When I saw my sister pulling up, I knew that I couldn’t turn my back on her, even if it was what I should have done.

It was just a couple of days.

What could go wrong?

When I first saw her sitting down, I could tell that she’d been through something. She appeared to have been crying for days. “Spill it, Ivy. I just drove all this way and deserve to hear what the hell is going on.”

She covered her face into her hands. “You wouldn’t understand. Can’t you just take my word for it?”

“You’re asking me to be you. Not only is it against the law, but I can’t be someone that I haven’t been around in years.”

She ignored my comment and ran her fingers through my hair. “Our lengths are almost identical.”

I pulled away from her. “Ivy, are you freaking serious? I can’t believe I was so stupid.”

She stood up and put her hands on her hips. “Will, please. I’m begging you.”

“Do you even understand what you’re asking me to do? I can’t be you, Ivy. I can’t go and pretend to be married to your husband. I don’t know where anything in your house is and I sure don’t know how to act around him. He will know.”

She smiled, but somehow looked annoyed. “You don’t know anything about marriage. Not only will Stosh not notice, but you may not even have to see him. He’s playing cards with his friends like he does this same time every week. When he comes home he’ll be so drunk he’ll pass out on the couch. Tomorrow he has an appointment with a buyer out of town. He usually stays the whole night there and doesn’t come home until lunch time the next day. He’s got bowling the following night after work, so you’ll be fine until I get back.”