Twinsequences (Twisted Twin #1)(56)
Author: Jennifer Foor

Even if Stosh would be able to walk one day, the road to that victory was going to be long and hard for him.

For over an hour, we laid in bed and I continued to tickle his feet. He was so amused by it. I called my dad and told him about what Stosh was experiencing. He thought it was a good sign.

The next morning we went to the doctors. He poked Stosh a zillion times from his feet to his thighs. When we left, we had hope that one day he would be able to walk again, after a lot of physical therapy.

Both of our parents came over to celebrate the good news. Stosh’s parents did all of the cooking, while we talked about the baby and plans for the nursery. After much thought, we decided to keep the sex a secret.

Okay, it was Stosh’s request and I just wanted to make him happy.

Truth be told, I didn’t care what I had, as long as he or she was healthy. I’d been through so much stress, and yet, we were still perfectly healthy. Maybe God was rewarding us for getting through the biggest test of our lives. Whatever the case, we were so thankful.

My sister’s trial started on a Tuesday. I told myself I wasn’t going to attend, but we were subpoenaed and all had to be there. She looked even worse than when I had visited her. My mother took it harder than my father. She burst into tears when they brought her into the room. It didn’t help that she was handcuffed.

After two days, my sister was sentenced to eight years in jail. We knew that meant that she would probably get out in only four. I was glad she was going to be put away, but afraid for what was going to happen when she got out.

The judge ordered her to have another mental health evaluation. She was ordered to spend the first six months in a facility, instead of a normal jail.

I didn’t care where she was locked up, as long as she couldn’t get out.

Stosh and I had discussed our future plans for when my sister did get out of prison. Our child would be four and we knew that protecting them was our main concern. My parents agreed with our concern. They bought a cabin about three hours from our small town. They pulled out cash to make the purchase and had the deed put in a fake name. Sure, it was illegal, but they wanted us to be safe. It was also a shame that such extreme measures had to be taken, but we all knew what my sister was capable of. If Ivy could retaliate, she was going to.

We weren’t sure how long we’d have to live in the cabin, so we spent our weekends fixing it up. I think after the first weekend we fell in love with the place. It was in the woods, on a mountain. The cabin had three bedrooms that were upstairs and the rest of the house was an open floor plan. I imagine that it was built for hunters. When we were done making modifications, it was a cozy home for a little family.

Of course, we turned the little study area into a downstairs bedroom, just in case Stosh couldn’t make it up the steps every night. I was willing to sacrifice anything, as long as we were together.

My parents never stopped showering me and Stosh with gifts. I begged them many times to stop trying so hard, even when I knew it wasn’t going to change anything.

For the months leading up to the birth of our baby, they visited my sister on weekends. I hated hearing about how sorry she was, so Stosh asked my parents to keep it to themselves. I understood why they longed to have their little girl back, except unlike them, I knew it was just a whole new pack of lies.

Our little house was perfect for us. Stosh started using crutches to get around. The more he struggled, the better he did at succeeding. He stopped complaining about being disabled, which was good for me, considering I was getting ready to pop out a very needy little human.

We’d talked about names, but were still so undecided. We knew that we were going to name the baby, if it was a boy, Marcus Michael. The girl names were a little more tricky. Stosh liked unique names, where I was more into the traditional kind. I was convinced that if it was a girl we’d just call her Little Princess, since we couldn’t agree on anything else.

The days before I went into labor were filled will chaos. My mother arranged for my college friends to come to town for a surprise shower. Our little rancher was filled with so many people that one could hardly get around. We’d already bought so much for the baby, so naturally the child had everything you could think of after the party. I was so grateful, considering that for a while I thought that I’d no longer have a family or anyone to lean on. Love had changed everything for me. I had been right to follow my heart, because it led me exactly where I needed to be.

Destiny Faith was born on a Sunday morning, bright and early. Stosh came up with the name one night while talking to my belly, like he frequently did. We fell in love with her before we ever met her, but once she came out, and we saw what our love created, we realized there was no feeling like it.

We were a family, finally after being kept apart for so long.

It’s amazing how destiny played part in our story. That’s why he wanted her to have that name. He said all we needed was a little faith.

Stosh took his first steps, without crutches, when Destiny was only three months old. We called it a miracle, while my doctor parents said it was just his body healing itself. Whatever the case, he was on his way to a full recovery.

While Stosh worked during the day and went to physical therapy in the evenings, I started a web design business out of our house. There was no way I was going to leave my little princess, so I took my degree and started something that I could do while taking care of her and my family. It was still going slow, but at least I put my degree to use. When Destiny got older I could branch out and do other things. Stosh wasn’t in a hurry for me to get back out there. If he had it his way, I’d wear dresses and have dinner on the table at five every evening. He loved me staying home with him.

On the day that he’d been legally separated for a year, Stosh filed for divorce. That following Saturday my parents took the papers to my sister to sign. They said she didn’t hesitate. Two months later, we were at the courthouse making things official. For us, it was just a piece of paper, but it was more when it came to our daughter.

It’s funny, looking back, I’d never saw a way for us to be together and be accepted by both of our families, but it was happening.

My sister was where she belonged. One could only hope that she’d mess up and not be granted an early release. My life was too perfect to have to worry about her.

Some nights it still hurt, though. I’d had so many memories of us as little girls. I don’t know when that exact moment happened where love turned to resentment. It didn’t even matter. I had beautiful memories of me and my twin sister. There was a time when we were like one person. I’d never forget that, even after the Hell she put us through. Somewhere in that messed up mind was that little girl that sang songs with me, braided my hair and cuddled under the covers with me during a thunderstorm.