Ignoring his brother’s theatrics, Reed surveys the boxes lining all available space in our tiny apartment. “Is this everything?”
My chin juts forward. “Not enough for you? There are at least thirty boxes in here. And more down the hall.”
Granted, some of them are small, and most of them have more packing cushion than belongings, but still.
Still pushing up daisies on the couch, Sawyer thrusts his arms straight out in front of him, meaning they point to theceiling. He does a corpse bend to bring himself upright like he’s rising from the dead. In a perfect Mushu impression, he wails, “I liiiiiiiive!”
Reed’s twin does impressions. Lots of them. Constantly.
While my man pretends to detest the constant frivolity, I see the joy twinkling in the back of his mocha eyes. With each impression, joke, or silly story he’s forced to endure, Reed brightens like the sun. He’s reliving a lifetime of love and laughter, recouping a piece of the childhood that was stolen from them.
The other night, Reed told me he was having a hard time articulating his brother’s personality. We kicked around a myriad of options before Reed ultimately came up with the most inappropriate one. It kills me to share this without censoring it. But here goes.
If happiness were cum shots, Sawyer would have impregnated the entire state.
Told you it was inappropriate.
It’s sort of true, though. I’ve never met someone so high on life. Compared to him, I’m Eeyore.
If they spend much more time together, Reed’s frown lines will turn into smile lines. And no doubt, Sawyer will tease him about not using a quality wrinkle cream.
And I couldn’t love it more for them.
The last month has been a whirlwind for their buddingtwindom. Aside from some clunky moments, they’ve fallen into a groove. It’s uncanny how well they fit together. Aside from Sawyer’s coffee addiction, they have oodles in common. You’d think they never knew life without their other half.
It’s beautiful.
And a tad bittersweet, if I’m honest.
The other night, Reed asked if it bothered me to witness them reconnect. He offered to dial back the time spent getting toknow his twin if it was dredging up grief about Zara. I laughed in his face. Almost as much as when he told me I was Jessica Rabbit.
While it was so perfectly Reed of him to suggest such madness, I would never want him to do something so preposterous. In a strange way, it’s healing a piece of my soul to see how they shine together.
Reed’s heart beats in time with mine. If he’s happy, then I am too. Simple as that.
However, he still hasn’t told his brother the gut-wrenching story about what happened when they were put up for adoption as infants. He’s been dodging it like Patches O’Houlihan’s wrench, determined to save his twin from the heartache.
On the night he told me, I did my best to reassure him that it would be better for Perry to learn the truth from him, rather than finding out on his own. Although he agrees, he still hasn’t found the strength to do it.
He can’t put it off forever, though.
A knock at the door shakes me from my meandering thoughts. “I’ll get it.”
After a quick check of the peephole, I welcome Kri and her hubby to the moving party.
“Hey, killer,” Kri teases, faking a punch toward my midsection.
Her hand falls suddenly, and her expression morphs from playful into a sharp cringe. She reminds me of how I looked the time Mrs. Hayes pulled the cookies out of the oven five minutes too late.
Shocked and devastated.
“What?” I ask, struggling to hold back my laughter at herkillerjoke.
She rambles through an explanation, remorse coating each word like fondue. “That probably wasn’t funny. I bet you’reupset about what happened. Too soon, right?Gah. I’m sorry. I don’t always do well around females in a social setting.”
I flash my splayed palms to stop her pointless apologies. “You’re fine. Seriously.” Unleashing my megawatt smile, I finally free my laugh at the joke.
“It’s actuallynottoo soon. It’s right on time. I probably should feel bad about killing Casablanca, but given the situation, I’m not upset. He was an evil murderer. I asked myself,what would Kri do. And then I answered it by jabbing the blade I hid in my bra right into his neck.”
