Page 27 of My Twin Sister

“I didn’t mean it in a bad way. You just didn’t talk like that before.”

“It’s okay, don’t feel like you have to apologize. I could be an asshole back then. I had a hard time seeing past myself.”

“You weren’t an asshole—”

“I was. It’s okay. And I was even more of one than you think, because the truth is, I did see past myself. I don’t know why I said I didn’t, because I did. I saw, but I didn’t care. And I’m sorry.”

I’m at a loss for words. I don’t know this person, this version of my sister who is self-aware and apologetic.

“Is there anything else you can tell me about your life the last eighteen years?” I ask, desperate for more pieces to the puzzle.

She takes a deep breath and looks up at the trees. “Bloomington was my favorite place I lived. I stayed there for six years. I didn’t think I’d like city living but I really did. There’s so many places in walking distance.”

“Everything in Raven is walking distance,” I say.

She laughs. “It is. Maybe that’s why I liked it so much.”

“What else?”

“I learned how to code. Websites and apps and stuff. I waitressed a lot for a while, but then I learned coding and mostly did freelance work for money.”

I look at her incredulously. “That’s not what I ever would have expected.”

“I know, right?” she says. “But it’s nice. I can do it from anywhere. I didn’t have to be tied to one place. I just worked.”

I nod. “What about people? Did you date? Are you married?” I hesitate. “Kids?” The question comes out quieter than the others.

Grace shrugs. “I dated here and there. Nothing serious. Never married. No kids.”

It makes me sad, and once again, guilt overwhelms me. She was supposed to marry Wyatt and have his children. Instead, she disappeared and I took her place.

“What really happened that night, Grace?” I stare at the side of her face as we continue to walk.

“I told you. I got caught in the current and it pulled me out. I woke up miles away on a shore and I didn’t remember anything.”

I stop. It takes her a few strides to realize and turn back to me.

She sighs. “Can we please just finish our walk?”

“I don’t want to walk. I want answers.”

“You want something I can’t give you, Genevieve. I’ve already told you everything I can. Everything I remember that’s important.”

“You haven’t and you’re lying to me. Since when do we lie to each other?”

She laughs, but it’s a cruel sound. “You tell me, Gen.”

We walk home in silence. Yet another moment ruined and I’m too tired to figure out whose fault it is. What does it matter anyway? This is going to keep happening until the whole truth comes out.

* * *

Grace helps me make dinner, then goes downstairs to bed shortly after eating. I can tell she’s trying to avoid more questions, and she’s clearly got a lot on her mind about Dad. But it feels strange to go about the night with Wyatt and the boys with her downstairs by herself. I try my best to focus on the kids, the homework, and the night routines.

Before I know it, I’m lying in bed with Wyatt beside me. I scoot closer to him and lay my head on his chest. He adjusts to wrap his arm around me. He’s warm and it feels nice, if a little foreign. My heart pounds in my ears as I slide my hand down his stomach. It’s been a long time since we’ve been intimate.

He hesitates but only for a second. I know he’s probably thinking about Grace being downstairs because so am I. Another bag of mixed emotions. The excitement is because it almost feels like back then, sneaking around and afraid to get caught. He’s mine now, and I shouldn’t feel bad about being with my husband. But I probably shouldn’t feel hot at betraying my sister either.

Wyatt falls asleep quickly after. My skin is still buzzing as I slip out of bed and back into my pajamas. I tiptoe downstairs and look in on Jack and Carter, both fast asleep. Wanting to make sure Grace is asleep, I try to open the basement door, but the heavy wooden door meets resistance almost immediately. I peek through the small crack and see a stack of boxes piled on the stairs, blocking the door. I close it and take a step back. Is she afraid someone’s going to come down here in the night? Me? Wyatt?