Page 2 of The Moment I Knew

“This order is for Lavender,” he said.

“Right,” I said slowly. “It’s for me.”

“You just said you’re Imogen.”

“Well, yes I am, but⁠—”

“So you can’t have it.” He nodded toward the other end of the shop. “You can order over there.”

“But I don’t need to order. Because this is my order.”

“No, it’s not.”

“It’s Lavender’s order and⁠—”

“You’re not Lavender.” He crossed his arms over his chest and if I hadn’t been so annoyed with him right now, I might have enjoyed the way it made his muscles bulge under his work shirt.

“Lavender,” I said slowly, “is my sister.”

He narrowed his eyes and I got the strange sense he didn’t believe me. “Okay.”

“And she’s in the car.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And she sent me in. I swear.”

He studied me for a second, like he was deciding whether this was worth the effort. Then he sighed, uncrossed his arms, and slid the trays back across the counter.

“Don’t spill it,” he said.

I grabbed them before he could change his mind. I stacked the two trays of coffees just like I’d imagined and picked them up carefully, letting most of the weight lean against my torso so they wouldn’t tip the other way. Then I lifted an elbow to grab the bag of pastries under my arm. It maybe wasn’t the safest way to carry it all, but with Lavender parked just outside, I was sure I could make it.

I could feel the boy’s eyes on me as I turned away from the counter, walking so carefully that I probably looked like an idiot. I made it to the door with no trouble, only realizing once I reached it that I had no way of opening it. I peered through the glass toward the car, but I couldn’t see through the windshield, which meant Lavender couldn’t see me. And my phone was buried too deep in my pocket to be able to call her.

That, unfortunately, left only one option.

Keeping my chin on the lids to help them stay balanced, I slowly turned back around. But the boy, who had been behind the counter only a second ago, was now nowhere to be seen.

“Uh… hello?” I said. My voice was barely at speaking level. I cleared my throat, feeling incredibly uncomfortable as I called at a louder voice, “Hello?”

No response. Nothing, except the door behind me swinging open. I realized what was going to happen next, but not in time to stop it.

“There you are!” Lavender said as the door smacked straight into my shoulder. The impact knocked the tray forward, tipping right off my hands.

One cup fell. Then another. Then everything went wrong at once. Coffee splashed across the floor and all over my tights. The bag slipped and spilled open, sending pastries flying. I watched a vanilla sprinkle donut go rolling across the floor until it finally hit a dark shoe that had appeared from the employees section, and I slowly lifted my gaze up to the face of the person standing there.

The boy stared at me, a muscle in his jaw twitching. For a moment, I was sure he was going to yell at me for doing the one thing he’d instructed me not to. But finally, he just said, “I’ll get the mop.”

I stood there in shame, covered in coffee and my face flushing bright red, as I watched him turn on his heel and go back into the storeroom.

I can never come back here again.

two

My twin sister has always been my go-to person. Good news, bad news, stupid moments I’d regret later—it all went to her first. It had been that way for as long as I could remember. So while Lavender carried most of the (remade) coffees and pastries into the kitchen when we got home, I stole enough for Ainsley and me and went upstairs.

Ainsley and I had stopped sharing a room a couple of years ago, but we still had an open-door policy with each other, so I didn’t bother knocking when I reached the final door on the left. Ainsley didn’t even look up from her laptop as I stepped inside, hopping over the backpack that she’d left on the floor, and put her coffee on her desk.