Page 10 of Doubling Down

Double Down

Chapter Six

I follow them back down the winding mountain road until the scenery becomes familiar again. It’s too familiar, in fact. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but when they turn into my neighborhood, I think they must have lost their minds and decided to go home with me instead of the other way around.

But we don’t turn down my parents’ street. Instead we take another turn a block later, and it hits me where they’re headed.

A few minutes later, they turn up a short gravel driveway at the far edge of the subdivision where the trees get thicker. Beyond the tree line is hilly wilderness. It’s one of the most peaceful places in my old neighborhood—a place Casey and I used to explore as kids.

A pretty arts and crafts home rests in the center of the lot, surrounded by meticulous landscaping. The porch light is on, but I know no one is home. This is where Max and Rick live; it’s the house Rick bought with his late wife ages ago and remodeled. She passed away about five years after they got married, so he lived alone until Max moved in after his divorce from Casey’s mom.

I’ve been here dozens of times over the years when Rick and his wife would host neighborhood barbecues, so I get a blast of nostalgia when the twins pull past the house to the big building nestled in back. Rick’s woodshop was always a wonderland of interesting stuff. He would set up projects for the younger kids during the parties, safely stowing all the more dangerous tools and just letting them go to town with paints and glue and scraps of wood.

“You guys live here?” I ask, walking around my car to face them after I park.

“Yep. We have ever since … well, since that night, I guess,” Jude says. He tilts his chin up a set of stairs attached to the outer wall of the woodshop. They lead to a small covered porch, warmly lit with a light that illuminates the trailing vines of night-blooming flowers clinging to the posts.

“Rick took a big risk on us,” Simon says. “When we left your house that day, he caught us hitchhiking and brought us home with him, no questions asked. He set us up in the workshop loft, gave us a place to live, food to eat. He had us doing odd jobs to pay for our lodging. At first it was just cleaning up, doing yard work, that kind of thing. We started assisting him with some projects, then eventually he asked if we wanted to be his apprentices.”

I frown. “Casey knew all this time that you guys lived here?” I’m a little pissed at this revelation. How could she not tell me?

The twins share a glance and Simon narrows his eyes. “We never talked about what happened with you. We didn’t think it was right to share our secret. And when we got here, the two of you were already not speaking, so it was easier to just not talk about it. Then she moved to a dormitory on campus, and we only ever saw her at the club… which is not exactly the kind of place you have heartfelt discussions about old friends.”

“But we’re speaking now,” I say, stomach sinking at the reminder of that fateful summer when everything went to shit. “She could’ve told me tonight.”

“It’s been three years, Sarah. I’m sure if she’d known what we were to each other, she would have said something,” Simon says, spreading his hands to try to appease me.

My chest tightens, and I feel tears coming on. I nod because I know he’s right; Casey would’ve said something, had she known. “Well, I’m glad Rick found you. I worried…”

The words won’t come after that, and I just shake my head, wiping my eyes.

Jude closes the distance and pulls me into his arms. “We did all right, Sarah. It might’ve been the best thing that ever happened to us.”

“Ugh, that’s a relief, but I still feel like shit,” I say, my voice muffled by his shoulder. His leather jacket smells like him, and the awareness hits me deep. I slide my arms underneath and wrap them tight around him, reveling in how warm and solid he feels.

He gives me a soft peck on the cheek and says, “Can we show you our place? We’ve gotten it pretty dialed in. And there’s more I want to show you, but maybe not until tomorrow? That is, if you’ll spend the night.”

“More than your place?” I look up into his eyes to see a familiar mischievous glint. Now I’m intrigued.

“I take it that means you’re staying,” Simon says with a smirk. “But we’ll save the more for tomorrow. C’mon.”

He starts up the steps and pulls out his keys to unlock the door. The entire place smells like freshly cut wood. I never realized how comforting that fragrance was until now. But inside the loft, I’m hit with a scent that is purely them. It’s like walking into a memory, and I close my eyes for a second just to absorb it.

They were athletic boys, so there’s still that faint musk of sweat, but it’s nowhere near as bad as the dorm rooms of some of my male college classmates. I smell wood, and coffee, and ginger and cinnamon.

“You okay?” Jude asks, nudging me gently.

I take one last deep breath and nod. “I missed you guys.”

“We missed you too,” Jude says, tugging me close and nuzzling my hair. “So much.”

“Let me give you the tour,” Simon says. He points to the right, where a purple velour sofa rests beneath a long row of windows. “Living room.” Then to the left, to a kitchen peninsula and the small galley kitchen. Its backsplash is made up of cheery yellow tiles, and it’s got a cutting board countertop, above which a window overlooks the backyard.

“Kitchen,” he says. “And where we’re standing is the dining room.” He pats a small table that looks like it might expand to fit more than two.

Jude takes over, walking farther in. “This is our office,” he says, pointing out two desks facing each other by more windows. The entire floor plan is open, aside from an accordion-style partition between the living room and office. “Bathroom’s through there.”

I peek through the door to see a bathroom that is spacious and mostly new, with double sinks and ornate painted tiles on the counter. A huge, claw-foot tub rests beneath the singular window. In the corner beside it is a large, glassed-in shower stall with artsy tiles that match the counter. A potted plant sits between the toilet and the tub, making it feel even more like a small spa retreat.

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