Page 80 of Twins For My Bestie's Brother

“Lily. I just saw my brother, and he said that you left Banff early. He wouldn’t tell me anything else and almost bit my head off for asking questions. What’s going on?”

I scratch the back of my head. My curls are greasy and unwashed. Dammit, I gotta take care of that. “I left early.”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Just did.”

“Five days ago! And you didn’t tell me.”

“He told you all that?” Fucking Jackson. “He just got back?” I ask.

“You’re changing the subject.”

Not really, but I don’t have the energy to tell her that. “We got in a fight.”

“Yeah, obviously. I’m trying to figure out what it’s about since he wouldn’t give me any information.”

I have so many questions. Was he upset? Did he seem angry or hurt? Does he miss me?

Because, dammit, despite everything, I miss him. There’s a crack inside me that seems endlessly deep and unfillable by anything but him and his presence and his love. “I didn’t expect him to turn into businessman Jackson. That’s a different guy, and I didn’t like it.”

Kayla’s expression softens and her shoulders fall, though they still look high and tense thanks to the shoulder pads of her coat. “It was that bad?”

“Yeah. Pretty bad.”

Kayla comes over to the bed and sits next to me. “He used to be like that in the early days. He’d come home and talk about anything but . . . you know, Grandpa or Mom or anything he was feeling. Defense mechanism, I guess.”

“I get it, but with me? Why . . . with me?” An edge of sorrow creeps into the back of my throat. “I mean, he practically decided we were moving to Canada for a year without even asking. And—”

“Seriously? I’ll kill him.”

“Kayla, not the point.”

“I’m just saying, I will. If you want.”

My friend and I exchange a smile. More like sisters than friends even after all this time. Even more so now.

Kayla sighs. “Old habits die hard, maybe. I mean . . . things are moving fast.”

Faster than you know.

“Maybe he’s—it’s not cold feet, but you two have basically become one person. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a part of his subconscious trying to pull him away and make sure he’ll be alright if he loses you.”

My forehead tightens. “He can’t pull away from me now.”

Kayla grabs one of my hands. “He won’t. I won’t let him.”

I tear away from her and cross the room to look out the window. “He can’t be scared, because I’m scared,” I say. I have to tell her. I just have to tell her what’s going on. It will help.

“Lily . . . ?”

“I need you to not freak out, but I have something to tell you.”

“Okay, but Lily—”

“Let me just get it out, Kayla,” I say with a heavy exhale as I spin around to face her.

My friend is smiling awkwardly. “Maybe after you change your pants and . . . get a tampon?”

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