Page 32 of sWitch

My father rolled his eyes as Fauna looked up at me in admiration. “This woman,” he pointed to Mary Jane, “Remy’s girlfriend, is exactly who should be a part of this family. Wise,polite, successful. Trevor, why can’t you just follow in your twin’s footsteps?”

Trevor stood and knocked over the glassware on the table in a dramatic fit of broken glass. “I’m fucking her! Mary Jane doesn’t evenlikeRemy!”

Mary Jane rested her head in her hands. My mother clapped, as if watching a Broadway show. “Bravo!” she cheered.

Seething, my father pointed. “You’re one wrong move away from being cut off from your trust fund, son.”

“Take it.” Trevor stepped back, shooting me an angry glance. “Or better yet, give my portion to Remy. Remy takes everything else from me, so why not this too?”

“What the hell does that mean?” I asked.

“You don’t think I know what you two have been up to? Get real.” He sneered at me and Fauna.

“Oh, well, you’re one to fucking talk. Sleeping with Mary Jane, huh? You’re a fucking liar.”

“So are you!” Trevor shouted.

“We’re twins! We’re the exact fucking same, all the time!”

Someone chuckled in the distance, and Fauna looked over in horror to find the purple-haired Prue was recording on her phone. “This is going in the game, Fauna. Tick-tock,” she chided.

“What the hell is happening?” I asked Fauna, who had tears streaming down her face.

As Trevor and our father erupted into a screaming match, I grabbed Fauna’s hand and lead her to the window, finding it unlocked.

And we fled the scene.

LEVEL 11

PLAYER TWO: FAUNA

I’d ran so fast,air wasn’t reaching my lungs quickly enough. I’d lost a ballet flat in the wet grass as Remy and I ducked behind the thick trunk of a tree in the backyard. We’d ran so far, it felt, a whole lap around the house. It was like running around a football field. When Trevor had told me his parents were rich, I’d thought stainless steel fridge and copper appliances rich, not tennis court and butlers rich. This was insane. This whole night was.

Remy leaned against the tree, not even out of breath, and lit a cigarette before offering me one. I shook my head.

“How are you so calm right now?” I asked, looking over my shoulder. “Are the guards coming to get us or something?”

Remy blew a puff of smoke. “Yes, the cavalry is surely on its way. Hark! The drawbridge is lowered over the moat!”

“Shut up, Remy. Not everything is a joke. We’ve hurt people. Do you not care about that?”

“You know what I care about right now?” Remy flicked their cigarette into the dirt and stomped it out before stepping toward me. The air around us was thick with humidity and tension. Icould smell the faintest hint of bergamot cologne, and it made my heart skip a beat. “Why is Prue out to get you?”

“What?” That was not the line of questioning I was prepared for.

“You heard me. What’s she got on you?”

“We just tore apart your twin brother’s life, and that’s what you want to ask me right now?” My breath caught with tears in my throat.

“Yes, that’s what I want to know. Do you think I give a shit who Trevor is fucking? Do you know the relief I just felt when I found out he’s fucking my girlfriend and not you? I don’t want anyone touching you but me, Fauna. I don’t want some purple-haired mean girl making you afraid either.” Remy reached behind my neck and tugged out the pin holding my tight bun in place. “And I don’t want your hair to be blonde unlessyouwant it blonde. Personally, I miss the pink. I don’t want to see you in grey ever again. Youshine, Fauna. You deserve sparkles and pink and whatever the hell else you want in this life—and I want to make sure you have it.”

“Remy,” I breathed, my ribs tightening with all my secrets, with all the things I hadn’t said. “Stop.”

Taking a step closer, she cupped my jaw and tilted my watery eyes upward. “Do you not want me? Do still you want my brother?”

I let out a strangled gasp into her rough palm. “I’ve never wanted Trevor. It—it was all a lie.”

Remy looked over my shoulder, and I spun at the sound of footsteps. Mary Jane held Trevor’s arm, her red bottom heels sinking into the wet soil.

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