Page 17 of My Brother's Alien Match
“Yes, with my brother,” Taylor said. “We moved here from the boonies like seven years ago. That’s why we can still afford the location. Got it locked in.”
“Last night, when we spoke?—”
“It was really nice,” he interjected. “I needed someone to rant to, to be honest. I was thinking we should coordinate our outfits by the way, make it look like we’re reallytogether, you know? If you don’t mind, of course. I was going to go in my navy suit with a pink tie. I can send you some pictures tonight.”
He didn’t even seem to know which conversation I was referring to. My gaze went back up, fixing instinctively on one of the windows. Taylor was still talking, but I couldn’t hear him anymore. Everything in the world seemed to click into place.
“It wasn’t you sending me messages, was it?” I asked.
Taylor’s sudden silence drew my gaze.
“Guilty,” he admitted with a grimace. “How did I out myself?”
“Who was it?”
“My brother Robin,” Taylor sighed. “Please don’t be mad. I just got out of a breakup, and he was just trying to take care of me. He’s a good guy?—”
“I would never be mad at either of you,” I said, and he smiled warmly.
“Ah, he really found the best guy on the internet in one go,” he laughed. “You’ll still come to the ball with me?”
I nodded absently.
“If that is what you both want, then yes.”
Grinning, Taylor clapped me on the arm.
“Great! I do have to get to work though. What was it you wanted to talk about?”
I shook my head.
“Nothing important.”
For you at least, I added silently.
Taylor shrugged.
“Alright. Great. See you on Friday at Eight then.”
He waved cheerily as he took off down the street and I turned back to the building. There was a code next to the glass front doors. I barely needed to hover my hand over it before the numbers came to me. Quickly punching them in, I pulled the handle and went inside. In the elevator, I hit the number seven without thinking, pulling out my phone at the same time.
When I hit Taylor’s profile pictures this time, I looked at his brother. I hadn’t given him much attention because I had assumed it wasn’t his profile. Through the electronic images, it was hard to feel anything concrete. Even knowing what I knew, I still only felt a vague familiarity from the image. It was impossible to tell which brother I was getting these feelings from.
The door finally opened, and I slid into the hallway. It was bright from the window at the end. I moved in that direction, knowing that Robin’s apartment would be flooded with morning light.
When I stopped in front of his door, warmth, happiness, and anticipation flowed through my body and I knew this was right.
I lifted my hand, turned the doorknob, and was relieved to find it unlocked.
I pushed it open and entered.
As I’d suspected, the apartment was bright, the atmosphere light. I was standing in an entryway. Before me, the open living room was visible. An archway led to what I assumed was a kitchen. There was noise from within, someone cooking, and then a shout.
“Did you forget your keys again?”
Before I could do anything but register the way that his voice went straight through me—just like his whispers had last night—his head popped into the hall with a friendly grin.
The moment our eyes met, his widened dramatically and the color left his face. He staggered back into the kitchen, out of sight as my heart filled.
