Playing with Monsters by Amelia Hutchins Page B

weird that he’d go to her, when he’d had me. I didn’t understand it at all.
    “You were gone, and neither of us understood why you went through with it,” she replied. “First he started coming around asking about you; what school you went to. I sent him away at first, but he kept coming back. We started talking, and we had something in common: You,” she said with guilt buried in her feelings and tone.
    Great, my sister, and my best friend, bonded with my cheating ex-fiancé over me ? How sweet.
    “Stop that,” she said picking up on my inward sarcasm without me needing to say it out loud. Sometimes being as close as we were really sucked. “I didn’t want it to happen, but I missed you so much. We missed you so much. Everyone else? They didn’t notice. I mean, they did, but it was like you were a ghost around here. Your name wasn’t spoken out loud; it was as if you’d died with Josh in Afghanistan. Do you have any idea what that was like for me? I couldn’t bring you up, my other fucking half, and I couldn’t talk about you. It made people uncomfortable; everyone except Todd. He wanted to talk about you, and it felt good. I had someone I could talk to about missing you. I couldn’t even feel you! I was out of my head going crazy, and you didn’t even call. Not even to return my calls. We’d never been apart, Lena, and then you were just gone from my life as if you’d cut me out like a cancer.”
    “I needed to get away, Kendra. I needed to figure out what was next, because being here was smothering me. I get that it was selfish, but if I’d tried to say goodbye, you’d have begged me to stay. I couldn’t. I was a mess, and there were other things going on. I just needed to know I would be okay by myself, I guess. I needed to know that there was life outside of this town.”
    “You could have sent me a letter,” she whispered as she turned her eyes away. “As I was saying, we got close and things just happened. I love him. I think maybe I always have, and that makes me suck big time, because you’re my sister and my best friend. I know that if he’d remained yours, nothing would have ever happened.”
    “I sent you flowers, and I know you knew they were from me.” I inwardly tensed.
    She rolled her eyes in response and shook her head. “That’s not the same and you know it.” Her chest heaved as she expelled a deep sigh.
    “I know you wouldn’t have done this if I was still with him. I don’t hate for you being with him,” I sighed heavily. “I do think it’s a little twisted that you and I are identical, and a piece of me wonders if he isn’t using you as a backup.” Based on his words and behavior last night, the scenario made perfect sense to me.
    “I considered that, but he loves me, even though I broke up with him. He said we should play it out, let you think he hasn’t been with anyone since, well, you know. I slept with him, though, and you coming back home hasn’t changed how I feel about him. I guess I needed to be here for you, and I wanted to be the one who explained it. I didn’t get a lot of time with you last night, which is probably my fault.”
    “Probably partly mine too,” I said sheepishly. “I was too busy kissing Lucian before I accused him of clinging to a dead body.”
    “Shut the front door, you didn’t,” she laughed. “And then all this mess, shit, Lena. You’re so wicked,” she said as she leaned back and closed her eyes before she sat back up, smiling.
    “Twice, and almost gave him a lot more,” I admitted. “The guy can seriously work some magic with his lips.”
    “Speaking of Lucian, the coven has called you in to answer for what you did last night. Cassidy’s mom isn’t going to let it go. I can come with you.”
    I curled my fingers around hers and shook my head. “It was a dog,” I whispered, even though something inside of me wanted to scream that it wasn’t. Weird.
    “Get dressed; I’ll meet you out front in twenty