“You are not like other boys,” she snaps. “You cling. You demand. You don’t care about anyone but yourself. Actions have consequences. It’s time you learn that.”
“Mom,” the twin says. “Stop.”
“I hate you! I hate both of you,” the boy screams.
“What is wrong with you?” the mother says. “This behavior is appalling.”
He wipes the tears and smears snot on his cheeks. “I hate you,” he sobs.
His mother wrinkles her nose. “You’re a sight. Go to your room and wash your face. Now.”
She turns away and disappears down the hall.
The twin approaches the boy and starts to put an arm around him. The boy shrugs it off.
“I hate you, too, Elliot,” he whispers before running out into the garden in the dusk.
But he can’t help but wonder…
What is wrong with him?
Chapter Twelve
Ava
The second I unlock the door and step inside my apartment, Bennie jumps off the couch and runs toward me, his bare feet slapping the floor. He’s in a loose charcoal T-shirt that says I like mayo sand across the chest in bright hot pink and a pair of black lounging pants he ordered online last month. In his hand is a phone, clutched tightly.
“Thank god, you’re home!” he breathes out. “I was debating whether or not to call the police.”
I tilt my head. “Why?” I slip off my shoes and go toward the living room. The NHK news is on TV, the sound muted.
His face goes cold as I pass. He grabs my upper arm. “What the hell did he do to you?”
“What?”
“You’ve been crying!”
I thought I’d wiped my face pretty well in the taxi. I guess not. “It’s nothing.”
“How can you say that when Lucas dragged you away? If I’d known he was going to show up, I would’ve never left your side. You have no idea how much I yelled at Drew about that.”
I collapse onto the couch, suddenly tired. “Please. It wasn’t his fault.”
“Like I’m supposed to believe that?” Bennie sits down next to me. “It totally is his fault for not stopping your ex.”
“Bennie…” I don’t have the energy to fight him. “He couldn’t have known. And I told him it was okay.”
He is still looking mutinous. “I’m trying to be fair, Ava. I just… I just feel like Drew should’ve known.” Bennie takes a few deep breaths. “So what did the asshole want?”
“He…” I stop, not wanting to talk about the kiss and the shameless way I responded to him. “Apparently, he wants me back.”
Bennie’s jaw drops. “Is he on crack?”
“Didn’t look like it.”
“Did you tell him pigs would be singing ‘Hallelujah’ before you’d let him touch you again?”
“Not exactly. But he knows…now.”