Witness to a Love Story

Thirteen: Unchanging

My anger subsides a bit and I'm slightly amused by who steps out of the car. I smirk. "Well if it isn't Rebecca the skank." I say in mock surprise.

Rebecca doesn't even flinch. "What are you doing talking to my brother?" She asks in a demanding tone as she stomps up to us.

Well, this certainly clears up a few things. Such as why Sexy seemed familiar. Yet, why does it feel like I'm forgetting something?

"Leaving," I state matter-of-factly.

I go to stride past them into the parking lot when Rebecca's brother opens his big mouth. "Oh! She was throwing herself all over me!" Merrick says to Rebecca in despair. I stop right next to him and give him a death glare. He has a mischievous glint in his grey eyes and a devilishly good smirk.

I decide to turn the tables. "As if! You were throwing yourself all over me!" I say extra loudly.

The little girl decides to join in. She runs up to Rebecca and grabs the hem of her shirt. "Big sis! They were both flirting shamelessly in front of me!" First, how the hell does that kid know such a big word? Secondly, traitor!

"What?!" Merrick and I both say to the little devil in unison. The little girl sticks her tongue out at our scowling faces before breaking into a fit of giggles.

Rebecca takes her little sister seriously. She places her pedicured hand on her hip. "As if you are good enough for my brother," Rebecca says in her stuck up voice.

I cross my arms, a bit fed up with this whole day. "You're right," I say straight faced.

This response seems to be completely unexpected. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Merrick look at me. His younger sister goes silent as well. Rebecca quickly recovers from her shock. "Of course I'm right," she says.

"I'm too good for your brother," I say smugly, "He deserves some as equally shitty as he is." An accomplished smirk creeps onto my face and the little sister laughs. Rebecca and Merrick both look like they hate me.

"I like her." Giggles says, completely amused by us. She turns to look up at Rebecca. "Can we keep her?" She asks with a smile.

"No, Angel," Rebecca whispers. She grabs her sister's hand and heads toward the car. What an ironic name for her; I smile in amusement. Merrick stalks behind his sisters. They all file in and drive away in defeat. Something tells me this isn't going to be the last time I deal with the Williams.

I realize two things once they are gone. One, I don't have a car at the moment. Two, Josh wouldn't pick me up even if I beg him. I decide to go to the Taco Bell on the corner. Once my hunger is satisfied, I return to work. Somehow, I manage to survive the next two hours. Despite the fact that Jay keeps glancing my way.

Right on time, Josh is there to take me home. Somewhere along the way, I decide to talk. "So..." I start the conversation.

"So..." Josh repeats happily, leaning over the center console. I give my twin a crazy look. He backs away.

Bea, we need help. We can't sort through the mess we call our emotions on our own. Don't push him away. I roll my eyes. I hate it when I'm right. "I want to make up with Jay," I say bluntly.

"I knew it!" Josh says, giving me a mini heart attack.

"Huh?" Is all I can say in my panicked state.

Josh smiles happily. "You like him."

"I do not!" I say incredulously. Ok, the thought has crossed my mind. But I haven't had any social interactions with humans in months, much less a friend. I could easily be confusing friendship with romance. So, I brushed the idea off a while ago.

"Sure," Josh says, not believing me. Knowing better, he changes the subject. "What did you do?" He asks accusingly.

I try lying. "I didn't do anything!" Josh looks my way. He knows me too damn well. I push his face away so he is looking at the road once more. "Fine. I fucked up." I say with a bit of regret and cross my arms.

"That's better," Josh says and I shoot him a glare before he continues, "Just say sorry."

That would be the logical thing to do. But there's no way I'm doing it. "No way!" I say as if the thought of that is some horrible death.

Josh glances my way briefly. "How else do you expect him to forgive you?"

I really shouldn't have asked my twin for help. "Maybe he should try understanding me." I say, getting upset.

Josh's jaw sets and I know he's grinding his teeth. "How is he suppose to do that when you don't let anyone in?" He asks bitterly, and I know exactly what he's getting at.

His words pierce through my act and I look away guiltily. I guess all this time I've been hurting Josh. He is always better at hiding his pain than I am. The rest of the drive is spent in silence.

When Josh pulls into the driveway, neither of us make a move to get out. I barely hear Josh as he whispers, "Nothing had to change."

I snap my head at him. "Well everything did change!" I try to be mad at Josh, but I am struggling to build my walls up. I'm struggling even more when all I see is the hurt in his green eyes.

"You didn't have to let it change you." Josh says, his voice shaking. My twin is never one to talk about the tough stuff. I'm the same way. So, I know how hard it must be for him to be saying any of this.

Being the conflicted person I am, I look away. "Not all of us can put on a smile and pretend nothing happened." I mean for it to come out harsh, but my voice goes high at the end. To my own ears, I sound exasperated and pained.

I grab myself as I realize I'm shaking. Josh wasn't in the car. He doesn't know what happened that night. He didn't witness it first hand like I did. To be fair, I never told him. I didn't tell anyone.

So, no one understands, though, Josh tries. I guess that's the best anyone can do. I look over at my brother, whom is silent besides me and looking away in his torrent of thoughts. I guess I can be more understanding, too. It wouldn't hurt to try, right? After all, Josh has been trying all this time. It's only fair if I try, too.