No Twins Next Door

Chapter 6

Ethan, Grayson and Mia continued to talk while they drank their Starbucks. After an hour, they were heading to some of the monuments in New York. They were paying to go to the Statue of Liberty to see an overview of the Big Apple.

They met up with Lexi before getting a taxi there. The twins paid, even though Mia and Lexi argued that they shouldn't have paid. On the boat to the famous statue, the twins were talking about what they plan on doing during the two weeks they're in the city.

After a while, the boat stopped at the foot of the statue. The four of them left the boat and walked towards the entrance. Mia stood in front of the statue and asked Grayson to take a picture of her and Lexi for Instagram.

Once the photo was taken, they made their way up to the top of the Statue of Liberty. When they got to the top, Mia was shocked and in love with the view. Although she has lived in New York for four years, she has never been to the top of the Statue of Liberty.

She took a picture of the gorgeous view and put it on her SnapChat story and Instagram story. Again, Mia and Lexi had a photo together with the view of New York in the background. They were all staring at the view until Mia's phone began to ring.

She sighed when she read the contact name. She ignored the call and put her phone back in her pocket, but then she got a message from the same person. "Who is it?" Grayson asked her while she unlocked her phone.

"It's this guy I slept with," she explained as she typed on her phone. "Because we slept together, he thinks we're a couple. I've tried to explain to him that it was a one off thing, but he isn't catching on. I should just be blunt about it, shouldn't I?"

"Yeah," Lexi replied. "It's like the time Nick thought he and I were dating because I was drunk and slept with him. It took a while, but I was able to break it to him. And it was you who told him for me. You took my phone and texted him. I'm sure you can tell Darren".

Mia smiled at her. "You're right, I'll just be honest".

"Wait!" Ethan and Grayson stopped them. "Aren't we forgetting something really important?!" Ethan asked. Mia and Lexi looked at them with a dull look. "Mia slept with someone! Are we just gonna act like that didn't happen?!"

"It's not the first time," Mia said before texting.

"Not the first time?!" Grayson asked shocked. "I knew you changed, but not like this. I prefer the old Mia. The Mia who was always cautious about who she meets. The Mia who was always wanting to take care of everyone. The Mia who loved to sit at home and read a book or watch a few movies. The Mia who never dreamed of getting drunk before the age of 21. The Mia who I-" He stopped himself from continuing. Ethan looked at him in shock while Mia was waiting for him to continue.

"Are you going to finish?"

Grayson sighed. "The Mia who I miss".

Mia looked at him with no expression. Grayson shook his head and walked away. Ethan looked at Mia. "I agree with him," Ethan said before following Grayson out. Mia turned her attention to her phone.

"Mia?" Lexi said. Mia looked up. "Shouldn't you be going after them? They really care about you. Maybe you shouldn't shut them out. You've never really had many friends, don't let them get away".

"Lexi, I've gone four years without them in my life. I'm sure the rest of my life won't be hard," Mia said. "They hurt me, Lex. I thought I had friends. I thought I could be happy. And just when I thought it was perfect, they broke me. They're the reason I am the way I am. They made me who I am. And I am never gonna go back to the old Mia".

"But wouldn't it be nice to have more friends?"

Mia sighed. "I'd rather have no friends than fake friends". Mia and Lexi stayed up at the top of statue and stared out at the city. They were quiet, refusing to break the peaceful silence between them.

They stayed there for a while before deciding to go home. When they were getting on the boat, the sun was starting to set and Ethan and Grayson were nowhere to be seen. They must have gone earlier.

The journey home was silent. Mia and Lexi didn't speak to each other, which was unusual considering they're best friends. When they got to their apartment, Mia walked into her room to change into a clean outfit for work.

She left the apartment without talking to Lexi. She walked to the bar on her own. The towers in the street were casting dark shadows along the road, making it difficult for Mia to see where she was going. Luckily, she had walked that street thousands of times so she was able to remember where to go.

When she arrived at work, she forced a smile and greeted everyone she saw. She stood behind the bar and began to take orders from customers. She was sneaking a few drinks for herself to forget what had happened earlier with the twins.

However, she soon saw Ethan and Grayson walk into the bar. She groaned internally, but smiled at them as they sat at the bar. "What can I get you?" Mia asked as politely as she could. Honestly, she didn't want to serve them at all.

"Just two pints of larger," Ethan said. Mia turned away and began to make their orders while they spoke about the argument earlier. "Bro, just apologise. I know you care about her. But you can't keep telling yourself that she'll like you if she isn't the Mia you fell in love with!" Ethan whispered to Grayson.

"I know, but I just don't want it to be true," Grayson admitted. "I loved the old Mia. The Mia we met when we were 14. I want her back. Obviously, it's not gonna happen. But I can't help but think that she might go back to the way she was".

"Gray! We broke her!" Ethan exclaimed. Grayson was silent. "We made her think that she could trust us! We made her think that we would be her best friends for life! And then we break her! We called her some terrible things that we regret! Do you really think she wouldn't change?! She changed to protect herself! To protect herself from people who would hurt her! To protect herself from us!"

"I just wish we could change what we did".

"I do to, but we can't!" Ethan replied. "We made our mistakes. We learned from them. And, now, we're trying to mend them. We made a stupid mistake, and we are trying to fix it. But some things can't be fixed. And some things can't be forgiven".

Grayson breathed in. "We broke her".