Letterman Jacket

9 / fifty-nine days before

Theo Simmons had his fair share of flings here and there, but no, he wasn't a player—the girls he brought at home knew that he was always a one-night-stand kind of guy, and he actually treated them with respect the next morning when he dropped them off safely in their homes. Some of the girls he'd hooked up with even remained his friends.

In the morning, I found Bethany Hallmark standing by the island whilst mixing a fresh cup of coffee. She sent me a polite smile when I reached the bottom of the staircase, and I did the same as I walked towards the refrigerator to take out the carton of chocolate milk. I didn't expect her to strike up a conversation with me, but when she spoke, I almost dropped the glass I pulled from the cupboard. "Are you and Faust Carter a thing?"

I turned around. "Wh-what?"

Bethany smiled, running one hand through her dark hair. "Theo wouldn't shut up about it. Before taking me out to dinner last night, he insisted we go to Crown Pointe Park to spy on his twin sister first. So, are you guys a thing?"

My mouth hung open in disbelief at her words. Puzzled, I gripped the edge of the counter to keep me upright as I processed her words. "I don't—I'm sorry, I—"

"Get in the car," an angry voice demanded, but the statement wasn't directed towards me. Theo appeared from the kitchen doorway with his jaw clenched as he glared at Bethany. "Leave the coffee and wait for me in the car."

Huffing, she shot me an apologetic glance before brushing past him. "I'm doing so not because you ordered me to—I'm not a dog, by the way—but because you guys need to talk. See you, Thea," she said, waving over her shoulder.

As soon as she was out of sight, I gaped at my brother. "Is it true? Did you follow me yesterday?"

Theo's jaw visibly tensed. "I don't think you're in a position to accuse me of anything when you lied to me in the first place."

"What you just said makes absolutely no sense!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands into the air exasperatedly. Frustrated, I crossed my arms over my chest and said, "You're being a control freak, Theo. The fact that you followed me and spied on me—why would you even do such a thing?"

"You lied to me," he hissed through gritted teeth. "You said you were going to Sutton's and I find you and Carter together speeding away in his truck. What the hell else was I supposed to do?"

"Well, here's an idea: you weren't supposed to spy on me!"

"I wouldn't have to if you just told me the truth!"

"Don't blame this on me, Theo, you didn't trust me at all—"

"Don't talk about trust, sis." He laughed humorlessly, shaking his head. "Don't even start."

Before I could snap out a response, the door to my father's study opened and our mother stepped out in her work clothes and her hair tied in a neat bun. Her eyes glanced between Theo and I, hands placing themselves on her hips with an arched eyebrow. "What is going on here?"

Theo narrowed his eyes at me, keeping his gaze on mine as he answered, "Nothing, Mom. Thea here was just talking about how much fun studying was last night at Sutton's." He sent me a sickeningly sweet smile. "I'm driving Bethany to school. Find another ride."

"Thea?" my mother prodded, an unconvinced look on her face. "Were you two arguing?"

"No," I replied, forcing a smile despite the tears threatening to escape my eyes. "No, Mom. Don't worry about it." My voice cracked at the end, and I shouldered my backpack from the floor, turning away from her so she wouldn't see my face.

She didn't seem to believe me. "I won't push you to talk about what's wrong, darling, but you know you can always ask a ride from your father—"

"No, I'll be fine. I don't want to disturb him." I also didn't want him to ask me questions about why I was suddenly feeling so blue.

Theo and I used to be inseparable. It was impossible not to be, we were twins after all. But though we weren't as close as we were before now, we knew we always had each other's backs. I wondered if that fight meant he no longer had mine.

I knew I was to be blamed for lying to him, but maybe if I hadn't agreed to Faust into going out on a date with him, this wouldn't have happened.

Thea. You have got to stop worrying about what Theo thinks. He doesn't control you.

Sutton's words repeated themselves over and over in my head, but the more I heard them, the more it was less convincing, because in a way, Theo did control me.

And I was weak and pathetic to let it happen.