Chapter 2
SKYLAR
The smell of gasoline lingers as I wait for the pump to finish. The steady click of numbers is too loud in the stillness.
Manhattan feels impossibly far away.
This gas station, which is in the middle of the vast, dry expanse of Texas, is nothing like the city.
Not in a bad way, just different.
I’ve never traveled outside New York in all my twenty-three years. I spend most of my days and weeks tucked away in the quiet corners of the library or the sterile labs. I’ve been working hard toward my dream of getting into med school.
A dream that’s finally come true. I already got my acceptance letter, so starting this fall, I’ll be one step closer to becoming a surgeon.
Until then, I’m here on this road trip with Bronwyn, my twin, and her boyfriend, Easton.
Since I want to be fully present, I left everything school-related behind. Well, almost everything, except for the scalpel I keep in my bag, a good-luck charm I can’t let go of.
But other than that, nothing.
I don’t want anything eclipsing this monumental trip.
After years of bullying and outright hating me, Bronwyn said she wanted to put the past behind us. She even apologized. Actually apologized.
My jaw just about hit the floor when the words “I’m sorry” came out of her mouth.
Then, before I could even wrap my head around that, she asked me to join her and Easton on this road trip they were taking to meet his parents.
So that—her words, not mine—she could introduce me to his family as the sister she’s been secretly proud of.
As Easton’s Rover guzzles gas, happiness flutters in my chest. For once, she’s letting me in.
Our parents are happy about it too, for their own reasons. They’re relieved I won’t be left alone in the city while they’re halfway across the world, volunteering in Africa. Especially now that Alexandra—my best and really my only friend—took off on a year-long trip to the .
Yes, this trip is going to be amazing. It already is.
Just like Bronwyn suggested, I put the past behind us. Forgot about all the times she got her debate club friends to laugh at me, to call me Skylar the Mouse, so we could start fresh.
Not like she was wrong to call me that. I’m shorter and far less striking than my twin. Her chestnut hair has always been wavy with a glossy shine. Her jade-green eyes have a feline quality, especially when she wears eyeliner.
I can’t compare to her. I’m five-foot-two, of average build, with my blonde hair usually in a messy bun or just plain messy, and eyes that are an unremarkable shade of green.
But even if she’s right, it still hurts.
Although…I can’t really blame her. Our parents, good and kind as they are, were the reason Bronwyn and I drifted apart.
They’ve always dreamed that both their daughters would become doctors. That’s why, when my sister announced at ten years old that she’d never be one, they made sure she knew they were disappointed in her and praised me every chance they got.
In turn, Bronwyn made sure I knew she hated me.
My heart crumples at the memories of our family dynamics before I shake them off.
We’re here now, together.
To new beginnings.
I focus on that and on how sweet she was to agree to a pit stop along the way just because I asked her, without a fight.
My excitement about the leather museum we’re going to visit can hardly be contained. She’ll love it too, I’m sure she will.
I already do.
For as long as I can remember, school, medicine, science, and the world itself have fascinated me. So naturally, I had to look up what we could do on our road trip other than driving across the US and meeting Easton’s parents.
That’s how I stumbled upon this attraction a few miles ahead, in a little town called Colbert.
The pump coughs before the nozzle jerks free of the tank, making me jump.
“Hey, Bronwyn, you here?” I glance around for my twin. “Easton?”
Nothing.
They’re not by the stucco wall of the old bathroom. Not under the decaying sign that reads GAS HERE. The only person in sight is the older man slumped in a rusty lawn chair, who’s snoring while a few missing person posters peel sadly from the wall behind him.
A shiver crawls up my spine. For no reason, really.
People get lost all the time.
Not Bronwyn. Not Easton. They’re here. They have to be. I just can’t see them.
They’re probably making out somewhere, maybe even in the store, like they do around campus.
It’s such a relief knowing she has someone who loves her the way he does.
I’m not jealous of either of them.
I’m hopeful. Maybe someday it’ll be my turn, though it feels like I’ve been waiting forever. A stolen kiss from a lab partner in high school is all of my dating and sexual history. No one’s ever made my stomach flutter. No one’s ever really turned me on.
One day…
I sigh, slip Easton’s fob into the pocket of my cutoffs, and head out to look for them. With each step in my Chucks, dust and sand puff up around my calves until I reach the convenience store door.
The bell over my head jingles, and I start toward the register. Soon enough, I catch the top of Bronwyn’s head. A few aisles over, she and Easton bend together, whispering.
Strange. They’re not looking at the shelves. Not browsing. They haven’t even noticed me walking in.
The sixth sense I’ve always dismissed as a myth stirs awake. It tells me they’re talking about me. Its whisper is ugly, convincing me that maybe they only asked me to come along to stock up on fresh ammunition. More reasons to laugh at my expense.
I tread over there silently, praying I’m wrong about this.
“Babe, we already talked about it,” Easton says. “We have to.”
How dare he scold her? A scowl tugs at my features, my worries set aside.
I’m about to tell him my sister doesn’t have to do anything she doesn’t want to when she groans.
“Yes, we did.” She sounds like she’s rolling her eyes, not like a doormat. Pride washes over me. “Last supper. Last fucking supper.”
Huh? Last supper? What last supper?
Both their heads snap in my direction.
Shit, I said that out loud.
Shame sets fire to my body and simultaneously drains the blood from my face.
“Skylar?” Bronwyn rises on her tiptoes, smiling when she finds me.
She’s happy to have me here.
And I doubted her.
Fuck.
“That’s me,” I rasp, frozen where I stand. “Over here.”
“Hey.” She walks toward me, Easton following close behind.
They both pat down their jeans and T-shirts, looking even guiltier than I feel.
But why? They were just talking while I spun myself into crazy conspiracy theories.
When they stop in front of me, neither says a word. Easton narrows his blue eyes at me, running a hand through his short blond hair again and again.
Suspicious. I lean in as close as I can to talk to my sister. “What’s going on, Bronwyn? Are you okay? Do we need an escape plan?”
“Escape plan? From Easton?” A cold laugh slips past her lips. “No, Sis. I was just—”
“I was hungry.” In four long strides, Easton’s suddenly less than a foot from us instead of minding his own business. “I’m starving. Bronny’s been helping me pick an early supper, something she doesn’t consider trash.”
Early supper. Not the last supper.
What a relief to know I misheard the strange and ominous term.
“That’s right.” She grins at him.
Again, strange. She usually spits fire whenever our parents call her Bronny. I press my lips together so more questions don’t tumble out.
If she’s happy with him, then it’s fine with me.
“Cool.” I shrug, eyeing their empty hands. I guess they didn’t find anything.
“Yeah, just let me grab something, and we’re good to go,” she says, almost like she can read my mind. “That way, we’ll hit Colbert around sunset if we leave now without making another stop. Will they be okay, you think, or will they close by the time we get there?”
The reminder that we left too late this morning gives me pause. I booked our tickets for a five p.m. private tour, and I don’t have a number to call if we can’t make it on time. I could email them, but who knows how often they check their inbox?
I have to trust that they’ll wait for us.
And since we won’t have dinner until much later today, I ask, “Can you get me something for the road too?”
“Of course.” She rubs my shoulder in a way only a sister could.
The show of kindness I’ve been craving for years has me blinking back tears.
“I’ll be quick and so will you. Don’t drag that museum tour out for too long, Sis.
By nine tonight, I want to be soaking in the hotel tub with the AC blasting. ”
“Will do.” I clear my throat, hating how emotional I sound. It’s so unlike me. “Thank you, Bronwyn.”
“No worries.” She turns to the shelf behind us, grabs three bags of mixed nuts, and shoves them into Easton’s hands. “Here, supper is served. Don’t forget the gas, okay?”
“Anything for you, Bronny.”
“Thanks, babe. Skylar and I will be waiting for you by the car.”
He heads to the register. “Be right there.”
“We’re gonna have so much fun, the three of us.” Bronwyn slings an arm over my shoulders, leading me outside. “I promise.”
After years of this one-sided rivalry between us, this moment almost feels holy.
“We will.” I stare up at her as she opens the door, the bell dinging over our heads. “Love you, Bronwyn.”
“Love you too.”