Chapter 31
THIRTY-ONE
“We can’t tell him tonight.”
One sentence was all it took to feel the hope I’d been nurturing shatter like glass.
He’d explained and it made sense, but a part of me also wondered if he was using it as an excuse.
No one had ever made me a priority before. Why should Liam be any different?
He’s not ready. He’s never going to be ready. You were foolish to think otherwise.
I sat there in my bedroom hating the hollow feeling that was far too familiar. I loved my brother, I really did, and my heart hurt for the pain he was going through, but at the same time, I was so fucking tired of always coming second to him.
For a second I’d really thought that Liam was going to put me first.
I pressed the heels of my hands against my eyes until I saw stars.
Just getting out that last “okay” had taken everything I had.
It was only one word, but it felt like swallowing glass.
Because what else was I supposed to say?
No, actually, I’m not okay with this. I’m tired of waiting.
I’m tired of coming second. For once in my life, I want to be someone’s priority.
I couldn’t say any of that. So I’d said okay, and I’d let him go, and now I was sitting in my car staring out my windshield with nowhere to be.
I drove home in a daze and went straight to my room, lying on my childhood bed and staring at the ceiling, wondering why I’d ever let myself hope for anything different.
I’d spent so many nights lying here, dreaming about a life where I wasn’t just Drew’s twin sister. Where I was the main character of my own story.
Funny how some things never changed.
The thing about being a twin—especially being Drew’s twin—was that comparison was inevitable. He was louder, more competitive, more everything. People gravitated toward him like he had his own magnetic field, and I learned early that fighting for attention was exhausting and ultimately pointless.
So I stopped fighting. I became the easygoing one. The low-maintenance sister who never complained, never demanded, never asked for more than she was given.
It was safer that way. If you didn’t ask for much, you couldn’t be disappointed when you didn’t get it.
But somewhere along the line, easygoing had turned into invisible. And I was starting to wonder if I’d made myself so small that no one could see me anymore.
Chris certainly hadn’t seen me. He’d looked right through me to someone more exciting, more adventurous, more worth the effort.
And now here I was, being understanding and supportive while the man I had fallen in love with chose my brother over me. Again.
I pressed the heels of my hands against my eyes.
Stop, I told myself. You’re being unfair. Drew is genuinely hurting, and Liam is being a good friend. This isn’t about you.
But that was the problem, wasn’t it? It was never about me.
The week that followed was an exercise in being fine.
Liam stayed with Drew, and I understood why.
I did.
Harper leaving had wrecked my brother, and Rory needed stability, and Liam was the kind of loyal friend who showed up when it mattered.
I just wished, for once, that I was the person who mattered.
I’d texted Drew to check in regularly—because it wasn’t his fault I was the second twin.
Liam had also texted me updates that I responded to with supportive words and heart emojis and told myself this was what a good partner did. She understood. She didn’t make demands. She waited.
I was so fucking good at waiting.
Because that’s what I did. I waited for other people and I made things easy. I didn’t burden people with my feelings or my needs. I swallowed the disappointment and carried on, and everyone got to believe I was the easygoing one who never asked for too much.
A part of me was itching to go check on my brother and see him for myself, but if I went to Drew’s while Liam was there, I’d have to pretend.
I’d have to stand in the same room as him and act like we were nothing more than friends, like the last few months hadn’t happened, like my heart wasn’t quietly breaking every time I thought about how easily he’d put me on hold.
And I wasn’t sure I could maintain the everything’s fine act in person. Not when I was barely holding it together over text.
So I stayed in Meadowbrook. I taught little girls their pliés. I had dinner with my parents. I smiled and nodded and pretended everything was fine.
I’d had a lifetime of practice.
By Friday, I was exhausted. Not physically—my body could handle the dance classes, the long days, the restless nights. But emotionally, I felt hollowed out. Like someone had scooped out everything inside me and left only the shell behind.
Liam called that afternoon to say he was heading back to Meadowbrook. His mom needed help with something, and Drew seemed stable enough to manage alone.
“I’ll come see you tonight,” he said, and there was warmth in his voice that made my chest ache. He sounded so happy. So certain that everything between us was good.
But this last week had sowed doubts for me.
Because the problem with my bucket list is that it had shown me how much I didn’t want to go back to the way things had always been. This week had been a reality check.
Being with Liam meant hiding our relationship. And even if we did finally tell Drew, it would still be about Drew’s reaction, not me. Everything was always about Drew.
I was starting to wonder if the only way I’d finally be someone’s first choice is if they didn’t know my brother to begin with.
We hung up, and I stood there for a moment, phone in hand, waiting to feel the excitement I should feel at seeing him tonight after a week apart.
Instead, I just felt tired. And sad.
I did want to see him, but I wasn’t sure I could handle seeing him in person at the same time.
So instead, I grabbed my keys and headed for my car.
Because if Liam was coming back to Meadowbrook, that meant I could finally go see Drew.
The irony wasn’t lost on me. I was only able to show up for my brother once the man I was in love with had left. What did that say about me? About us?
Nothing good, that was for sure.
The drive gave me too much time to think, so I focused on what I’d say to Drew instead. He needed someone to shake him out of whatever spiral he’d sunk into. I hoped he’d figured out a plan to win Harper back—she needed to know Drew was willing to fight for her.
At least that was something I could fix.
I walked into Drew’s house without knocking and found him in the living room, looking like death warmed over. Rory was asleep against his chest, and the house looked like a bomb had gone off.
“Jesus Christ, Drew.” I didn’t bother hiding my disgust. “You look like absolute shit.”
“Thanks for the pep talk,” he muttered.
My gaze landed on my sweet niece. God, I swear she got cuter every time I saw her. “At least someone in this house is doing well.” I settled into the chair across from Drew. “Have you talked to Harper at all?”
“No. Liam said I should give her space. Let her process everything.”
I scoffed and fought back an eye roll. “Of course that’s what Liam would say. And how’s that working out for you?”
“How does it look like it’s working? But she needs time.”
Seriously? “Time for what? To take your silence as proof that everything you had was fake?”
His eyes grew wide with panic, even as he tried to justify his actions. “No, time is supposed to make things better, let her clear her head, and then we’ll talk.”
My brows furrowed. “I really didn’t think you were that dumb.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’re sitting here doing nothing while the woman you love is probably torturing herself with doubts about your relationship.
” I knew all too well how that felt. And if I was taking my irritation with Liam out on my brother, so be it.
“Tell me something, Drew. If Harper had been the one to keep a secret from you—something that made you question everything about your relationship—and then she just went radio silent after the truth came out, how would that make you feel?”
He shifted uncomfortably. “I’m trying to respect her boundaries—”
“You’re being a coward!” The words exploded out of me, loud enough that Rory startled awake. I immediately lowered my voice as Drew soothed the baby. “You’re so afraid of making things worse that you’re not even trying to make them better.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t I? You love Harper, right?”
“Of course I love her.”
“Then why are you acting like it’s over? Like there’s nothing you can do?”
He snapped. “Because what if I make it worse? What if I push her further away?”
“So instead you’re just giving up? Sitting here hoping she’ll magically realize you didn’t mean to hurt her?”
“What am I supposed to do, Ava?”
“Fight for her!” I couldn’t keep my voice down, even if I tried. How was he this dense? “Prove to her that what you had was real instead of just sitting here wallowing in guilt.”
“She doesn’t want to see me.”
“How do you know? Have you tried?”
“Liam said—”
“I don’t give a shit what Liam said!” I stood up, pacing to the window.
“Liam’s never been in love the way you’re in love with Harper.
He’s never been in love a day in his life and wouldn’t know what it looked like if it hit him across the face with a hockey stick.
He doesn’t understand what’s at stake here.
” My heart felt like it splintered in my chest as I spoke the words because I knew with absolute certainty they were true.
And I hated it. I wished Liam was in love with me the way my brother loved Harper.
“I hurt her enough already. I don’t want to make it worse. If she needs space—”
“What Harper needs,” I interrupted, whirling back to face him, “is for you to prove that your love was real. She needs you to fight for her like she’s worth fighting for. Instead, you’re giving her exactly what she expects from you—nothing.”
That was probably too harsh, and based on the stricken look on his face, I’d made my point. I walked back and sat beside him.
“Stop following the advice of a guy who’s never had to risk his heart for love.
Liam doesn’t know what Harper needs. Really think about it from her perspective, Drew.
She discovers that there was a bet about her.
She confronts you, and what happens? You give some explanation that probably sounded weak even to you, and then when she leaves…
silence. Complete silence. No calls, no texts, no showing up at her door. Nothing.”
He ran a shaky hand through his hair. “I was trying to give her time to process.”
“I know that’s how you see it, but all you were doing was confirming every fear she’s ever had about you.” I tried to keep my voice gentle, but still make sure he heard me. “You need to get your ass off this couch and start fighting for her.”
“What if it’s too late?” he asked, panic clear as day on his face.
“It’s only too late if you decide it is. But Drew, if you’re going to fight for her, you have to really fight. Not halfhearted attempts that give you an easy out when they don’t work immediately. You have to be willing to put everything on the line for her.”
“So what do I do?” he asked.
I smiled for the first time since I’d arrived. “Now you’re asking the right question. You show her that your feelings were real. Don’t tell her—show her. Prove that your relationship was real, and that you’re willing to fight for what you built together.”
He nodded, his jaw setting with a determination I knew well. “At least I’ll know I tried. At least I’ll know I fought for her with everything I have.”
“Exactly.”
By gosh, I think he’s got it.
At least one of us might actually get a happy ending.