Page 1

Chapter One

“You’d better not pukein my car!”

River waves a hand at me, dismissing my warning.

I’ve lived in her shadow my entire life.

River has the kind of beauty that stops people in their tracks, be it male, female, old, or young. Even little kids gawk at her. She doesn’t flaunt it, doesn’t even try. Never has to. Teachers go easier on her and people trip over their feet in her presence.

I sometimes resent her for hitting the jackpot in the DNA lottery, but she’s my sister, and she’s never held her beauty over my head.

I do it on my own. River can’t help the way she looks any more than I can.

We are opposites. She’s beautiful, where I’m plain. She’s a brunette, where I’m blonde. She’s an extrovert. I like to hide. She’s confident and full of life, while everything about me is blah.

Just once, I’d like to be truly seen as me instead of a faded copy of the woman sprawled in my passenger seat.

I’m glad my fraternal twin has enough sense to call me to get her from the party when her ride hooked up with some guy and left her to fend for herself, but I’m so mad at River for being drunk.

We come to a stop sign and I look at her.

“What did you do, take a dive into a vat of beer? You stink.”

The words sound harsh, but there’s no bite in them and River knows it.

“Nope. But someone spilled a full cup on me.”

She lifts her left arm to show me the damage. She’s wearing a black sweater, so there’s nothing to see, but I sure can smell it.

My eyes are back on the road as we make our way home. Not a lot of traffic at 2:30 a.m.

A few more minutes and I’ll be back in my warm bed.

“I’ll never understand it. What’s the point of getting so drunk?”

I have the urge to shake some sense into her and hug her at the same time. Something is eating at my sister and I have no idea what.

“I’m notthatdrunk. And why are you so mad? It’s not like I interrupted a hot date or anything.”

Her response burns me a little, and my face flushes in anger and embarrassment. The curse of fair skin is that everything shows. My shoulders tense and my jaw clamps shut in the way I’ve grown used to. This happens whenever someone says or does something that hurts me. True, I haven’t dated anyone in two years, but still, hearing those words upsets me. I suck in a deep breath and will my body to relax, my jaw to unlock, and I open my mouth so words can come out.

“I had a date with a book.” Lame, I know.

“Please, that’s all you do, Skye. Read, study, work, bake. You should try living a little. Like me.”

Her speech is slower, a little slurred, but River’s quick wit is not dulled by the alcohol she consumed.

Easy for her to say. You’d think with being twins, even if fraternal twins, the gene distribution would be somewhat even. It isn’t. But as much as I sometimes wish to be more like River and have her confidence, her cleverness, and yes, her looks, a bigger part of me is glad I’m nothing like her. I wouldn’t be able to handle all the attention she gets. I love my sister and I know she loves me. She always has my back, and she stands up for me and tries to include me in whatever she’s involved with.

I’m the one who can’t rise to the occasion.

I’m the one who would rather be alone than in a crowd.

I can’t fault River for her blunt honesty. It’s the truth. And I’d always rather have the truth, even if it stings a little. Or a lot.

“You’re living enough for the both of us. Someone has to be the responsible one. We’re not even two full weeks into the school year.”

I shake my head in disbelief and mutter under my breath.