Page 2

4 Years Earlier…

We are never going to get out of here , I think to myself as my brother, Hayden, disappears into a secret room.

The door appeared after I pulled a chair from the wall.

We’ve been searching this bunker-like escape room for forty-five minutes.

It is crunch time. There is no way we are failing, but I am doubting we can make it out within the next fifteen minutes.

My mom walks fearlessly into the darkness of the secret room, but I stay in the main area, looking for more clues.

A doomsday bunker equipped with everything we need to save the world from the apocalypse.

How convenient. We just have to find all the pieces and put them together.

If we don’t, the door will open to the sad realization that my mom, brother, and I have failed to save the world from this fictional apocalyptic event.

I walk over to what looks like a control board of some kind.

Though I’ve scanned this thing a million times, I have found nothing useful.

But I know there is something here.

I know it. As I bend over to look closer at the controls, I see a symbol I hadn’t seen before.

“What do you guys see in there?” I yell through the wall to my mom and brother, who have been dead silent in the darkness of the secret room.

“Some sort of altar. Looks like it’s missing something though,” Hayden yells back to me.

“What are we missing?” my mom hisses under her breath.

Her competitiveness is coming on strong in these last few remaining minutes.

“I think I know what we need to do!” I shout.

“What?” Hayden and my mom yell back in unison, rushing out into the main room.

I point to the symbol I thought was a smear on the otherwise symbol-less control board.

Some sort of bird. A phoenix?

“Oh my god, I’m so stupid!” my mom groans.

“Never overlook something in an escape room, Cathy.”

Without consulting us, my mom walks over to the pile of items she has been collecting from the room.

Most of them have already been used to figure out the other clues.

All accept one. A phoenix talisman.

Hayden’s eyes light up in excitement as I glance up at the clock that says we only have three more minutes.

Hayden grabs the talisman from our mom’s hands, but instead of dashing back into the secret room, he gives it to me.

“Let the birthday girl do the honors.”

I beam at my brother before rushing into the dark room.

As soon as my eyes adjust to the dim lighting, I find the altar-like platform, scanning it for a spot to place the talisman.

There! With my mom and brother behind me, I hold the talisman up to the matching symbol, slide it in place, and turn.

The platform opens up, blinding us with a bright LED light before presenting us with a key.

I grab it and run to the door we had entered fifty-nine minutes ago, but the door opens on its own.

Karl, the guy who locked us in here, greets us with a sad face.

“I’m sorry to say that you were just five seconds shy of saving the world.”

Prick , I think to myself.

I was just about to unlock the door!

“Fucking hell, man, you couldn’t have given us those five extra seconds?” Hayden whines.

“In a real-life situation, the world would have ended in those five seconds.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Hayden mumbles as he pushes past Karl with a defeated huff.

“Well, it was still a fun time, wasn’t it, honey?” my mom asks as she wraps an arm around my shoulders and kisses my temple.

I smile up at her, “So much fun, mom. Best birthday ever!”

“Come on, dorks, let’s get our picture of defeat over with and go eat,” Hayden mumbles.

Karl hands Hayden a “womp womp” sign with the biggest doofus face.

I couldn’t help but cackle out loud.

I place a hat on my head while my mom gets the “I’m with stupid” sign, pointing it at Hayden.

It’s not often the three of us get to be together, so even in defeat, we put our best smiles on for the camera.

As the three of us sit down at one of our favorite Manhattan restaurants, I pull out my phone to send Jonah and Sarah our defeat picture from the escape room.

I send the messages separately, hoping to get some flirty messages from Jonah, knowing he wouldn’t send them in a group chat with my best friend, who also happens to be his twin sister.

I’ve lived next to Sarah and Jonah Rosenberg my whole life.

Our houses share part of a driveway that bridges over a stream in a wooded area of Flanders, New Jersey.

While Jonah’s house is a mini mansion, that’s way too big for his family of four, my house is a typical bi-level, perfect for a family of four.

With my brother off at college and my mom working at the hospital most days, even our small house feels too large.

If my dad was still alive, I’m sure I’d still have the house to myself.

I don’t mind it, but I definitely miss having a full house.

I miss family time.

The Rosenbergs were our lifeline then after my dad died.

They would watch Hayden and me whenever my mom had to pull double shifts.

We were their second pair of kids for a solid three years until we were old enough to be on our own.

During those years, Sarah and I became like sisters.

We had already been super close, but after spending so much time together, we became inseparable.

And my feelings for Jonah intensified.

Is it weird that I have a major crush on my best friend’s twin brother?

No, not at all. At least that’s what I tell myself.

But I feel strange keeping my feelings from Sarah when Jonah is now so very aware of them.

Since my car has been an unreliable piece of shit all school year, Jonah has been driving me and Sarah to school every morning, and me to work every evening in his very reliable Honda Accord.

The trip to and from work is only five minutes, but I don’t always leave his car right away when we arrive home.

One night, we started flirting with each other.

Another night, we almost kissed.

A few nights ago, we confessed our feelings for each other.

I look down at my phone as it vibrates, smiling when I see Jonah’s curly mop of brown hair on my screen.

Jonah: You didn’t escape the room?

I’m a little shocked.

You guys have never been defeated before.

Me: Five seconds! We missed it by five freaking seconds!

!

Jonah: What was the theme?

Me: End of the world, so we screwed up big time

Jonah: Nah, we’re okay, I mean, at least the world isn’t ending today or tomorrow, maybe in the next ten years

I send Jonah a scream emoji before looking up to find my mom staring at me with a shit-eating grin.

“What?” I ask

“Is that Jonah you’re texting?” my mom asks in her sweetest voice, propping her head in her hands.

Hayden looks up from the menu he’s holding, and says in a sing-song voice, “Ohhhh, Jonah Rosenberg? Have you finally gotten in his pants?”

My mom smacks Hayden on the backside of his head, making the blush on my cheeks turn redder as I giggle at the shocked look on his face.

“What? Lori has been pining for Jonah for years.” Hayden pats the back of this head delicately, mouthing an “ow” before saying out loud, “Take a break, sis. If your face gets any redder, mom will have to perform CPR.”

Damn my ginger genes.

I can never hide my embarrassment with this pasty white skin.

Taking a deep breath, I calm my nerves, which instantly spike out of control when I read Jonah’s next message.

Jonah: So…you turn 18 tomorrow

The winky face he sends next makes it impossible to breathe.

So I send him a quick response, telling him I’ll call him when I get home, then drop my phone back in my purse.

“Can we talk about something else, please?”

“I need to run to the little boy’s room. If the waiter comes over, can you order me a coke?” Hayden asks.

“Sure, honey,” my mom says as Hayden turns to head toward the bathroom.

But she’s not done with the topic of Jonah.

“I saw you two in the car the other day. You looked very cozy together.”

Jonah and I still haven’t kissed, but have come close a few times.

I keep making excuses not to kiss him.

He’s my best friend’s brother.

He’s eighteen and I’m seventeen.

We are only a few months apart in age.

Despite that, I’m a stickler for the rules.

But tomorrow, that will change.

“Yeah, we’re friends.” I try to sound casual, but my mom sees right through me.

“Okay, so he confessed to me he’s been in love with me for years and then I let it slip that I’ve had a crush on him for forever. But we are just friends. For now.”

The sound my mom makes is something between a seagull and a yelp, making me jump off my seat.

“Dammit, Mom, what was that?”

“Sorry, I’m just so fucking excited. I’ve been waiting for you guys to finally confess your undying love to each other. Just do me a favor, be safe. Even though you are on birth control, it’s important to practice safe sex.”

“Mom!” I shout as Hayden slides back into his seat.

“What did I miss?” he asks, looking right at me as if he already knows what we were talking about.

“Nothing,” I say at the same time my mom says, “Jonah and Lori love each other and are going to have the cutest kids one day.”

“Mom!” I shout a bit louder, throwing one of my harsher looks at her.

Hayden just laughs.

“Okay, okay,” my mom giggles.

The waiter interrupts us with a “Welcome,” and asks us what we’d like to drink.

Once our orders are placed, my mom is sobered up but still staring at me.

“In all seriousness, I think you two will be great together. I know you are scared of opening your heart up, but the hardest part is over. You both have expressed your feelings. Keep that open line of communication and you guys will get through anything.”

“I like Jonah a lot,” Hayden says.

“Much more than that shitbag you dumped a few months ago.”

Hayden doesn’t bother looking at me as he gives his unsolicited opinion, but it warms my heart to know that my family approves of Jonah.

Who wouldn’t? He’s literally everything a girl could dream of.

Smart. Caring. Handsome.

Those smoky quartz eyes of his have haunted my dreams for years.

Eyes I never thought would be fixed on me.

As I sit with my family, I try so hard not to imagine my fingers twirling his thick, brown curly hair as we lie in bed together.

I can’t help but think of his arms around me.

How perfectly we fit together, even though he’s so much taller than me.

I long to get to know him better.

More than just my best friend’s brother.

Because I already know everything about who he is and where he comes from.

Now I want to dive in deeper.

Become something more than a friend.

I’m just not sure I’m ready for that.

Or perhaps it’s only fear holding me back.