Tara’s POV“What?!” Zoey and Jane scream together, their voices so loud that everyone in the cafeteria turns to look at us.I just told them the most shocking news ever, that my grandmother is having a baby. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true.Zoey and Jane look completely confused, and I don’t blame them. They both know my grandmother pretty well since they’ve been to my house many times over the years. They remember when we all celebrated her 59th birthday last year.“Wait, wait, wait,” Zoey says, holding up her hands like she’s trying to stop traffic. “Your grandmother? The same woman who celebrated her 59th birthday last year? She’s having a baby now?”
Xavier’s POVI feel so frustrated after the chat with Tara yesterday. How could she pick my brother over me? The question keeps playing in my mind over and over again, making me feel sick to my stomach. Maybe if she knew I was Jake, it would have been a different choice? But I can’t bring myself to tell her the truth. I’m too scared of what might happen.I’m sitting on my bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to figure out what to do next. Should I tell my brother about the setup Tara had for us? But how would I even say that without sounding completely crazy? How do I explain that I’ve been pretending to be someone else online?I feel so stupid for getting myself into this mess. I never meant for things to get this complicated. It started as just a way to get
Tara’s POVDuring lunchtime, Zoey, Jane, and I are sitting at our usual table in the cafeteria when we notice the new student. Something about her seems off. Maybe it’s the way she’s looking around like she owns the place already.“Who do you think she’s?” Jane asks, pointing with her fork toward the new girl.“I have no idea,” I reply, taking a bite of my sandwich. “But I wonder why she’s just transferring to our school now when our exams are starting next week.”Zoey nods in agreement. “That’s really weird timing. Most people transfer at the beginning of the term, not right before exams.”&
Tara’s POVAfter I’m done with my bath, I feel much more relaxed and clean. The warm water helped ease some of the tension in my muscles, and now I feel ready to face the rest of the day. I wrap myself in my soft towel and walk back to my bedroom, my hair still damp and dripping slightly.I sit on my bed and reach for my phone, wanting to message Jake. I’ve been thinking about him all day, and I’m curious to know what he’s been up to. I open our chat and start typing.“Hey Jake, how was your day?”His reply comes quickly, which makes me smile. “Hey, beautiful! My day was okay, just busy with work stuff. How about you? How was your day?”I think about everything that happened today. “It was pretty stressful, to be honest,” I type back. “Just a lot of family drama and weird stuff happening.”“I’m sorry to hear that. Do you want to talk about it?”I appreciate that he always wants to listen to me and hear about my problems. It makes me feel like he really cares about what’s going on in
Xavier’s POVI decide to go to the field to distract myself from everything that’s been going through my head. When I arrive at the field, the coach is already there, setting up equipment for practice. His face lights up when he sees me walking toward him.“Xavier! Good to see you here,” he says with a big smile. I nod and give him a small smile back, even though I don’t feel much like smiling right now. At least someone is happy to see me today.I look around the field and see that Jasper is already here too. He’s sitting on the bench tying his cleats, but when he sees me, his face immediately changes. He gets that cold, angry expression that he’s been wearing around me since Sunday.He’s been ignoring me for days now, even though I tried to apologize to him multiple times. I know I messed up. I got carried away because of everything that’s happening with Tara, and now my twin brother won’t even talk to me properly. It’s killing me inside because we’ve never been like this before.
Tara’s POV The next day in school, I’m sitting inside the classroom, still daydreaming about Jake, when my friends walk in. I can’t stop thinking about everything that happened between us. Every little detail keeps replaying in my mind like a beautiful movie that I never want to end.Jane and Zoey both notice me immediately. I must have this dreamy look on my face because they exchange one of those knowing glances before walking straight over to me.“Okay, time’s up,” Jane says, dropping her bag on the desk and crossing her arms. “You promised you’d tell us everything on Monday, and here we are. You better start explaining everything that happened between you and your online boyfriend.”I feel my cheeks getting warm just thinking about it. I’m not sure how much I should tell them. Some things feel too private and personal to share, even with my best friends.“Come on, Tara,” Zoey adds, sitting down next to me. “We’ve been waiting all weekend to hear about this. Don’t leave out any de