Thankfully, she saw right through me and said, “If you don't have anything important to do this afternoon, let's go and grab a burger and some ice cream.” It was something of a tradition for us ever since I was in grade school. It started when I had been teased by another girl for wearing glasses when no one else in my class wore one. The Fat Owl, she had called me. Unoriginal, but it didn’t take much to make a little girl cry. I had been on the chubbier side then. When my mom found me red-eyed and silent she had decided it was a good time to get me ice cream, unlocking my bottled-up emotions. Whilst we each enjoyed our sundaes, she told me that people who liked to make fun of others more often than not had problems themselves. “Like what?” I had asked. “Well...” my mom had scrunched up her eyebrows, looking hesitant. It was only a few years later that I learned that she knew Lucy Bennett, the girl who had teased me. Her parents had separated and she was living with her father, who got thrown behind bars when we were in our freshman year for dealing drugs.
“Okay,” I replied to her now. “Let’s try that place at the corner of Main and Fifth.”
Whilst we were both polishing off our desserts – my mother had opted for a sugar-free raspberry gelato whilst I got a dark chocolate frozen yogurt with extra pistachios – I told her about school, how I got into the cheerleading team only to be kicked out again, and my new friends. I didn’t tell her about my interesting encounters with Cole, but I think she could see my relationship with the twins wasn’t exactly ideal.
“Have they been helping you get around at school?” I took too long to answer, and my mom nodded almost imperceptibly. “Give them time to adjust. Sometimes, the most hurtful of people are the most hurt.”
I glanced up at her sharply. Did she know what Cole had done to me? “I’ve heard how he speaks to you at home, when he thinks no one else is around. Cole, I mean.” She looked at me for confirmation, and I looked at my hands in my lap and nodded.
“He...hasn’t exactly been welcoming.”
“And if what Marcus had told me was everything, I wouldn’t expect him to be.” My eyes must have mirrored the unspoken question I had, because she followed it up by saying, “It’s not my story to tell, and I do dare say that in this case, not knowing is better. The twins have been through a tough childhood, but especially Cole. What I need to know is this: has Cole ever done anything to hurt you? Seriously hurt you?”
I was faced with a choice: to call his malicious words and threats serious hurt or to give him a chance, given this new information my mother told me about. “Not seriously.”
At the pointed look she gave me, I qualified it with, ”And I hope it doesn’t come to that. I promise you will be the first person to know if I feel worried or scared in any way.”
She nodded, satisfied with my answer.
That night, I looked through Cole’s Instagram account again. His latest post was posted just tonight – it was of an empty chessboard. The words underneath the picture struck a chord, I had to reread them again. Sometimes winning isn’t about knocking someone down. Was he talking about me? The words had a melancholic vibe to it. Was he regretting getting me kicked off the team? Or was I reading it all wrong? Maybe it wasn’t about me at all. Maybe he had put someone else down today, too. I couldn’t help but feel bad for my opinion on him. I wondered what it was that Marcus had told my mom. “Tough childhood” didn’t seem like the kind of description you would use for kids whose parents had divorced. Unless it was especially messy? Or did the twins’ mom die? Did it even matter? It wasn’t a reason for him to be cruel to others.
Unhappy with the turmoil in my brain and how Cole was now invading my sleeping hours, I crawled out of bed and tiptoed to the door, listening for signs that told me someone else was awake. All was silent. I quietly opened the door and hobbled downstairs to grab a snack, only to stop short when I saw one of the twins on the landing on the way up. He saw me, and gave a small wave. A rush of relief went through me.
“Hungry?”
I nodded. “What’re you doing up?”
Hans gestured toward the beer in his hand. “Needed a breather. That history essay’s giving me a headache.”
“You really aren’t making this smart jock thing up, are you?” I had yet to touch that assignment.
His hand flew to his chest, and he feigned a hurt look. “What, a cute guy like me can’t be smart, too?”
I pretended to swat him. “I didn’t say you were cute.” I stuck my tongue out when he looked taken aback. Despite being identical, there was something about Hans that made him decidedly less...magnetic. Perhaps it was the easy smile, or the lack of seriousness about him. I laughed as I slowly made my way down the stairs, happy that I had one-upped him.
“Leave me some cheesecake!” Hans said. “Oh, and Cole too.” The laugh in his voice reminded me of my blunder that first day the twins had returned, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. Darn. You win.
Chapter 10
Cole
I listened to their easy banter, the relief in Ella’s voice when she figured out who it was, then shut the door quietly when I heard her make her way down the stairs. She really did enjoy her food, something I wasn’t sure I had seen in any of the other girls I
