Noooooo!
The world spun. She collapsed as Julia slid out from under her. She began to spit, tasted blood, and heard her sister scream, but her voice was far away, sounding as if Julia were under water, gurgling her name . . . “Sophia . . . no . . . oh, no . . . Sophia . . . please . . .”
Another bang!
But not a gun, Sophia thought, trying to focus. More like the door being flung open and hitting the wall . . . but she couldn’t be sure. Not of anything. She touched her side, felt the sticky warmth of her own blood.
So this is what it’s like to die . . .
Someone was crying. Far away, though. Sobbing brokenly.
Julia? It sounded like her.
“Why did you do this? Why?” she demanded, her voice wet. “You ruined everything.”
Ruined it all? Me? No, no . . . that isn’t right.
“You should never have gotten pregnant. How could you have been so stupid?”
“I . . . I didn’t.” Sophia argued—the words were forming, but her lips—did they move? Had she actually said the words aloud? Or were they just echoing in her own mind? The world was spinning, but she forced a harsh, horrid whisper. “No baby,” she said, sputtering.
“What?” Julia demanded, but her voice was so far away.
Still, she had to tell her sister, try to make her understand. “Mistake. . . to get James . . . to marry me . . . marry . . . us . . . we . . . we . . . were losing him . . . Had to force himmmm . . .” She couldn’t stay awake. She was sooo cold, and the pain in her side throbbed and . . . and really . . . it didn’t matter . . .
“You’re not pregnant? This was all a lie?” Julia said, her faraway voice sounding distraught. “Wait . . . no . . . are you telling the truth?”
Sophia licked her lips. Forced air through her voice box and opened her eyes. “No . . . baby,” she insisted and noticed a figure looming in the open doorway.
“You stupid bitch,” Julia said brokenly, as she pushed her twin away and struggled to her feet. Glaring down at Sophia, she shook her head. “You are so messed up!” With a wobbling hand, she trained the gun on Sophia.
“No!” a man’s voice boomed, and Sophia almost smiled.
James? The figure in the doorway was James? He’s come to rescue me . . .
“Don’t!” he ordered.
For the briefest of instants, Sophia’s heart soared, and then everything in her tiny prison began to fade, the seductive darkness pulling her under . . .
She spied Julia, now on her feet, hair as wild as her eyes as she whirled, the gun leveled at James.
“No!” Sophia tried to scream, but her command was only the barest of whispers. Please, no! Not James.
“Stop. Julia! I know about you. About Sophia. About the baby.”
“No baby,” Sophia insisted, forcing out the words, her voice gurgling strangely. “Never . . . never a baby. Fake pregnancy . . . test.”
“She’s lying!” James stepped into the tiny house. “To save the child.”
Julia said, “More like her own skin.”
“But she’s bleeding out.” He pulled a phone from his pocket and started to dial; all the while, Julia, her hands trembling, aimed the pistol straight at his heart. No! She couldn’t kill James!
Sophia blinked and tried to stay conscious. If she didn’t, Julia would murder James, then turn the gun on her dying sister.
“Where’s Megan?” James demanded, “What happened to her?”
“You didn’t see her?” Julia taunted.
“Oh, God, is that who you were shooting at?” His voice was tinged with horror and disgust.
Julia snorted. “Megan’s already dead, James.”
“Then—?”
“Rebecca, of course.”
“Rebecca?” He sounded stunned. Horrified. Oh, Lord, Sophia heard it in his voice, that he still cared for Megan’s sister, that he probably had always cared for her, even loved her . . . “You sick—”
Sophia’s heart cracked.
“Put down the phone,” Julia ordered, backing up a step.
“It’s over,” he said, and there was a new, brutal quality to his words.
“No . . . not yet.” Julia took one more step backward, and Sophia, despite everything, could almost hear the gears turning in her twin’s mind. “We can work something out,” Julia was saying, her voice softer. “Really, James, I just want a little bit.”
“A little bit?”
“Yeah. You know. Just some of the money I should have inherited.”
“What? How can you think of that now? For the love of God, Rebecca—Jesus, Rebecca’s dead, and your sister’s dying!” James said. “Put down the damned gun!”
Sophia heard a tinny voice squawking, and James cut it off, talking sharply into his phone. “This is James Cahill. I need to report—”
Julia said, “No! Stop it! I’m serious, James, and—” Julia was still inching backward, the heel of her boot brushing Sophia’s side so that she was standing directly above her twin.
So close, Sophia thought.
Precious sister.
Just near enough.
“I’m warning you,” Julia said to James.
Now!
With all of her strength, Sophia flung her torso up, flailing out with her arms, her fingers striking Julia’s knee but sliding.
“What the—?”
Gritting her teeth, Sophia forced her fingers to clamp over Julia’s ankle.
“Quit that!” Julia began to kick.
Still clinging to the boot, Sophia threw back her body, pulling Julia down as James leapt forward.
Blam!
The gun went off!
An earsplitting bang echoed through the small cabin.
Julia screamed, falling, toppling onto her twin, her weight mashing Sophia against the floor. “You . . . you bitch,” she spat over the sound of a siren wailing distantly. “You goddamned . . . stupid . . . bitch—” Words failed her. She started to gurgle and gasp, to cough, her eyes wide. “No . . . oh . . .”
Pushing her away, Sophia looked up just in time to watch James sway in the doorway, blood sprouting on his chest.
Oh, no . . .
He fell forward, crumpling, his head striking the bottom rung of the ladder with a horrifying thud.
Tears filled
