Too Many(6)

I send Luke a quick text telling him I’m sorry I dipped out and I’ll meet with his mom soon to talk about her place.

Luckily when I exit the bathroom nobody's around and I take a peek out to see the same two girls have cornered the twins again. Jealousy hits me, but I push it away. They aren't mine and I steal the chance to sneak out while I can.

My heart gets heavier with each mile that puts distance between us. I hope I’ve done the right thing. It might not feel right, but this isn't about me. It’s about them. I’ll never want someone to come between Harlow and me, so maybe it’s best if I leave for a while.





Chapter Four





Elijah





“You rushed it,” Owen mumbles under his breath when we make our way out back to check for Nellie.

“We agreed that we’re done waiting.” I shrug and keep walking.

“Yes, but it was supposed to go slower.”

“Owen, if we go any slower she’ll be married and knocked up before we have our chance. Is that what you want?” I stop and stare at him as I raise an eyebrow in challenge. When he doesn’t say anything, I keep on moving. “Where the hell is she?”

Harlow and Dad are slow dancing together. I walk up to them and realize I might be interrupting a special moment, but this is important.

“Have either of you seen Nellie?”

Dad looks at me and shakes his head as Harlow reaches into her back pocket.

“Oh, yeah, it looks like she texted me. She had a headache and went home.”

“She left?” I stand there stunned and they look at me in amusement.

“Was she supposed to do something? We’ve got everything covered tonight. We just wanted you boys to kick back and have a good time. Have you eaten yet?” Harlow is always asking us if we’ve eaten. It must be a mom thing.

“We were going to ask her about some of the designs for our place,” Owen chimes in, and I see Harlow’s smile turn suspicious.

“Oh really?”

“I think we’re running low on shrimp,” I say, grabbing Owen’s arm, and Harlow turns distractedly to look at the buffet.

“What was that about?” Owen whispers as I drag him around the house and to the front.

“Harlow was on to us. I had to distract her.” I send a text to Nellie asking her where she is but it doesn't say it’s delivered. I call her next and it goes straight to voicemail. “Fuck.”

“Look, I don’t want you to get pissed, but you know how to kiss, right?” Owen crosses his arms over his chest and waits for me to respond, but I just reach out and smack him on the head.

“You were the last one to do it, so you probably messed it up.” He opens his mouth to argue with me, but I hold up my hand. “Focus.”

“Fine.”

“We’ve got two options. We can go after her right now and demand that she talks to us, or we can wait until tomorrow and she comes to our place.”

“I hate the thought of her leaving here upset.” Owen echoes my thoughts. “But if we go after her now, it could just push her further away. We’ve waited this long. What’s one more day?”

I nod as I contemplate what Nellie’s probably doing right now.

“Elijah, I know you want to go after her, but we can’t just leave the party. Harlow and Dad went to a lot of trouble and they’ll kill us if we disappear.”

I nod again and then I stop as a lightbulb goes off over my head. My smile grows bigger and our twin brain kicks in and Owen starts to shake his head.

“No, absolutely not. It’s not happening.”

“Come on, you have to.”

“The last time I pretended to be both of us, we got suspended for three days.”

“It’s not my fault Mrs. Palmer can’t take a joke.” I shrug. “Besides, her hair eventually grew back.”

“What do you think you’re going to accomplish by running after her? You could push her away from us and then we’ve lost our chance at this.” He shakes his head and throws up his hands. “This isn’t just about you anymore. She’s ours, and she’s the one.”

“You don’t think I know that?” My voice gets louder and I have to take a breath. “We’re in this together, Owen, and I’m going to do everything I can to make her ours. Don’t you trust me?”

He presses his lips together in a firm line before he finally nods. “You know I do.”

“Then let’s do this. You go inside and make sure they don’t know I’m missing. I’m going to smooth things over with Nellie and be back as soon as I can.”

I’m already taking the keys to my truck out of my pocket as Owen nods.

“Elijah,” he says as I start to walk away. “Don’t fuck this up.”

“No pressure.” I take off in a jog to my truck then hop in. I see Owen go back inside as I pull out and drive towards Nellie’s place.

I’ve only been there one other time and it looked like she had just moved in. There were still unpacked boxes in the corner, but she said she’d been there a couple of years. I know her well enough to be able to read between the lines. She’s living in limbo waiting for her life to begin.