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9. Gia

My phone rings, breaking the silence of the afternoon like a thunderclap. I glance at the caller ID and my heart skips a beat—it"s Josh. Finally, after days of radio silence, he"s reaching out to me.

Is he finally over me dating his bestie?

Who knew my older brother could be so immature?

"Hey stranger, how goes it?"

"Gia, you need to get to my house immediately," Josh"s voice is off, a note of desperation creeping into his tone. "It"s... it"s urgent. I can"t explain over the phone, but you need to come now."

"You don't speak to me for days and then call with a request for me to drop everything and appear before you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Can you come over, now? Please?"

I try to press him for more information, but he"s adamant, refusing to divulge anything further. With a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, I agree to go, knowing that whatever awaits me at Josh"s house can"t be good.

I grab my keys and rush out of the cabin, the urgency of Josh"s call propelling me forward. As I speed towards Josh"s house, my mind races with questions, but one in particular gnaws at me—does Ryder know what this is about?

I dial his number and he answers almost immediately.

"Hey beautiful, how's your day?"

"Have you talked to Josh?"

"Not since the party, why? What's up?"

"He just called me and told me I needed to get to his house immediately."

"Why?"

"He wouldn't say."

"Shit, that's not like him. Do you want me to go with you?"

"No, I'll be fine. I just wanted to see if you knew anything."

"I don't. Keep me posted."

"I will."

I hang up the phone and finish the short drive to my brother's house.

As I pull up to Josh"s house, a sense of unease washes over me like a tidal wave. With a deep breath, I steel myself for what lies ahead and step out of the car, the crunch of gravel beneath my feet echoing in the quiet stillness of the afternoon.

I make my way to the front door and let myself in, my heart hammering in my chest as I call out for Josh. But there"s no response, only a deafening silence that hangs heavy in the air.

And then, as I enter the living room, I freeze in my tracks, my breath catching in my throat at the sight before me.

There, sitting on the couch, is a woman who looks just like me. She's even wearing yoga pants and a red long sleeve shirt like me.

How in the Hell does this woman look like me and is even dressed like me?

Is this a joke?

The woman rises to her feet with an eerie grace, her movements mirroring my own with unsettling precision. Her eyes are blue and mine are green, that's the only difference that I can see. And as we circle each other warily, taking each other in with wary eyes, a chilling realization dawns upon me.

I"m face to face with my doppelg?nger.

"What the fuck?" I breathe.

"This is why I couldn't explain it on the phone," Josh laughs awkwardly.

"Who are you?" I ask.

She smiles sweetly as she extends a hand to me.

"I'm Mia Bennett, your twin sister," she says with a thick Southern accent.

"Sister… I don't…"

"Our mother wasn't completely honest with our father. We were together for our first few months, according to a journal I found. We were both colicky babies and she couldn't handle it. She made the choice to keep me, as I was the easier child and then she found our father and left you on his doorstep with a note."

"A journal?"

"Our mother passed away when we were four of a drug overdose. I was taken into the foster system at that time and that's where I remained. They couldn't track you or our father down."

"He changed our names constantly," I murmur. "And he didn't put me in school so there was no way to track me. I"ve now gone back to my original last name."

"I learned," she sighs. "I was only given her journal a few years ago when the home I was in was closed by the state. It was left in a locker and was supposed to have been given to me when I left but was not."

"How did you find us?"

"Genetic testing. The same way you found Josh and Talia."

"I didn't know," I murmur numbly. "How did I not know that I had a twin sister?"

"Neither of us knew, how could we?" she shrugs as if it's not a big deal.

"It seems that we both got the bad parent."

She laughs coldly. "You had a parent that was alive and raised you. I was raised by strangers."

"He wasn't a good man."

"But he was a father."

"Not in the general sense of the word," I snort. "He taught me to lie, cheat, steal, and manipulate. He used me as a scapegoat in hundreds of crimes."

"Still, it's better than being four years old and scared of the monsters in the dark, the teenage boys that had dysfunctions and would sneak into the girl's rooms at night."

My stomach clenches at the thought. I shake my head.

"She wasn't aware that our father died," Josh interjects quickly.

"He passed away of cancer," I mumble.

"So I've been told. It's a shame. I would have liked to have met him."

"I have pictures and such, if that helps."

"I would like that," she murmurs.

"Where did you grow up?"

"In Alabama."

"Where?"

"Dothan, Alabama."

"We traveled through there a few times."

My mind reels with disbelief, struggling to make sense of the surreal scene unfolding before me. But as Josh leads us to the dining room for dinner, I push aside my apprehension and focus on the task at hand.

As we sit down at the table, the atmosphere is heavy with unspoken questions, each of us grappling with the bizarre situation in our own way. But as the conversation flows and laughter fills the room, a sense of camaraderie begins to emerge, binding us together in an unexpected bond.

Just as we settle into the rhythm of conversation, Josh's phone buzzes with an incoming FaceTime call from Talia.

He answers the call, switches the camera, and puts Mia and me in the frame without any context.

"Holy shit," she breathes. "Are you fucking with me?"

"Nope, I have an identical twin sister."

"This is trippy."

"I agree," I laugh.

"Hi, I'm Mia."

"Hi, Mia. I'm Talia, your sister. I can't wait to meet you in person and hear this story."

"Me too," Mia smiles.

"I literally can't tell them apart," Josh says to Talia as he stares back at us with wide eyes. "Their voices are similar minus the Southern accent; their mannerisms are similar. It's so wild."

Josh and Talia talk for a bit before he ends the call and the three of us shift to lighter topics, the tension of earlier slowly melting away beneath the warmth of newfound camaraderie. We talk about our shared interests, our hopes and dreams, and the bonds that tie us together as friends and family.

I get up to go to the bathroom and neither Josh nor Mia is any longer in the living room when I return. I go into the kitchen.

"Hey Mia, did you find the bathroom okay?"

"I'm Gia."

"Fuck, this is wild," he breathes with a chuckle. "You guys are going to have to start wearing name tags."

"Our eyes are different colors," I point out.

"I guess I'll have to start paying attention to that."

Mia walks into the room seconds later and Josh continues to shake his head.

But beneath the surface, an undercurrent of unease lingers, a constant reminder of the surreal reality we find ourselves in. I steal glances at my doppelg?nger, her presence a haunting echo of the self I thought I knew.

And as the evening wears on, I can"t shake the feeling of being watched, the sensation of eyes boring into me from every angle. It"s as if the walls themselves are closing in, suffocating me with their silent scrutiny.

"Mia, it was really great meeting you tonight," I say as I start to leave Josh's house.

"Yeah, it was! We should definitely hang out again sometime."

"I would love that. It's so cool to finally have a sister. Here, let"s exchange numbers."

She hands me a card with her number on it and I hand her my fake Macy's card with a legitimate number.

"Perfect. Well, I should probably head back to my hotel now. It"s getting late."

She scurries out the door and I look back at Josh.

"That was… wild."

"That's an understatement," he breathes as I walk out the door.

I get to my car, grab my phone, and immediately call Ryder as I'm pulling out of my brother's circle driveway.

"Hey beautiful, so what was the big secret."

"Can I stay with you tonight?"

"Of course. Chloe"s already asleep, so just come on over. I"ll leave the door unlocked for you. Remind me to give you the code."

"Thank you, Ryder. I"ll be there soon."

"You're going to leave me hanging until then?" he teases.

"Yes."

"Okay, I'll see you in a few."

I pull into Rider's long driveway and he's outside waiting for me on the front step. I don't say anything I just immediately rush into his open arms.

"Hey, what"s wrong? Is everything okay?" he asks softly.

"I don't know. I'm numb."

"What is it?"

"I... I have a twin, Ryder. A twin sister who looks exactly like me. I never knew she existed until tonight."

"Whoa," he says as he blows out a long breath and pulls me in tighter. "Oh, Gia... That"s a lot to take in. I"m here for you, whatever you need."

We walk into the house, and he leads me to the couch.

"I don't know how I feel about this?"

"Is this a whiskey or wine thing?"

"Definitely whiskey."

"Coming right up."

He goes into the kitchen, opens a bottle of whiskey, and pours into two different tumblers after putting some ice in them. He carries them into the living room and hands one to me.

He falls onto the couch next to me and pulls me into him. I snuggle up, putting my head on his chest.

I feel so safe and calm here.

"Ryder," I begin hesitantly, my voice barely above a whisper. "I don"t know how to feel about all of this. It"s like my whole world has been turned upside down, and I don"t know which way is up anymore."

His arms tighten around me, offering silent comfort and support. "I understand, Gia. It"s a lot to process."

I nod, grateful for his understanding, but the unease still churns in the pit of my stomach like a stormy sea. "And... there"s something else. Something I can"t shake. A bad feeling in my gut, like... like something"s not right."

"What do you mean, Gia? Can you tell me more about this feeling?"

I shake my head, frustration bubbling up inside me like a dormant volcano. "I don"t know, Ryder. It"s like... like a shadow looming on the horizon, dark and foreboding. But I can"t put my finger on what it is exactly."

He reaches out to brush a stray lock of hair from my face, his touch a soothing balm against the turmoil raging within me. "It"s okay. Just take your time, and we"ll get to the bottom of it."

"Thanks for this. I mean… I know this is a fake relationship and all, but I… didn't want to be alone and I just wanted to talk to you."

"I think we both know it's not fake."

I pretend not to hear what he says.

"It's just so wild to think I had a twin sister all this time and never knew."

"Don't beat yourself up about it, okay?"

I nod, knowing damn well that I am not going to listen to him.

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