I Confessed To The Wrong Twin

Ch.10

Jami

I stare down at the little puddle of condensation forming at the base of my water glass, tracing the rim with a shaking finger. The restaurant around us is loud—but at our table, the air feels so thick I can barely swallow.

"Vanessa, why the hell are you saying so much trash in front of Reid?” I throw her a piercing glare.

“Well, you didn't tell me you were hiding so much from your ‘boyfriend’” She slurs and damn it, my ears instantly ring with a painful, suffocating heat. I drop my hands to my lap, my fingernails digging straight through the fabric of my dress and biting hard into my palms.

I can see the sharp, victorious tilt of Vanessa’s chin out of the corner of my eye. She picks up her wine glass, her long, French-tipped nails tapping against the glass.

Every single time our childhood friends visited the house, they'd make sure to completely avoid me just to go play with Vanessa. It was the exact same thing when Dad handed Vanessa the keys to a brand-new car right at the dining table, completely forgetting it was my graduation night.

It's the same exact script playing out right now. She's going to take him. The one guy who looked at me like I was the only person in a crowded room. The memory of his mouth pressed against mine on the hood of his car feels like a cruel joke. My heart is thumping like crazy.

And Reid is just sitting there. He doesn't say a single word to stop her. He takes a slow sip of his drink, his face a completely unreadable, silent mask. He's probably realizing it right now that he made a massive mistake. Why would a guy who looks like him ever stay on my side of the table when perfection is begging for his attention right next to me?

"She’s always been the quiet, boring one," Vanessa continues smoothly, her voice dropping into a whisper as she flirts. "She spends all her time hiding behind her books on campus. I keep telling her she needs to get out more, but I guess some people just don't have the personality for a fun lifestyle. It’s a miracle she even managed to get you to take her out."

No.

A sudden, freezing wave of clarity hits my chest, completely washing over the misery and replacing it with something furious.

Why am I shrinking into a corner for her?

Reid didn't do anything wrong. He came here to help me. He agreed to this chaotic, insane dinner just to get me ungrounded, and Vanessa is sitting here using him as a pawn in her sick, twisted competitive games. She’s disrespecting me, and she’s treating him like a prize to be won.

The dam breaks. Years of taking her psychological garbage, and three days of being locked in my room all boil over at once.

*SLAM!*

I bring both of my hands down on the wooden table with a violent crash. The water glasses rattle loudly, a splash of water spills over the edge, and the sudden noise echoes so sharply through our section of the restaurant that a nearby waiter stops dead in his tracks.

Vanessa chokes on her breath, jumping backward against the leather booth, her eyes wide with shock. Reid pauses, his glass hovering halfway to his mouth as his dark eyes lock onto me.

"Shut your mouth, Vanessa!" I hiss, my voice shaking with a rage that I didn't even know I had in me. "Just shut your pathetic, miserable mouth!"

"Jami?" Vanessa stammers, her face turning a bright, ugly shade of red as she looks around. "What is wrong with you? You're making a scene—"

"I don't care about a scene!" I snap, leaning over the table, my chest heaving as I stare her down. "I am so sick of this! I am so sick of you throwing yourself at every single thing in my life just to prove you can take it! Look at yourself! You sat here acting like a cheap, desperate clown, whispering and trying to manipulate a guy who doesn't even give a damn about you!"

"Jami, stop it!" Vanessa whispers harshly, her fake sweetness completely evaporating into panic.

"No, I’m not stopping!" I yell, the tears finally burning my eyes but refusing to fall. "You think you’re so superior because you’re thin? Because you fit your Mom's stupid, superficial aesthetic? You are a toxic, insecure bully, Vanessa. You have no personality, no hobbies, and no life outside of tearing me down to make your own empty existence feel meaningful."

I turn my gaze to Reid, my heart hammering violently against my ribs. My voice softens, but the fire is still there. "He isn't some status symbol for you to collect. He’s a good person. Unlike anyone else in our house."

Vanessa is shaking with embarrassment, her jaw practically on the floor as she clutches her designer bag against her chest. She tries to speak, but only a pathetic, choked sound comes out of her throat.

I push myself up from the booth, standing at my full height and looking down at her. The suffocating weight that has been pressing on my chest for years is completely gone. I feel relieved.

"I am done playing your sick games, and I am done letting you and Evelyn treat me like a criminal in my own home," I say, my voice dropping into a deadly, freezing whisper. "Enjoy the rest of your dinner, Vanessa. Because we are leaving."

Before Vanessa can even process the words, I reach across the table and wrap my fingers tightly around Reid's wrist. I don't give him a choice, and I don't wait to see if he objects. I just pull him forcefully out of the booth with me, anchoring him to my side.

Reid doesn't resist at all. A dark, intense look flashes across his face, his lips twisting into a slow, wicked smirk as he lets me drag him out into the aisle. He looks completely captivated, entirely thrilled by the sudden chaos.

Clutching his hand firmly in mine, I turn on my heel and march out of the restaurant into the cool night air, dragging my boyfriend right alongside me and leaving my sister completely ruined in our wake.