I Confessed To The Wrong Twin

Ch.8

Jami

Three days. Three whole days of sitting in this stupid room, staring at the ceiling, and listening to the muffled sounds of my family living their lives downstairs. It feels like a lifetime.

Evelyn is completely serious about this grounding thing. She took away my car keys, my freedom, and my phone. The house feels like a high-security prison, and the isolation is driving me entirely insane.

Every time I hear footsteps in the hallway, my stomach does a nervous flip, hoping maybe my dad came back from his business trip early to bail me out. But it's always just Cole thudding around or Evelyn screaming at the maid.

I feel totally trapped in my own skin. The worst part is the silence from Reid. I have no way to text him, no way to explain why I vanished into thin air after my brother dragged me out of his passenger seat. He probably thinks I'm some drama-magnet freak who isn't worth the trouble.

The memory of that kiss on the hood of his car is the only thing keeping me from losing my mind, but even that is starting to feel like a distant dream.

Around 4:00 PM on the fourth day, my bedroom door clicks open without a knock.

I don't even sit up from my pillows. I just stare at the wall as Vanessa slides inside. She looks perfectly put together as usual, wearing a matching lounge set with her long hair pinned up neatly. She shuts the door softly behind her, clicking the lock into place.

"Still alive?" she asks, her voice dripping with that annoying, fake sympathy.

"Barely," I mutter, turning my head to glare at her. "Did you come in here just to gloat, or do you actually want something?"

Vanessa rolls her eyes, walking over to my desk and leaning against it. She reaches into her pocket and pulls something out, letting it dangle between her French-tipped fingers.

My eyes widen. It's my phone.

"How did you get that?" I sit up fast, my heart hammering against my ribs.

"I sneaked it from mom’s vanity drawer while she was downstairs fighting with the gardener," Vanessa smirks, tossing the device onto my mattress. "Don't say I never did anything for you."

I grab the phone instantly, checking the screen. The battery is low, but it turns on. My thumbs hover over the glass, desperate to check for messages, but Vanessa clears her throat loudly, cutting off my focus.

"Don't get too excited, Jami. It comes with a price," she says, her tone shifting into something totally calculating.

I drop my hands, looking up at her with instant suspicion. "I knew it. What do you want, Vanessa?"

"Look at you, stuck in this room while the holiday break is passing you by," she starts, pacing around the foot of my bed. "Mom isn't going to let you out anytime soon. She's completely convinced your little hockey boyfriend is some gang member who's going to ruin the family reputation. But... I can fix it."

"You can fix it?" I let out a dry, sarcastic laugh. "You're the one who ratted me out in the first place."

"And I can easily undo it," she counters, leaning down slightly so we're eye-to-eye. "I can go downstairs right now and convince mom that I talked to you, that you're super sorry, and that we should test him out. I'll tell her we should all go out for dinner so we can see what he's actually like. If he takes us to a nice place and shows he's a sweet, harmless student from your campus, mom will unground you by tonight. But you have to do something for me in return."

A cold dread washes over me. I already know what's coming, and I hate it. "What do you want?"

"I want to meet him," Vanessa purrs, a predatory spark dancing in her eyes. "Set up the outing. Have him take us out for dinner so I can see what this star athlete is all about. You agree to that, and I'll get you your freedom back."

My chest tightens with pure panic. She wants a shot at Reid. She wants to use her usual toxic tricks to slide into his space, flirt with him right in front of me at a restaurant, and steal him away just like she does with everything else. Every instinct in my body screams at me to say no, to protect him from her.

But as I look around my suffocating room, at the locked door, I realize I have zero choice. If I stay grounded, I won't see Reid anyway. I won't see Chloe. I'll just rot here for the entire holiday. This is a total deal with the devil, but it's my only escape.

Besides, a tiny part of me feels a sudden wave of relief when I think about Reid's actual personality. Reid is so quiet. He's the type of guy who rarely even talks to people in class. He's always focused on his books, totally introverted, and completely blind to loud, obnoxious girls.

Vanessa can try her little seduction act all she wants, but the sweet, nerdy Reid I know isn't going to care at all. He won't give her the time of day, no matter how much she tries to show off at the restaurant.

"Fine," I choke out, my grip tightening on my phone. "I'll call him."

"Good girl," Vanessa smiles, her lips stretching wide. "Do it right now. I want to hear."

My hands sweat as I unlock the phone and click on Reid's contact info. My thumb hesitates over the call button. My stomach is doing aggressive backflips. What if he doesn't answer? What if he's mad about Cole?

I press dial and lift the phone to my ear. It rings once. Twice. Three times.

"Sweetgirl," a deep, smooth voice suddenly fills the line, making my breath hitch instantly. He sounds completely relaxed, totally unbothered by the chaos of our last meeting. "Wondered when you'd finally check in. You disappeared on me."

"Reid," I whisper, my voice shaking a little as I glance up at Vanessa, who is watching me like a hawk. "I'm so sorry about the other night. My brother... he's a lot."

"Don't worry about the goalie," Reid drawls, and there's a weird, sharp edge of amusement in his tone that I don't quite understand. "So, why are you calling? Miss me already?"

"I'm actually in trouble," I say quickly, trying to explain the situation without sounding totally pathetic. "My stepmother officially grounded me because of the club and the car. She thinks you're some dangerous bad boy. The only way she'll let me out of the house is if you take my sister and me out for dinner to prove you're actually a safe, trustworthy student from my school."

There is a long, heavy silence on the other end of the line. My heart drops. I'm completely terrified he's going to say no, that this family drama is a total turn-off.

But then, a low, amused chuckle echoes through the speaker. It sounds deep, dark, and completely entertained by the entire mess.

"An outing?" Reid asks, his voice laced with pure, unadulterated amusement. He sounds like someone who just got invited to a comedy show. "A dinner date with you and the sister to prove I'm a good boy? Yeah, okay. I can do that. Pick a high-end spot and tell me when, Sweetgirl."

I blink, totally shocked by how fast he agreed to the total chaos. "Really? You don't mind? My stepsister Vanessa is going to be there too..."

"The sister who took the photo?" he asks, and I can practically hear the wicked smirk on his face. "Perfect. I love an audience. Give me the time and place, Jami. I'll see you guys there."

"Okay," I murmur, swallowing the lump in my throat. "I'll text you the details."

"Can't wait," he says, his voice dropping into a low, flirty tone that makes my cheeks burn before the line goes completely dead.

I lower the phone, my mind spinning. Vanessa lets out a victorious hum, tapping her knuckles against my desk.

"Perfect," Vanessa smiles, her eyes gleaming with absolute malice. "I'm going downstairs to talk to mom now. Get a nice dress ready, Jami. We're going out for a very interesting dinner."

She turns on her heels and struts out of the room, leaving the door cracked open. I slump back against my pillows, clutching the phone against my chest.

I got my freedom back, but a heavy, dark feeling settles deep in my gut. I just invited a wolf straight into my relationship, and I can only pray that Reid stays the safe boy that never bothered about women.