Breaking Challenges

Chapter 3

3

Sara and I trailed along behind our superior siblings. Although I sensed that she didn’t mind being stuck with me, I did not care to get to know her. Lexi was the one I wanted, not her plain-jane kid sister. Besides, I thought Sara must be a couple of years my junior. I wasn’t a cradle robber.

When Tristan smoothly slid his hand out to encompass Lexi’s dainty one, I audibly sucked in a breath. It was t*****e to watch, but I couldn’t seem to break my gaze away.

“You might as well give up on that,” Sara informed me logically, tilting her head in their direction when she noticed my distress. “She has googly eyes for your brother, and Lexi always gets what she wants.”

I didn’t bother to tell her that I was overly-familiar with having a sibling that always won. It was too painful to admit aloud that my chances for a relationship with Lexi were over before they really began.

We walked in silence for a long time. Although I couldn’t hear what they were saying, Lexi’s delighted laughter wafted back to us, carried by the lakeside breeze. Whatever Tristan was saying was obviously captivating her. I loved the sound of her giggles, but it grated on my nerves that they were in response to my brother’s charm. He was effortlessly seducing her, while I stood silently by––helplessly watching it all unfold before my horrified eyes.

I found a brilliant blue, perfectly-smooth piece of beach glass and stooped to pick it up. My first thought was that it was the exact shade of Lexi’s eyes.

Sara marveled at it, “Oh, that’s pretty!”

Even though I could tell that she wanted the stone, I just nodded. Excited to give Lexi my new treasure, I picked up the pace of my walking to catch up with them. Sara stayed in stride with me, obviously having caught on to my intentions.

Tristan’s flash of irritation when we appeared beside them wasn’t lost on me. I held the jewel-colored glass out in front of Lexi. “Here, I just found this…”

Before I could finish my sentence, Tristan snatched the glass out of my hand. “This is almost the exact color of your eyes,” he said to Lexi, holding it up near her face to verify. After examining the two together, he finally decided, “It’s a close second, but nothing could be as beautiful as your amazing eyes.”

She fluttered her long lashes at him, obviously completely smitten. I was too stunned to speak. Not only had my twin swooped in and charmed the girl of my dreams, but now he was also stealing my discoveries and ideas. She was supposed to be gracing me with that enamored look, not him.

To this day, I can remember how the fury rushed through my veins in that moment. If I’d had a weapon, I most certainly would have used it on Tristan. He always ruined everything for me, but this was too much to take.

When he gave me his classic ‘I win again’ grin, I nearly came unglued. It seemed almost like he relished taking what I wanted. I wondered for a brief moment if I might have been wrong all these years. Perhaps Tristan was the evil twin after all, not me.

That reprieve was short-lived because I quickly remembered my vivid fantasies of murdering my own brother, or at least maiming him beyond recognition. Despite how much I wished it could be different, I was, and likely always would be, the Cain to his Abel.

When your twin brother is always the hero, the only role left to play is the villain. Like it or not, I feared that was my lot in life.

I stared at Lexi’s seashell pink, perfect nails as my brother brought her hand up to his lips for a sweet kiss. There was no denying that he was smooth––especially not when she started giggling like a silly schoolgirl.

Having had enough, I stalked away. I knew they wouldn’t bother to follow me, and that was just fine. I’d had enough of their sickening budding relationship. My best chance with Lexi would be if Tristan quickly tired of her and moved on to his next conquest. Unfortunately for me, that was not how things worked out.