Tasting My Ex's Twin Brother

Elena's POV ​ The strawberry frosting on the cupcakes was beginning to weep, sliding down the golden brown edges in sad, pink streaks. ​ I checked my phone for the twentieth time in the last ten minutes. It is 5:42 PM. Our picnic had been scheduled for three o'clock. ​“Hey babe, just checking in! I’m by the old oak tree on the lower quad. Got your favorite sandwiches” my first text read, sent nearly three hours ago. ​“Ethan? Are you okay?” sent at two. ​“Please call me,” sent at three. ​There were no blue bubbles returning my messages. No typing dots. Just a cold, blank void. I swallowed the lump rising in my throat, staring down at the vintage plaid blanket I’d spent an hour smoothing out over the grass. Today wasn’t just any random Tuesday. It was the eve of our five year anniversary. Five years since Ethan Carter had cornered me behind the high school bleachers, his cheeks flushed bright red, asking me to be his girlfriend. ​A loud, booming burst of laughter echoed across the open field, shattering the quiet evening. ​My head snapped up. Walking along the paved pathway just fifty feet away was a group of guys in oversized, dark blue varsity jackets with crossed hockey sticks on the sleeves. The university ice hockey team. And right at the center of the noise, carrying his hockey stick over his shoulder effortlessly, was Ethan. ​He looked devastatingly handsome, his jawline sharper than it used to be, his golden brown hair windblown and perfect. But my heart didn’t flutter. It sank into my stomach. Because tightly woven around his left arm was Tiffany Vance. ​Tiffany was the captain of the cheer squad, a walking sunset of blonde highlights and effortless beauty. She was laughing at something he said, her head tilted back, her manicured hand resting heavily on his bicep. ​Before my brain could stop me, I stood up, abandoning the melting cupcakes, and hurried across the grass. "Ethan!" ​The group halted. Half a dozen pairs of eyes turned to look at me. Ethan stopped moving, his expression shifting from carefree to instantly strained. ​"Elena," he said, his voice dropping a fraction. He didn't untangle his arm from Tiffany. "What are you doing here?" ​"What am I doing?" My voice trembled slightly, but I forced a brittle smile. "We had plans, Ethan. The picnic? I’ve been sitting under the tree waiting for you for nearly three hours. I called you so many times." ​ One of his teammates, a massive guy named Marcus, snickered under his breath. "Damn, Carter. Didn't know you had a curfew tracker out here on the quad." ​Tiffany let out a soft, melodic giggle that made my skin crawl. "Oh, honey," she said, looking at me with a look that was entirely empty of sympathy. "You shouldn't smother him. Ethan's a college athlete now. He doesn't exactly have time to play house in the dirt anymore." ​A few of the other guys chuckled. The humiliation burned hot in my cheeks, but I kept my eyes locked on my boyfriend. "Ethan, can I please speak to you? Pulling you away from your friends for just two minutes shouldn't be a crime." ​Ethan sighed, a heavy, irritated sound that cut deeper than any of Marcus's jokes. "Elena, look, I’m sorry, okay? I forgot. Coach called an emergency film session, and then the guys wanted to hit the ice before the big game this weekend. I have practice right now." ​"You forgot?" I whispered. He forgot our anniversary eve. He forgot our anniversary is tomorrow. ​Seeing the look on my face, Ethan’s expression softened slightly. He finally stepped away from Tiffany, taking a step toward me. "Look, I really am sorry. I've just been stressed. Tell you what, tomorrow night is the team’s red and black party at the house. I'll take you as my date. I'll pick you up, and we'll make a whole night of it, okay?" ​The crushing weight in my chest lifted just a fraction. A party. He was inviting me to the biggest hockey party of the semester as his official date. He does remember, I reasoned frantically to myself. He’s going to make it up to me tomorrow because he knows what day it is. ​"Okay," I breathed, offering a genuine smile this time. "Tomorrow night. I'll be ready." ​"Good girl," Ethan murmured, giving my shoulder a quick, distracted squeeze. ​As he turned to rejoin the group, Tiffany stepped forward. She didn't say a word, but as she passed me, she deliberately slammed her shoulder hard into mine. The impact threw me off balance, forcing me to take a clumsy step backward onto the grass. She didn't even look back, just threw her head back and laughed at a joke Ethan was telling. ---- ​"He did what?!!" ​My roommate and also friend since Highschool, Maya, slammed her textbook shut so hard the dust flew off her desk. She stared at me as I paced the length of our cramped dorm room, throwing my ruined picnic basket into the corner. ​"He said he was stressed, Maya," I argued quickly, my voice defensive. "He’s under a lot of pressure with the scout team this year. And he apologized! He invited me to the hockey house party tomorrow night. He’s making me his date." ​Maya rolled her eyes so hard I thought they’d get stuck. "Elena, he stood you up on your five year anniversary eve to hang out with a girl who looks like she eats fresh freshwater pearls for breakfast. Tiffany is practically glued to his hip, and you’re letting him off the hook because of a sweaty frat party?" ​"You don't know him like I do," I snapped, sitting heavily on my bed and pulling a pillow into my lap. "Ethan is sweet. Remember junior year of high school when I got the flu right before prom? He skipped the whole thing just to sit on my bedroom floor, wearing his tuxedo, eating chicken noodle soup with me. He loves me. He’s just.... adjusting to college." ​"We are already in sophomore year Elena, he is not still adjusting to College, College has changed him," Maya said gently, her tone softening as she looked at my miserable expression. "I just don't want to see you get hurt." ​"I won't," I insisted, though my own voice sounded small. "Tomorrow is going to be fine. You'll see." ---- ​But tomorrow wasn't fine. ​The next day dragged on in an agonizing, silent crawl. By 6:00 PM, I hadn't received a single text from Ethan. No "Happy Anniversary." No "Hey, get ready for the party." Nothing. ​Maya sat on her bed, painting her toenails, giving me a pitying look every time I unlocked my phone screen just to stare at a blank lock screen. "Elena. Stop. If he hasn't texted you by now..." ​"I'm going to his dorm," I blurted out, standing up so fast my chair scraped the floor. "Maybe his phone died. Or maybe he’s already getting ready. I'm just going to check on him." ​"Elena, don't...." ​I didn't listen. I grabbed my keys and practically ran out of the building, my heart hammering against my ribs. ​Ethan lived in the athletic dorms on the opposite side of campus. By the time I reached the third floor, out of breath and sweating slightly, the hallway was already buzzing with music. I marched up to suite 301 and knocked loudly on the wood. ​The door swung open a moment later. ​My breath caught. For a split second, I thought it was Ethan. But then I looked at the eyes. They weren't bright and restless like Ethan’s. They were a deep, dark, stormy gray, calm and intensely observant. ​Evan. Ethan’s twin brother. ​He was wearing a simple white tshirt and grey sweatpants, holding a book in his hand. He looked at me, his eyes sweeping over my frantic expression, a subtle shadow passing over his face. ​"Elena" Evan said, his voice deep and quiet. ​"Is Ethan here?" I asked, trying to peer past his broad shoulders into the room. "He hasn't answered his phone all day. We have plans for the party." ​Evan didn't move. He stood firmly in the doorway, a protective barrier. He looked down at me, and for a fleeting second, I thought I saw a flash of profound, heavy sadness in his eyes. ​"He's not here, Elena" Evan said. ​"Oh. Did he already head down to the house to set up?" ​Evan swallowed, his jaw tightening. He looked like he wanted to say a thousand things, but when he spoke, the words were completely blunt. "He left about twenty minutes ago. Tiffany came by and picked him up." ​The hallway around me seemed to go entirely silent. The air left my lungs in a sharp, painful gasp. Tiffany picked him up. He left without me. On our anniversary. ​"Are you sure?" I whispered, my voice cracking. ​"Yes," Evan said. ​Head down and devastated, I slowly turned around to leave. ​"Elena" Evan called, his voice softer this time. ​I paused and turned around to face him. For a second, it sounded like he wanted to say something. ​But in the end, he simply remained silent. "It's nothing." he said. ​I nodded. Then walked away. ​I don't even remember walking back to my dorm. I just remember the tears blurring the campus lights into giant, smeared halos. ​When I burst through my door, Maya took one look at my face and stood up, dropping her nail polish. "Oh, honey. What happened?" ​Through broken sobs, I choked out the words. He left. With Tiffany. ​I collapsed onto my bed, burying my face in my blanket, wanting nothing more than to disappear. I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Five years of history, completely erased by a girl in a cheerleader skirt. ​Suddenly, the blanket was ripped away from my face. ​Maya was standing over me, her eyes flashing with absolute fury. She didn't look sympathetic anymore, she looked ready for war. She marched over to my closet and yanked open the doors. ​"Get up, you are going for that party" Maya commanded, tossing a hanger onto my bed. ​I blinked through my tears. Resting on the mattress was a dress I’d bought on a whim but had never been brave enough to wear. It was cherry red, silk, with a dangerously low back and a slit that went all the way up the thigh. ​"Maya, I can't," I sobbed. "He doesn't want me there." ​"I don't give a damn what Ethan wants," Maya growled, grabbing her makeup bag and slamming it onto the desk. "You are not going to sit in this room and mop while he parades that Barbie doll around campus. You are going to put on this dress. I am going to do your makeup. And you are going to walk into that party looking so incredibly, devastatingly sexy that Ethan Carter chokes on his own breath the second he sees you." ​She gripped my shoulders, forcing me to look in the mirror. "You are Elena Hart. Stop crying over a boy who forgot your worth, and go remind him who you are." ​I looked at the red dress. Then I looked at my tear stained reflection. A strange, unfamiliar spark of anger ignited deep within my chest, burning away the sorrow. ​"Okay," I whispered, wiping the last tear from my cheek. "Let's do it."