The Third Twin (13 page)

Not twenty-four hours later, I’m wearing a shiny blue top, the diamond pendant, and a ton of eyeliner as we walk up to a stucco apartment complex that has a massive kegger going on in the courtyard. I check my phone for the address Eli gave me. “This is it.”

“No kidding,” Ava says, shouting over the music booming from the front gates.

I feel a text coming in. “Eli’s coming down to meet us,” I say as I read it. Despite the crowds of people in every available open space, I spot him right away on the second-floor walkway, and my heart jumps. Eli smiles and waves as our eyes meet, and he pushes through the crowd toward the stairs. “There he is,” I say, pointing.

“Damn, Lex,” Maya says, nudging me. “Now I see what all the fuss is about.”

I whirl on her. This is why we don’t let other people in
on it. “It’s
Alicia
,” I say, my heart racing. I look around, but it doesn’t seem like anyone heard.

“Ease up,” Ava says. “People might think you actually like him.”

“Shut up, Ava,” I say, my frustration rising to the surface. I knew this was a bad idea. I can’t have one little comment wreck this whole thing. Not now. “I swear to God, if you blow this for me—”

“Don’t worry,” Maya interrupts. She puts a hand over her heart. “I promise I won’t. I’ll totally be careful.”

“I’m so glad you’re here! You look amazing,” Eli says, and reaches for my hand. I glance around at the people near us, seeing a few nods from guys who must know him.

I know I’m grinning like a maniac, but I can’t help it. “Thanks. This is Maya,” I say, giving her one last piercing look.

“Hey,” she says, giving him a little wave. “
Alicia’s
told us all about you. And the band.” The emphasis on the word “Alicia” isn’t lost on me, and I glare at her. Real subtle.

Eli doesn’t seem to notice. “All?” he says, with mock horror on his face.

I give his hand a squeeze. “Not all.”

“And you’re Ava,” he says, leaning over to give her a hug. She blushes just the smallest bit and surprisingly doesn’t say anything. Eli looks back at me. “No Lexi tonight?”

Ava gives a short, sharp laugh. “Right. Like Lexi would ever be caught dead at a party like this.”

It’s true, but I’m a little hurt, so I give her a look.

Eli grins and puts one arm around my shoulder as we
turn to walk into the complex. “I don’t know, she seemed nice. A little serious maybe, but nice. I think you guys are too hard on her.”

I shake my head and roll my eyes. “No, really. We’re not.” The courtyard is taken up by a large pool with strips of grass and lawn furniture around the edges. It feels like almost every apartment door is open, with music spilling out into the eerie glow created by the lights of the pool reflecting on the hundreds of people who are wandering around. Nobody is in the pool yet, but I have a feeling that it’s only a matter of time.

“Most everyone is upstairs,” he says, grabbing my hand and leading the way through the crowd. “We’re not playing for another half hour, so we’ve got time.” Eli guides us into the apartment, and I say hi to Melissa and Linzey. I look around, but Rebecca is surprisingly absent.

“Holy mother of God,” Linzey says, her eyes wide, looking from me to Ava. “I know you said you look kind of alike, but … there are
two
of you.”

“Three,” Maya says almost proudly. “They’re triplets.”

“No shit?” Melissa looks to me for confirmation.

I shrug. Not like being twins—or triplets—is some kind of accomplishment. “That’s what they say.”

“That. Is. Awesome,” Linzey says with admiration.

“It’s handy,” Ava says cryptically, then disappears into the crowd. I doubt she’ll pick up anyone, because she’s still seeing Dylan as Alicia, but you can never be sure with Ava.
Please, God, let her behave tonight.

Maya stands next to me, looking from one gorgeous guy
to the next. “Now I know where all the beautiful people have been hiding,” she whispers into my ear. “They’re all in this apartment.” I look around and agree. She’s not wrong.

“Do you know everyone here?” I ask Eli.

He looks around absently. “No. Some, but not everyone. A lot of people who live here go to the university. It’s sort of an unofficial second-year dorm. And I saw some people from Claremont earlier.”

Claremont. The name sticks in my head, until I remember—that was the school Casey went to. I feel a chill as I worry that someone from Claremont might recognize me. Or Ava. I’m going to have to stay sober tonight for sure. “You didn’t go to Claremont, though,” I say.

“No. But I went to middle school with some of those guys, so I know a lot of them,” Eli says as he looks at the crowd in the kitchen. “Want me to get you two something to drink?”

“I’ll have a beer,” Maya says.

“Coke if they have it,” I say, and then remember I’m Alicia, not Lexi. “
Diet
Coke.”

“Aw,” he says, with an exaggerated look of disappointment on his face. He puts his lips close to my ear as he whispers, “I was hoping to get you drunk and then we could mess around.”

I squeeze his hand with just the right amount of promise for later. “You know you don’t have to get me drunk for that.”

“Nice,” he says, his voice a little deeper than before. He clears his throat. “I’ll be right back.”

Maya swats me as soon as he’s gone. “ ‘You don’t have to get me drunk for that’? Seriously?”

I shrug and pick my way through the room to a less crowded spot. “What can I say? Alicia’s a little bit of a slut.” I feel someone looking at me, and turn toward the open apartment door. Rebecca is staring straight at me, her eyes not leaving my face as she tips a bottle of beer to her mouth. I feel myself tense up, ready for whatever confrontation she’s going to throw at me.

Maya turns and follows my gaze. “Rebecca?”

“How’d you guess?”

“She’s the only one in here who looks like she’d like to scratch your eyes out,” Maya answers.

“Yeah. Not exactly subtle.”

“If she tries anything, I’ll totally take her down.”

I almost laugh just picturing it. “Thanks,” I say, forcing myself to turn back around. No sense in giving her the satisfaction. Eli’s here with me, of his own free will. Rebecca is not my problem. As I scan the unfamiliar faces around the room, I catch the eye of a tall guy with a mess of curly blond hair, muscular arms, and a deep tan.

“Crap,” I whisper under my breath. I look away, but I know it’s too late—Zane saw me and is headed our way.

“Holy shit,” Maya says, and slinks away before he can reach us. Coward.

“Lexi?” he says, walking over and pushing the sombrero out of his eyes with his drink. He looks me up and down. “What’s with the bad Ava impersonation?”

My heart sinks. I thought this party was far enough away from home that this wouldn’t happen. Our real life has never gotten tangled up with Alicia’s before. “Shhh,” I say, looking
around to make sure Linzey or any of the other girls aren’t around. The truth is definitely not what I’m after at the moment. “What are you doing here?”

Zane gestures toward the kitchen and gives me a strange look. “Um … hanging out at a party.”

I look at the crowd for anyone else who knows me. The real me. “Are you here alone?”

“No,” he says. “Slater’s over there talking to some girl. And we brought Bettina.”

Oh God. I look around, but I don’t see her anywhere.

“She’s at the far end under the Sierra Nevada sign,” he says, nodding in that direction. “She’s been on her feet all day and is completely wrecked, but we’re not ready to go home yet.”

Luckily, either nobody’s noticed the slightly worn-looking mannequin perched precariously on a stool at the edge of the kitchen counter, or everyone’s choosing to ignore her. Today she’s sporting a loud Hawaiian print shift dress and gladiator sandals. And one of those hard hats with two beers stuck to the sides.

“She’s looking good,” I tell him, noticing the new red wig and heavy eyeliner that may or may not actually be Sharpie. I relax a little now that we’re on another subject.

“Thanks,” he says with a wink, and turns away from her, lowering his voice to a loud whisper. “We got her a makeover. Some of the guys thought her look was a little dated.”

Bettina has been with them since sophomore year, when one of the guys rescued her from the curb on big-trash day,
and aside from a little peeling paint, she’s in pretty good shape for all her adventures. She’s been surfing, snowboarding, on two different Mexican road trips, and there was even a rumor of a skydiving incident last year. For being made of metal and plaster, Bettina’s social life is a lot more active than mine. I try not to think about that too hard.

“Hey, Alicia!” Linzey calls from a few feet away. She holds up her empty cup. “I’m going to get another drink. Want me to get you one?”

Damn. I squeeze my eyes shut so I don’t have to look at Zane. I manage a smile, hoping it doesn’t look too fake. “No, thanks. Eli’s getting me something.”

She nods and disappears back into the crowd. I turn and see Zane watching me, not even trying to hide his disapproval. “Alicia?” he asks, folding his arms over his chest. He looks bigger all of a sudden.

I look over at the doorway, but Rebecca has disappeared. I pull Zane down so he can hear me. “Look, don’t blow this for me, okay?”

He shakes his head. “I’m not going to do anything. But I thought you guys were going to quit Alicia.”

“I am.” I look over at Eli, who is talking to a couple of people at the far end of the living room. “I was. But Ava needed a favor. And I figure it’s not hurting anyone.”

Zane follows my glance. “The band guy? Seriously? Don’t tell me you’re turning into a professional plus-one.”

I shove him in the arm. “I’m not. But he is really nice. And fun. And Alicia knows how to have fun.”

“What’s wrong with Lexi?” he says, a challenge in his voice. “Why do you have to do”—he waves his hand at my skirt and sky-high boots—“this? This isn’t you.”

“Exactly! This
isn’t
me. This is someone who’s pretty and fun and impulsive. Not boring and studious and plain.” Lexi doesn’t do fun. Lexi does studying and volunteer work and everything she can to make her dad proud of her. At least, she did.

His eyes widen. “That’s what you think? That you have to look like this to be worth something?” He takes a step back, and the look of disgust on his face feels like a dagger in my heart. Zane seems about to say something else but instead turns to go. “I thought you knew better.”

“You’re not my father,” I say. I grab his arm, and he turns back around but shrugs me off. Suddenly I’m angry, and tired of people telling me what I should and shouldn’t be. What I can and can’t be. “You can’t just pronounce something like that and walk away all righteous,” I say. “None of this is any of your business—I don’t have to answer to you. I can dress how I want and tell people my name is Beyoncé if I feel like it.” I look around at the crowd. “What are you even doing here? Did you come because you knew I’d be here? I don’t need anyone checking up on me!”

There’s silence between us for a few seconds, and I can see that Zane is deciding something. “That’s possibly the most narcissistic thing I’ve ever heard you say. Like I came here only because of you? Contrary to what you might think, I don’t spend my free time worrying about what you’re doing. I came to hear some music and hang out with my friends.”

I step away from him, more upset than I should be. This is Zane, not my boyfriend. “So go. Hang out with your friends.”

Zane’s cheeks turn a bright red, which is the only indication he’s angry, because his voice is icy calm. “I’m going. See you around,
Alicia.
” He says the last word loudly enough so that the people near us turn around.

I turn and walk to where Eli is standing so that I can’t see Zane through the crowded room. My heart is pounding, and the anger is flooding through my body. Who is he to judge what I do? So what if I want to dress up and pretend to be someone else? What’s his problem, anyway?

“You know that guy?” Eli asks, nodding to where we were standing.

“Yeah. He goes to my school.” I almost add “We used to be friends” but don’t because that might require more of an explanation.

“Everything okay?”

“I guess,” I say, taking a swig of the Diet Coke he hands me. I try not to make a face. I hate diet everything.

Melissa comes over and taps Eli on the arm.

“Time to set up,” he says, nodding toward the courtyard. “You going to come watch?”

“Of course,” I say, following him out the apartment door. I don’t turn around, but I can almost feel Zane’s eyes on me as we go. I grab Eli’s hand, and he looks back at me with a smile.

I don’t relax until an hour later when the music is echoing off the walls of the apartment building and Eli is wailing on his guitar, doing what he does best. Most of the crowd is
crushed up against the makeshift stage, Rebecca front and center. I work my way to the back and stand next to Linzey.

“You’re not coming to Seattle?” she shouts over the music.

“No,” I say. “School next week.” Right, school. Not the fact that Eli hasn’t asked me to come. He finally told me about the trip and said all the right things, like how much he’s going to miss me, but didn’t mention that the other girls are going too. Just as well—not like Dad would let me go, but it might have been nice to be asked.

“Drag,” she says with a smile. “I don’t miss those days.” She hoists her beer in a salute and takes a big swig.

I glance behind Linzey and see a pretty blonde talking to Zane by the pool. They’re sitting on the edge dangling their feet in the illuminated blue water. As I watch, she laughs loudly and tosses her head back, brushing his arm with her hair and taking the opportunity to move so close to him that she’s practically in his lap. So much for Zane not liking girls like Alicia. She has even more makeup on than I do. I wonder if he’ll take her back to his apartment. His dad works nights a lot now, so there won’t be anyone there to bother them. My mind flashes to the last time I was in his bedroom, with the Lego creations on his dresser and the hammock full of stuffed animals over his bed. It’s been a long time since I was at his house. I’m guessing the Legos and stuffed animals are gone now.