Page 7 of Jealousy Jealousy

She was silent for a while, then she turned to face me with a small smile. “No, not really. You?”

I shook my head. I never felt lonely. Only misunderstood and ignored. “No.”

“Good. Because you’re not alone. You know that, right?”

“I know.” I smiled tightly and we both continued to paint. There was classical music softly playing in the background. It was relaxing, and it was nice not thinking about anything else for once.

My painting was starting to come together nicely, and when I was happy with the result, I set the palette and brush down, and sat down on the couch behind me.

I watched Wavel paint. She was into abstract art, and her way of expressing herself through art had always fascinated me. Her brush strokes were always elegant and soft, and none of her paintings were ever too dark. She loved soft pinks and greens, and though I didn’t think those colors went together, she made it work somehow.

“I’ve met someone,” she said, breaking our silence.

“How? Where?”

“On the internet. Now, I know what you’ll think…it’s not safe to meet someone online, but he’s not a bad person.” She turned to face me with a smile, and I frowned.

“I’m confused.”

Wavel laughed softly. “You know that website Mom showed us where we can do some extra work for school? There’s a forum where you can ask for help if you need any. He asked a question and I answered, and then he sent me a private message. We started talking and…I really like him.”

I needed a moment to wrap my head around everything she was saying. It all seemed sketchy to me. “How do you know it’s a guy?”

“Well, his name is Jack and his profile picture is a guy. I’m hoping he’ll ask for my phone number so we can text and maybe call each other. He’s a really nice guy.”

“Where’s he from?”

“Vancouver. Not too far away. It’s only an hour flight from here.”

I nodded. “So…you write to him a lot?”

“Yes. Every day. Mostly at night because he’s not online during the day. He makes me laugh, you know? I know you probably think it’s strange but I really think this could turn into something bigger.”

I still wasn’t sure what to think about all that but it made me wonder one thing I had been curious about forever. “What about Sly?”

“What about him?”

“I thought you liked him.”

Wavel furrowed her brows. “I do like him. He’s our brother.” She trailed off and studied me, then her eyes widened. “Why would you think that I like Sly like that? Caia, we’re siblings!”

“No, I know! I just—” I sighed. “It always seemed that you two had a different kind of bond. I mean, you do. He loves you but he doesn’t love me. And I know you don’t love me as much as you love him.”

“Caia, don’t say that. That’s not true. I love you just as much as Sly. And just as much as I love Mom and Dad.” She looked worried when she kneeled in front of me and grabbed my hands. “Are you okay? Do you need to talk so somebody?”

Yes.

Desperately.

“No.”

Idiot.

“You know you can talk to me about anything, Caia. You’re my twin. I owe you, and if I can help you with something, I’d be more than happy to. Are you really okay?”

I looked at our hands and nodded, smiling tightly. “Yes, I’m okay. But if I ever need to talk, you’ll be the first one I’ll come to.”

“Promise?” She held up her pinky, waiting for me to hook mine around hers.

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