Page 39 of Rules

“What is wrong with you?” she whines in protest, throwing herself back to the mattress and pulling the blanket over her head.

“What is wrong with me?” I yell, trying to pull the blanket away, but her grip is strong. “What is wrong with you? Andrew? Really?”

Jeanette peeks over the edge of the blanket. Gray eyes narrow in irritation as she stares at me. Fuming. If I weren’t so pissed at her, I would probably hide, because waking Jeanette up is never a pretty thing. I’d probably have more luck with waking a bear from hibernation.

To my utter surprise, she huffs in protest, but sits straight, leaning against the headboard with the blankets pulled underneath her chin.

“What about Andrew?” Jeanette lifts her chin up in defiance, the set of her jaw and the fire burning in her eyes a clear giveaway that she’s irritated. “He’s your friend if I recall correctly.”

A friend that’s making out with my sister behind my back. Just the thought of it makes me want to smash my fist into his preppy face.

“Then why are you fucking him behind my back?” I challenge.

Her eyes almost fall out of her sockets at my words. They are crude and harsher than they’re supposed to be, but I don’t have it in me to play nice. Jeanette recovers quickly though.

“Excuse me? And you think you’re one to talk?”

“Jeanette…” I growl in warning.

“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” she grits through clenched teeth.

Is she playing dumb or what? In a few long strides I’m in front of her, pushing my phone in her face, my thumb still holding on to that photo so it doesn’t disappear. “I’m talking about this!”

She blinks a few times, her eyes zeroing in on the phone.

“That’s what you call fucking?” she argues, shoving my hand away.

“He kissed you, Jeanette!” I say, my free hand running through my hair, pulling at the ends in frustration. “He kissed my baby sister.”

She rolls her eyes at me. “I’m hardly a baby. And he was drunk.”

The words fall from her lips so nonchalantly, I have to blink a few times to see if I got it right because it seems to me like she’s not denying it.

“Did you like it?” I look at her. Really look at her. She’s been acting strange lately, more than usual, but I never guessed… Could she like him? Like really like him?

The bile rises in my throat.

No, it can’t be. Jeanette can’t stand him. She said so herself. On more than one occasion. But then again…

“What? No!” Jeanette all but jumps out of the bed, her eyes wide, cheeks flushed.

“You’re lying!” I point my finger at her, accusingly.

It’s like somebody punched me in the gut, kicking all the air out of my lungs.

“Oh, please! You’re delusional, Max!”

She tries to play it cool, but...

“I know you!”

She’s my sister. My twin. And no matter how distanced we’ve been in the last few years, some things never change. Some truths are always the same.

She actually likes him.

Jeanette likes Andrew.

“You don’t know shit.” She shakes her head, but I can see it written on her face. I’m not wrong. “I don’t like Andrew. The guy is the world’s biggest douchebag! What is there to like?!”

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