Page 77 of Forbidden

Chapter Sixteen

Hannah

I was so nervous. I knew it was stupid. I knew I shouldn’t be. If anything I should have been nervous last night when I had sex with Brad. Facing having a family dinner with him shouldn’t make me nervous.

As soon as I got back to the clubhouse Eve grabbed me. I saw the annoyance in Brad’s face as Eve pulled me away from him.

He had planned on me being in his sight all day. Well, at least that’s what he said. Maybe he had forgotten all about me as soon as he’d started working on the car or motor.

Yeah, I bet he did. I bet he was regretting all of last night.

I think that’s why I was so nervous because I knew he would be regretting it by now. He wouldn’t be wanting to lay claim on me. He wouldn’t want me to have the label as ‘his’. He wouldn’t want me thinking that either.

I took a steady breath in. I couldn’t put it off any longer; it was already ten past six, which meant Dad would be cooking.

I glanced back at Eve’s completed homework. I knew the doctors said to limit anything that might cause me stress and to not put my body under extra stress during treatment but I couldn’t say no to Eve. Not when she was really struggling.

She wouldn’t pass without my help. And today she had dumped a week’s worth of work on me. But she stayed in my bedroom while I worked on it, explaining about the latest television reality drama she was watching.

I opened the bedroom door and headed for the stairs. I could do this. It stopped raining this afternoon and the sun was out. Didn’t help me though. I was still freezing. I looked down at my ripped jeans and white jumper. I wasn’t screaming ‘sex appeal’. Which maybe I should be?

At least the white jumper didn’t cling to me too tightly and show how thin I was. I didn’t need Mum questioning me on my weight. Eve had brought it up this afternoon and said something along the lines of how she was going to exercise more because she didn’t want to be the dumb and fat twin.

I told her she wasn’t stupid. If she really wanted to do the school work, I think she had it in her but she saw it as too big of a hurdle. So she wouldn’t even attempt to jump it.

I felt sorry for her.

I saw the disappointment in her face when she said that. She really thought she was stupid. And after she said that, she stopped talking.

My hand ran over the rail. How was I going to make her see there were different forms of smart? Not just book smart. Like the way she could handle a gun. She didn’t need many lessons from Dad. There was a stage when she was even better than Tyson.

But that didn’t last long. Once Tyson realized he had real competition, he felt he had something to prove and became an expert.

I walked down the stairs. Eve was really smart when it came to logical things as well, like a puzzle or cooking. She was a really good cook; she could take barely anything and make a great meal. She also rode a motorbike like a man, flipping and jumping everything she could, and nobody, not even me, loved as much as her.

Also, when she laughed she made everyone smile. No matter how flat you felt, hearing her laugh would make you smile.

Didn’t she realize there was so much more to her? So much more defined her and who she was. Who cared if she needed help when it came to school. Heck, school work shouldn’t define how you saw yourself as a person. Some people have to read it over and over again and ask questions till it makes sense.

I was just lucky that it came to me naturally.

I stopped at the bottom of the stairs, hearing laughter from outside.

I was more worried about Eve than I was about seeing Brad. She was my twin, and it was like our hearts had been sliced and we were given half of each other’s hearts. We were always close and the only reason we had more distance between us right now was because of my cancer.

She was the hardest one to lie to. She was like me and could tell when I was lying. So I had to put more effort into my lies, or dodge around the facts and only tell the truth. Like if she asked me how I spent my day I’d tell her all about what I did with Layla but leave out the part where we spent two hours at the cancer hospital.

I walked through the lounge and into the open living room and kitchen.

“Hannah, about time.” Mum glanced up. “You shouldn’t be studying so hard on a Sunday. You need a break.”

I walked toward her. “I like studying on a Sunday, as it starts my week calm and structured.” And I wasn’t lying. I guess I was a bit odd when it came to school work. “Do you need any help with tea?”

Mum rolled her eyes. “What tea? We aren’t going to have one.”

I frowned. “Why, is Dad too busy or something?” Maybe he got caught up with something at the clubhouse. Usually he always made sure to put the club on the back burner on Sunday. It was the one day of the week you could guarantee he would be in the house. Though some days he and Mum would take the bike out and disappear for the afternoon.

“No.” Mum reached for her vodka and walked out of the kitchen. “He is teaching Tyson to cook.”

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