The Secret Girl

by Stunich, C. M.

  “Oh, Tobias,” Micah purrs, reaching out and flicking his brother in the forehead. “I won the race, not you. And I don't have to share my win.”

  Tobias' eyes narrow, and he frowns, but I'm so damn curious … I lean forward and kiss him, this pathetic, sloppy teenage kiss that I know I'll never be able to live down.

  But holy shit, it feels good. Real. And honestly? So utterly and completely different from Micah's.

  My face is burning with embarrassment as Tobias blinks at me in surprise, and I slide off Micah's lap, and off the edge of the car, landing on my feet on the soft earth.

  “I was promised pancakes.” I purse my lips and glance over at the city and the ocean beyond it, gleaming silver under the moon. “Oh, and boy clothes.”

  “Ugly boy clothes,” the boys correct in a lazy drawl.

  I roll my eyes, but they're both hopping off the car, and the moment has passed.

  I'm already dreading coming face-to-face with Cody again.

  Because now I have the answer I needed.

  Micah's kiss, and that brief brush of lips with Tobias, were both better than Cody. Infinitely. And Spencer. I just can't stop thinking about Spencer …

  The twins and I grab pancakes at the diner, and then head over to a big box store that's open late. They both sit on a bench outside the dressing room, randomly switching places, so that every time I come out, I have to guess who's who.

  Actually, now that I've spent a little time with them, it's not all that hard. Sure, they can move and talk in unison, but Micah has a hard glint that Tobias counters with a strong but gentle demeanor.

  They bring me heaps of clothes to try on, so many that we end up getting kicked out of the store at closing—but only after they drop nearly five hundred dollars on me.

  “Thank you,” I tell them when they drop me off at Cody's car in the boardwalk parking lot. I'm holding the shopping bag handles in both hands, biting my lower lip and trying my best not to blush.

  I sort of, like fail, but whatever.

  “You're welcome,” they say together, exchanging a look. Tobias pulls out a bag from inside the back seat of his car and hands it over to me. “Just because you're a very ugly boy doesn't mean you're not a gorgeous girl,” he says with a smirk as I peek inside the bag and find a beautiful yellow and white dress. My cheeks go from pale pink to rose red, and I know they can both tell I'm blushing, even in the darkness.

  “So when we get back to Adamson, you guys will actually start being nice to me?” I whisper, looking back up at them.

  They glance at each other before turning back to me with a pair of matching Cheshire Cat grins, big and wide and full of nonsense.

  “Most definitely fucking not,” they say, and then they both pat me on the head, and climb into their matching sports cars.

  I notice they don't leave the parking lot until they make sure I do first.

  How gentlemanly of them.

  When I get back to Monica's, both she and Cody are sitting on the couch in the media room watching a movie. They perk up when I walk in, but since the seat backs are so high, I can't tell if they were snuggling or not.

  At this point, I don't even care.

  I flop down into the chair one over from Monica with a sigh, dropping my shopping bags on the floor.

  “You ditched us to go to Target?” she chokes out with a high-pitched laugh, putting her hand near her throat. “That's … an interesting choice. The Charlotte I knew wouldn't be caught dead in cheap department store garbage.”

  My eyebrow ticks with anger, and I can feel my lips twitching as I glance between her and Cody. My eyes catch briefly on his unzipped fly and flushed face, and when I look back at her, I see her lipstick is smeared.

  Uh.

  Doesn't take a genius to put all the pieces together.

  “Were you just sucking his dick?” I ask, not caring how crass I sound. My eyes meet Monica's brown ones, and her gaze widens in surprise.

  “What the fuck, seriously?” Cody chokes out with a forced laugh. “Why would you say that, cutie?” Monica glances his way and he purses his lips. She tucks her dark hair carefully behind one ear and looks back at me.

  “What's your problem, Charlotte? You've been weird since you got here.”

  “Me?” I ask, scoffing a laugh as I sit up. The shopping bags the twins gave me are bolstering my courage. I press my foot against the side of one and channel the McCarthy boys' energy. “You two have treated me like a stranger since the first second you saw me.” My eyes water, and I have to close them to maintain the strength of my conviction. When I open them back up, they're both just staring blankly at me. “Did either of you even remember that it was my seventeenth birthday today?” They both widen their eyes in surprise, and I get some small satisfaction out of that. “Strangers on freaking Facebook are wishing me happy birthday, and my two besties can't be fucked remembering?” My eyes begin to water again, and this time, I just let the tears slide down my face. They need to see how much they hurt me because it's not okay.

  “You just came in here with that snooty East Coast attitude,” Monica quips, and my jaw drops open in surprise. “Like you're too cool for fucking school.” She flips her dark hair, and glances over at Cody as if for support. “I guess we were so put-off by that, that we forgot your birthday.”

  “You're making this my fault?” I whisper, my voice cracking. Monica doesn't even flinch, just meets my gaze dead-on.

  “Cody and I are dating now,” she says, and Cody cringes, rubbing at the back of his head like he's too cowardly to even speak up for his new girlfriend. “We have been since June of last year, actually.”

  I'm floored. I'm seriously freaking floored.

  “What …” I start, looking between the two of them. “But Cody and I … you asked me to give you my virginity,” I whisper, staring at him like the monster he is. Now that I'm sitting here and thinking more clearly, that statement is creepy as all get out. Give him my virginity? Ew. Virginity isn't a commodity to be traded. That's actually pretty disturbing if you think about it … “Just days before I left for Connecticut—in August.”

  Monica turns to look at Cody, and he holds up his palms in a placating gesture.

  “Whoa, whoa, don't drag me into your little catfight.”

  “Catfight?” Monica spits. “Are you serious, Cody? You said we'd tell her together!” But Cody's nothing if not a coward, and he's already standing up and holding out his hand toward me.

  “Look, just give me my keys and I'll bounce until you two work your shit out.”

  “There's nothing to work out,” I tell him as I stand up and chuck the keys at his chest. They hit him right in the face which is actually pretty funny, and he curses at me before bending down to pick them up. “I'm leaving, too.” Yanking my cell from my pocket, I dial up Micah's phone. He stole mine out of my pocket and programmed his number in while we were in Target.

  He answers on the first ring.

  “What do you want, Chuck?” he asks, but he sounds playful enough.

  I wet my lips briefly as both Cody and Monica glare at me. I should probably preface my question with something like I know we don't know each other very well, but … or I'm sorry to bother you. Except … I don't want Cody and Monica to know anything about my relationship with the twins.

  “Can you come pick me up? When I got here, my now ex-best friend was sucking my now ex-boyfriend's dick.” I swallow hard as the line goes silent, and then after a moment, Micah chuckles.

  “Assholes. Want us to beat them up for you?”

  “Monica just shamed me for shopping at Target because she thinks her family's wealth makes her superior than people who have to buy clothes on a budget. Can you guys come get me, so I can get the hell out of here?”

  “Is that key for bring the Lambos and show this bitch how rich she really isn't? Because if so, I'm down.” There's some noise on the other end of the line, and a girl's voice that makes me frown hard. Why is there a girl there with them?
I'm suddenly in a panic, and I don't even know why. Maybe the twins have girlfriends? Or … a girlfriend? I mean, for all I know, they might. In reality, I know nothing about them.

  “Yes, please,” I whisper, “I'll text you the address.” And then I hang up.

  “Who the hell was that? If it was Andrea, she's not coming to pick you up. You know that, right?” Monica stands up from the chair, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring down at me. Cody is already on his way out, but as soon as she sees, Monica chases after him, leaving me completely and utterly alone.

  I'm not even worth enough to her to fight for.

  Sniffling, I pick up my shopping bags and leave them by the front door, so I can head upstairs and get my luggage. By the time I come back down, they're standing in the foyer screaming at each other.

  “You said you loved me!” Monica shouts, and I almost feel sorry for her as Cody shrugs nonchalantly, and gives her this cold look that's so at odds with his usual slouchy, playboy attitude. He truly doesn't care, does he? Not about me, not about her.

  “Yeah, well, I told Andrea that, too,” he says, smirking. Monica reaches out and slaps him, just before the front door opens and both McCarthy twins waltz in like they own the place. “Who the hell are you?”

  “Us?” they ask, pointing across at one another. They both smile, and it isn't pretty. “Just Charlotte's boyfriends. Who the hell are you?”

  “What the …?” Cody starts, looking pretty damn stupid when he gapes at them. “How? What?”

  “We go to Adamson,” they drawl, still dressed in their red tanks and shorts, showing off those muscular arms and legs of theirs. Monica's practically drooling as they move toward her and then separate, walking on either side of her until they come back together in front of me.

  “Can I get your bag?” Tobias asks, and I nod. I'm not sure I could speak if I wanted to.

  He picks it up as Micah turns and surveys Cody and Monica.

  “Aren't you the one whose parents just asked for an extension on their mortgage payment from my dad’s bank?” Micah points at Monica and nibbles at his bottom lip before snapping his fingers. “That's right, you are! Sorry you're in such dire financial straits. Come on, Chuck, let's get out of here.”

  “Chuck?” Monica whispers, looking a bit pale and shaky. I actually sort of feel sorry for her now. Cody, on the other hand, is just sneering at the twins like he thinks he could beat them up.

  I'd like to see his stoner ass try.

  No, really, I would. He'd get his ass kicked.

  “So you were cheating on me, too?” Cody spits, ruffling up his bleach blond hair. “What a fucking hypocritical slut.”

  Both twins freeze, and a certain energy comes over them that both scares and excites me.

  “Do not call her a slut,” they say together, and Tobias drops my duffel bag, looking like he's about to show Cody the door.

  “Why?” Cody spits, scowling. “She wouldn't put out for me after two years of dating, and then gives it up for a pair of douche bags? I said it once, and I'll say it again: Charlotte's a fucking slut.”

  Tobias moves so quick, I can barely see him, and then Cody's flying over the back of the sofa, blood spurting from his nose. He crashes into the floor as Monica screams and runs to his side. Meanwhile, Tobias is wiping the blood from his knuckles onto the front of his shirt.

  “I better not get an STD from this shit,” he murmurs as Micah smirks, and I gape in shock. He grabs me by the hand, picks up my duffel bag with the other, and gestures with his chin toward the shopping bags.

  “You'll be fine, you Neanderthal. Now pick that shit up and let's go.”

  “I'm calling the cops!” Cody screams, but the twins just exchange a look, shrug, and glance over their shoulders.

  “Go ahead. See if we care.”

  Micah drags me outside and leaves it to Tobias to load the trunk with my stuff.

  There's only one car in the driveway.

  I decide to point out this very obvious fact.

  “This car only has two seats.”

  “Exactly.” Micah smirks, and then grabs me, yanking me into the passenger seat with him. Our faces are practically pressed together, and I find it impossible to look away from his lush mouth.

  “This car is very, um, low-roofed,” I say, appreciating my own eloquent genius.

  “Yes, it is,” Micah purrs, smiling wickedly.

  “It's a tight fit.” My heart is thundering like a herd of wild horses, and a bead of sweat trails between my breasts.

  “I'm sure it is.” He leans in and puts his mouth so close to mine that if I were to exhale, our lips would touch. Only … I can't breathe. I stopped breathing the moment he pulled me into his lap.

  “Brilliant double entendre.” I'm certain I'm flirting now. Positive of it.

  Tobias climbs in, slamming the door on my ex’s shouting as Cody stumbles out the front door and down the steps. When he throws himself in front of the vehicle, Monica watching with wide, teary eyes from the porch, Tobias just starts the engine and begins to ease forward on the gas.

  When Cody just clings to the hood, screaming obscenities, Tobias rolls down the passenger side window.

  “You better move, asswipe, before I smear your cheating carcass across the pavement.”

  “You're going to jail for assault!” Cody snarls, and Tobias rolls his eyes. He puts the window back up, glances over at his brother, and then at a slight nod from Micah, revs the engine.

  He takes off down the gravel, throwing Cody from the hood to the roof where he tumbles down and onto the driveway. I'm gaping in shock, but the twins seems to think it's hilarious.

  At least I see Cody stand up, and start screaming again before we leave the property.

  “Did you just run over my cheating ex-boyfriend?” I ask, still blinking through the shock. Tobias smiles cheerfully, hands firmly on the wheel, and glances over at me.

  “I sure did.” He holds up a single finger. “But don't forget: I punched him first.”

  Laughter bubbles up and out of me before I can stop it. I shouldn't reward that level of violence, but … it was also maybe a little bit awesome to see Cody get his. I can't believe he called me a slut. Pathetic. The only slut in that room was him.

  As mad as I am with Monica, I could see the hurt in her eyes when Cody mentioned our mutual friend, Andrea. Based on what I heard of that conversation, he slept with her, too.

  What a creep.

  “I can't believe I ever dated that guy,” I whisper, crinkling up my brow. I'm trying really hard not to think about the tight confines of the car, or how close Micah and I are. His dick is right underneath my ass; I can feel it. He must be a mind-reader or something because he smirks at me and drops his hands to my hips.

  “It happens to the best of us,” he says, and there's something cryptic in his voice that piques my interest, but then he's turning to me, and I remember how freaking close our faces are. “Do you want us to drop you off somewhere?”

  Good question, Charlotte. Now what?

  The last thing I want to do is go back to the hotel with Dad. Not tonight.

  “Um …” I consider asking them to drop me off at my Aunt Elisa’s place, but then I figure she'll probably call my dad and tell him two hot twins in an expensive sports car dropped me off in the middle of the night. Not a good way to start winter break.

  “You can come back to our place,” Tobias says, shrugging casually. There's a tension in him though that makes me a little nervous. “We've got a party going on that'll probably last until sun up, but if that doesn't bother you, there are plenty of rooms away from the action.”

  “You guys are having a party?” I look between the two of them. “That started … after you dropped me off at the boardwalk?”

  “Several hours earlier, actually,” Micah says, grinning, his green eyes glittering. “We just up and bailed. It got boring.”

  “Same old idiots, fawning all over us, begging for a scrap of attention. It gets ol
d. We like Adamson best. Everyone's a rich asshole there, so the kowtowing and groveling is so much less.” Tobias turns on his blinker, slows, and makes a sharp left onto a road that travels up a row of mansions set right on the beach.

  “Oh, wow, what a problem to have,” I reply with a roll of my eyes. “All that fan worship must be annoying.”

  “Poor little rich boy, right?” Micah laughs as Tobias takes us up a driveway lined with cars. I can already hear the music from here. “What he's trying to say is: he'd rather be torturing you during Culinary Club than getting drunk and stoned with these dipshits.”

  Tobias parks, and Micah kicks the door open, hoisting me up and out of the car and making my head spin. He's literally carrying me like I weigh nothing. When he finally deposits me on my feet, I cling to his muscular arm to keep my feet.

  “Come on,” Tobias says, tossing the strap of my bag over his shoulder. “I'll show you to your room.”

  He leads the way inside with Micah trailing behind. There are people everywhere, drinking and making out and smoking weed. They watch us as we pass, but I ignore them all. This is just a temporary thing. After break is over … I'll be going back to Connecticut, back to Adamson All-Boys Academy.

  A weary sadness sweeps over me, and it takes all I've got to make it up the huge, curving staircase to the second floor and down the hall to the fancy white double doors at the end.

  “Wait.” Micah slams his palm against one of them, pushing it closed as he glares over my head at his twin. “This room?”

  Tobias glares right back.

  “Yes, this room.” There's a tension building between them that escalates from zero to a hundred in an instant. I glance frantically between the twins, but I have no idea what's going on.

  “No.”

  “Yes.” Tobias goes to open the other door, and Micah sweeps past me, slamming it closed with his shoulder. “Get the hell out of my way. This isn't your decision to make. You gave up that choice a long time ago.”