Time slows as my heart stops dead in my chest. Jera squeals and shoves her sunglasses down over her bruised eyes. Dustin’s gaze bounces back and forth between the two of us. I’m frozen in place. The only sound is Squint happily lapping from his bowl.
“Jera?” Dustin asks, the weight of a thousand question marks pressing down on the word.
“What?” Jera and I both answer.
Dustin’s eyes fix on me. “What’s going on here?”
My heart races a million miles a second, and I can’t think straight. Jera holds out a hand. “This isn’t what it looks like.”
“It looks like you have a twin,” Dustin says matter of factly.
“Well, then it is what it looks like,” Jera says. “But Mackenzie didn’t mean to lie to you. She was doing me a favor.”
“Mackenzie?” His features slowly register what’s going on, and my heart drops to my toes when he clenches his jaw. His gaze pierces through me. “You’re Mackenzie.”
A zing of pain shoots across my chest and my mouth goes dry. I can’t hide it any longer. I have to admit it. He stares at me, his gaze fierce, and I nod as tears well up in my eyes.
“You switched places.” He narrows his eyes at me. “You lied to me.”
Jera scoffs. “It wasn’t a big deal. Get over it. She didn’t do half of what you did to me. Which, by the way,” she holds up a hand. “I’ve decided to forgive you for. I’ve called my attorney and dropped the lawsuit.”
Dustin doesn’t take his eyes off me. “That’s great since I’ve given in to all your demands. Was that what this was about? The stupid fence?”
I shake my head. “No,” I say quickly.
“Then what, Jera? I mean, Mackenzie. Why did you lie to me?” He shifts his stance.
Jera folds her arms across her chest. “I can’t believe you’re making this all about you. How egotistical.”
Dustin steps back like he was slapped. I glare at Jera. She’s not helping me like she said she would. She’s making everything worse.
Dustin takes in the two of us for another moment before shaking his head. “I don’t know how I ever mistook you for your sister.”
He turns to leave and panic envelops me. “Wait!” I yell. “Don’t go.”
He frowns at me but hesitates at the door. “What? You got what you wanted. What more can you possibly need from me?”
Tears fill my eyes as my chest grows heavy. It’s hard to breathe. I can’t think of the right thing to say. I don’t know what can make this all better. I never meant to lie to him, and yet, all I’ve done this entire time is deceive him. The pain of it shows on his face, and it makes me cry even harder. “I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“Yeah? Well, I’m sorry too, Mackenzie.” He uses my name like a weapon. “I’m sorry for everything.”
He leaves, and I crumple to the floor, my heart shattering.
Jera rushes to my side. “Mackenzie, honey, forget about him. He’s such a jerk.”
I cover my face with my hands and sob. “No,” I choke out. “He’s not. You don’t know how awful I was. How much I lied to him. It’s all my fault.” Squint comes up to me and licks my hands. He must sense my distress. I pet him and try not to have a total mental breakdown.
“You always take the blame.” Jera pokes me in the shoulder. “He’s being unreasonable.”
I put my face back into my hands. “I don’t care. I love Dustin so much, Jera. And he hates me!”
“Oh, sweetie. It will be okay.” She puts an arm around me.
“I don’t know how. He thinks we’re horrible.”
“Come on. Let’s go in the living room and sit. You need to calm down.”
Jera convinces me to have a cup of tea while we sit on her comfy couch. I curl my legs under me, and Squint jumps on my lap. I sip the tea and try to calm down, but the hole in my chest won’t let me feel better.
“I know you think you’re in love,” Jera says sitting next to me. “But really, you’ll see clearly when you get home and can spend some time away from him. He’s handsome, I’ll give you that. Anyone would be charmed by him.”
“It was more than that,” I say, my heart in my throat. I’m so tired of crying, but the tears run down my cheeks anyway.
Jera shakes her head and changes tactics. “If he really loves you, he’ll forgive you.”
I stare at her chandelier and contemplate what she said. Dustin and I had something going, but maybe he didn’t feel the same toward me. “What if he doesn’t love me?” I ask, my voice small.
“Then find someone who does.” She pats my knee. “If he doesn’t love you, he’s not the right one for you.”
Her logic makes sense, but there’s something she’s missing, and I can’t quite put it into words. What Dustin and I had was magic. He was everything I needed, right when I needed it.
I know I lied to him too many times to count, but I wonder if he’ll ever know the truth, that I did really fall in love with him. He completed me. Pain shoots through me and I let another tear fall.
Dustin was so kind to me. He grounded me. He was my knight in shining armor. He literally saved me.
I swirl my tea and stare at the tea bag. I don’t know how I’m going to go home. Even now I miss him so much it aches.
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