“It’s fine, and I know. It’s just crazy. Why would you push yourself on someone who’s not interested in you?” I ask, watching as her face loses some of its color. “What’s wrong?”
“Do you know Jax’s cousin Sage?” she asks quietly, moving to stand in front of the mirror between our stations, pulling her hair up into a high ponytail, and I notice her hands are shaking.
“A little, but really, things have been so busy that every time I’ve seen him, it’s just been hi and bye. Why?” I ask, wondering what she could possibly have against Sage. He’s always nice to me, and he’s so good with Hope, who loves him.
“I have a sister,” she whispers.
“I didn’t know you have a sister,” I mutter, watching her bite the inside of her cheek.
“We’re identical twins, and she’s not exactly a good person. Don’t get me wrong; I love her, because we’re blood, but she’s…” She pauses and her eyes meet mine in the mirror once more. “She has some problems.”
“Oh.” I know exactly what she’s saying. I have a whole family full of people with problems.
“My sister had a run-in with Sage before she left town,” she says then drops her eyes, along with her voice. “She tried to roofie him when they were at the same bar.”
“What?” I breathe, covering my mouth.
“Yeah,” she whispers with tears in her eyes. “She was going to get him alone and get his wallet…I don’t know exactly, but he caught her when she was trying to mess with his drink. And now he thinks I’m her.”
“Maybe you could tell him it wasn’t you.”
“She left town.” She shakes her head.
“If you talk to him—” I try again, but she cuts me off.
“I believe his words were ‘Stay the fuck away from me, you psycho bitch’ when I tried.”
“That’s not good,” I say as she turns around to face me.
“You wanna know the worst part?” she asks softly, moving to sit in my stylist chair.
“What?” I ask, thinking this couldn’t possibly get any worse. She has an evil twin—that’s storybook bad.
“I met him the day before it happened.” She takes a breath, letting it out slowly. “My car got a flat on Old Fork Road, and he stopped to help me change it. After he got the new one on, he asked me if I wanted to have coffee with him and I said yes. I never say yes,” she whispers as tears fill her eyes. “I know you’re going to think I’m a slut, but I swear I have never done anything like that.”
“Had coffee with a guy?” I ask, confused, seeing pain in her eyes.
“No, after we had coffee, we went back to my place, and one thing led to another,” she says, waving her hand around, and I understand what she’s saying.
“Oh,” I breathe, and she nods.
“Then later the next night, he met my sister, and now…” she trails off.
“Now he thinks you’re her,” I finish her thought.
“Yep.” She nods again as her mouth forms a sad smile.
“There has to be a way to prove to him it wasn’t you.”
“I tried to talk to him, but he refused to listen to me, and honestly, I don’t think I care anymore. At first, I was upset, because I really liked him—or what I knew of him—but since then, I have seen him around town numerous times, and he’s always with a different girl. Really, he left my place, and the next night he went out to a bar, so that says it all, I think.”
“I’m sorry,” I murmur, not knowing what else to say right now. I mean, maybe Sage is actually an asshole, ’cause this doesn’t seem like something a nice guy would do. A nice guy would at least listen to you.
“It’s okay, really. I don’t know why I just laid all of that out for you.”
“I would like to think we’re becoming friends,” I tell her softly, giving her a hug. “He’s not worth the tears,” I whisper as I hear her sob quietly into my shoulder.
“It’s not him. I just…I could use a friend right now,” she says, pulling away and wiping the tears from under her eyes.
“If you ever want to talk, I’m here,” I assure her, giving her shoulder a squeeze.