over to Bentley’s house to spend the night or just hang out, Olivia was always with us. She played video games, rode bikes, watched movies, skateboarded, and she’d even been allowed in our tree fort.
As the youngest of three boys, I didn’t have any sisters. The only girls I was around were the ones at school. But Olivia wasn’t like them. She was easy to talk to. She was a good listener and always said exactly what was on her mind. I never had to wonder what she was thinking. Honestly, as a kid, I’d considered her my best friend, not Bentley. I’d thought that was all I’d felt for her. But then one day everything changed. Puberty hit and I had to distance myself from her.
Bentley had been overprotective of both of his twin sisters, but he was even more overprotective of Olivia. He definitely had a soft spot in his heart for her. I never thought it was because he played favorites. I’d always attributed it to the twins’ differences in personalities.
For being a twin, Molly had always had an independent spirit. She liked spending time on her own. She was an observer and loved solo activities like reading or listening to music with her headphones on. Her favorite game to play after school or on the weekends was solitaire.
Olivia had always been a social butterfly. She was sweet, funny, empathetic, and always wanted to take care of everyone in her life and do everything she could to make them happy. She loved her family and talked about wanting a family of her own for as long as I could remember.
I’d always known that my life wasn’t going to be in this small town. I’d known that I was going to travel the world. Once I’d realized that what I felt for her was more than just friendship, I’d stayed away from her. Between her being Bentley’s little sister, being perfect, and me knowing we wanted totally different things in life, I’d known there was no point in coming clean to her about my feelings.
The last two years I’d spent living in Wishing Well, I’d barely spoken to her. She’d gone from being the person I told everything to, to someone I avoided and ignored. It had broken my heart to do it, but I’d known it was for the best. If I’d ever acted on my feelings, it could only have ended badly. I’d have lost Olivia and Bentley.
The way it stood now, I’d only lost Olivia. But then again, she’d never been mine to begin with. My friendship with Bentley had survived, though.
“Holy shit, I can’t believe it!”
I looked up and saw the man himself walking toward me with open arms. Speak of the devil.
“You made it!” He pulled me into a one-arm man-hug, and I winced as his hand slapped my shoulder.
“Hey man,” I tried not to let my discomfort bleed into my voice.
My back pain was constant. It had been since I woke up in that hospital bed. Sometimes it was a searing, stabbing sensation. Sometimes it was more of an electric shock, a scorching hot tingling like when your arm falls asleep and wakes up, but a hundred times more intense. At other times it was a twisting, throbbing ache, but it was always there.
The intensity of discomfort fluctuated, but it never went away. The episodes of acute pain could last minutes, hours, and even days. Sometimes there was a reason for my flare-ups, like overdoing it or sleeping wrong, but sometimes they happened completely out of the blue. Because of that, I’d decided not to let my back pain dictate my life. My first act of rebellion had been throwing away my pain medicine. The second act had been driving instead of flying home. As I stood there now, experiencing the consequences of my decisions, I could admit the latter may have been a bad idea.
I did my best to disguise the pain that Bentley’s greeting had caused. My jaw clenched and I hoped that no one would notice the beads of sweat forming on my brow.
“Jackson said that he told you about it, but we didn’t think you were coming.”
I hadn’t been. I still wasn’t sure why I had. Maybe I was having a nervous breakdown.
Bentley pointed over to where the newly engaged couple were surrounded by well-wishers. “You missed the big event.”
I’d almost missed the entire event. If I hadn’t seen Olivia, there was a good chance I’d be halfway