My college work has been getting better grades. I’m on top of my assignments in a way I’ve never been before. I’ve even been going out more with my friends and it’s been fun. Everything’s great, except that it isn’t. I have a terrible empty feeling inside that I can’t seem to fill with promises and better intentions. I went on a date last week and it was nice, but I don’t want nice. Nice didn’t make the ache go away. All my promises feel good except the one I made about the twins. The trouble is that it seemed like the most important one at the time, and I can’t go back on it, no matter how much I want to. I’m sitting at the kitchen table with a glass of iced tea when they breeze in the backdoor. They’ve been out for a run and are out of breath and dripping with sweat. It’s so hot out I don’t know how they can exercise but it doesn’t seem to bother them. “Hey, Carrie,” Ethan says, pulling up a chair next to me. Nathan fixes them some water and takes the chair opposite me, then they both down their drinks. This close, I can smell them and their scent fills my mind, making me woozy. I plaster a smile on my face.
