Anew

18

Scarlet decided not to hang out after school. Gabriel had wanted to watch a movie or “study” with her—at her house, of course—but Scarlet hadn’t been in the mood.

Fumigated?

She wanted to believe him, but the lie was so bad she was almost ashamed of him. What was he hiding from her? What could possibly be so bad at his house that he didn’t want her there?

With those thoughts, Scarlet drove herself downtown after school. Downtown Avalon pretty much consisted of the town square, The Millhouse, and the public library.

Heather was working at The Millhouse after school, so Scarlet’s plan was to grab a cup of coffee from Heather and head to the library to study.

The real type of studying.

That’s how depressed she was; she actually wanted to study.

Scarlet’s boyfriend was a liar.

Agh.

She steered her car into the parking lot of The Millhouse and waited for Heather to arrive. Heather’s car was nowhere to be found because she was late for work.

Of course.

Scarlet tapped on her steering wheel and listened to the radio as she watched people mill about downtown.

She felt a pity-party coming on and let herself indulge for a minute.

Look at all these people. Happy, content. None of them have amnesia. None of them have identity issues. None of them have a lying boyfriend.

Poor Scarlet.

Lost, abandoned, lied to by her boyfriend.

If it hadn’t been so pathetic, Scarlet would have cried.

Maybe.

Scarlet wasn’t much of a crier, but she could see herself crying over Gabriel lying to her.

Maybe.

She sat in the car and tried to conjure up some tears.

Nothing came.

She sighed, looked across the street, and froze.

There was Gabriel, exiting the public library, looking as sexy as ever.

Her heart began to beat erratically.

What had he been doing at the library? Had he been studying?

Apparently, Scarlet and Gabriel needed to actually study during their next “study” session.

Scarlet watched him walk down the sidewalk and couldn’t help but sigh.

He was so perfect.

So handsome.

She almost got out of the car to call after him. Maybe they could get coffee together. Maybe they could talk about Gabriel’s secrets. Maybe Gabriel’s house really was being fumigated.

Maybe Scarlet was an idiot.

She moved to open her door when a thought hit her.

Or maybe…she could spy on Gabriel and see where he was going.

It was a naughty thought. It was wrong.

And it was absolutely what Scarlet was going to do.

How else was she going to learn things about Gabriel? He, clearly, had no intention of telling her himself.

She reached for her sunglasses—a universally accepted form of disguise—and started her engine.

Gabriel walked for another minute until he reached a black car she’d never seen him drive before. Usually, Gabriel drove a silver car.

Strange.

Scarlet stealthily pulled out behind Gabriel, keeping a good distance between them, and followed him out of downtown.

Heather would love this.

It went right along with her theory that Scarlet had been a spy.

Gabriel drove out of the city limits and into the thick wooded area outside Avalon, the same general area where Scarlet had woken without her memories.

Very strange.

She trailed him deeper into the forest until the dirt roads and lack of cars made it impossible for her to be sneaky.

She pulled off the road and waited until Gabriel’s car had disappeared into the woodlands, giving him a very generous head start, and then proceeded to track him down.

Like an assassin.

Maybe she had been a spy.

She drove through the forest for several minutes until she was sure she was lost and on the wrong trail. She couldn’t see the black car anywhere. All she saw were the many, many Georgia trees.

She’d lost him.

Maybe she’d failed as a spy in her other life and that’s why her memories had been erased.

Maybe Heather had been right.

Then Scarlet spotted him. The black car was a few hundred yards in front of her, cruising down a long driveway.

She slowly drove closer, trying to keep her little car as hidden as possible in the thick foliage.

She watched as Gabriel pulled his car up alongside an enormous cabin and parked.

Was this his home?

He got out of the car and headed up to the front door, where he let himself in. The cabin door closed behind him and Scarlet blinked.

The large cabin, made entirely of knotty pine, looked like a mansion with dozens of windows and a four-car garage. It stood two stories high with a short set of stairs that led up to a wrap-around porch and a huge front door.

This must be Gabriel’s house.

A house that was not being fumigated.

She’d officially caught him in a lie.

Was Scarlet satisfied? No.

Why would Gabriel hide this from her?

Scarlet found a shadowy place to park her car; close enough to walk to the cabin’s front door, but far enough away where Gabriel wouldn’t be alerted to her presence.

She had two choices.

She could bravely march up to his door with an excuse as to why she’d followed him.

Hi Gabriel. You left your history book at my house and I thought I’d stop by and return it to you since, you know, I was in the neighborhood. I often roam the deep woods of Georgia by myself after school….

Okay, clearly she’d have to work on the excuse.

Or she could turn around and go home. Like a chicken.

Scarlet tapped her fingers on the steering wheel for a minute.

She hated mysteries. Her own. Those of others.

She was done.

She’d spent the past two years being afraid of everything. Afraid of her past, afraid she’d never recover her memories, afraid she’d never be able to live a normal life… afraid of living.

Being fearful was exhausting. And Scarlet was done with the mysteries. Today, she was going to do something brave. Today, she was going to get some answers.

Scarlet got out of her car and quietly walked up to the cabin’s front door, her heart picking up with every step she took. Although there were many windows at the front of the house, all of them were closed off by drapes and blinds, making it impossible to see inside.

But also ensuring no one could see outside.

Gabriel had no clue Scarlet was standing on his front porch.

It was then that Scarlet started to reconsider her plan.

What was she going to do, knock on his door and say Surprise! Just thought I’d drop in and catch you in a lie?

That was certainly no way to make a good impression on his family members.

No, Scarlet needed to leave.

Gabriel hadn’t wanted to share this with her, and she should be respectful of that.

This wasn’t brave. This was stupid.

Scarlet lifted one tattooed shoe and was about to turn away when she heard the doorknob turn.

Someone was opening the door!

Oh, no. No, no, no.

Scarlet hadn’t perfected her excuse yet. The only thing she had in her arsenal was the roaming-the-woods-after-school thing. And that certainly wasn’t going to work.

Gabriel would see her standing out there and she’d have to explain that she’d followed him to the middle of nowhere because she was a crazy girlfriend.

And then he would get all freaked out and dump her. She could see the heartbreak unfolding, right there, on the front porch of Gabriel’s cabin mansion.

Scarlet had to flee.

Too late.

The front door swung open and Scarlet couldn’t help but stare up at the person who’d caught her prowling.

It was Gabriel.

He was looking at her in confusion and disbelief. A thousand emotions crossing his beautiful face as his mouth parted and his eyes searched her over.

Scarlet’s heart began to drum wildly inside her, pounding against her chest like a caged feral animal.

As if it were desperate to break free. Desperate for…something.

Desperate for…Gabriel?

Uncontrollable and fervent, it arose in her chest as if waking from a deep and heavy slumber.

What was happening to her?

She couldn’t tear her gaze away from him.

She’d never been more drawn to him or more captivated by him.

Brief, incoherent flashes of memory assailed her mind and stung her consciousness like tiny darts.

There one millisecond, gone the next.

She was frozen in place, drawing in one long breath like she was breathing for the first time.

When her eyes locked on his, her violent heart nearly stopped.

The eyes staring back at her weren’t brown like Gabriel’s.

They were bright green.

Scarlet blinked as a sudden realization struck her.

This wasn’t Gabriel.

This was his twin brother.