Of course I hadn’t been. I wasn’t even sure why I followed him. I didn’t care what he was up to. “No.” I put him on speakerphone and pulled up his Instagram page. All I saw were pictures of places, sporting events, other people. There were a few of Brody, but they were from far enough away that he could’ve easily been Drew, or vice versa, especially to someone who didn’t know them well. “You really deleted all the pictures of yourself?”
“Yeah. I’m not an idiot. Reckless and impulsive maybe, but not an idiot.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Reckless and impulsive are a definite, not a maybe.”
“I won’t argue with that.” We were both quiet for a moment, and then Brody said, “Guess you can stay there if you don’t have any other place to go.”
“You think I’d want to live with you if I did?”
“Well, it’s a good thing I’m not there. I don’t exactly wanna live with you either. I’m sure Drew’ll see what I’m talking about soon enough.”
“He’s not staying,” I said adamantly.
“Ha! You say that like it’s your choice. Just because you don’t have a place to live doesn’t mean Drew shouldn’t. It’s not his fault you don’t know how to play nice with your little girlfriends. And it’s not my fault either. I’m not letting your fuck-ups ruin a perfectly good arrangement I have going.”
“I didn’t ‘fuck up.’ A guy fell asleep in my room when we were studying, and apparently there’s some ancient rule about—”
“Sounds totally understandable. I’m sure when Dad finds out you can’t follow simple rules, he’ll find you a nice place of your own.”
“Like he did for you?”
There was silence on the other end. I’d hit a nerve. And I was happy about it.
“Drew stays,” he finally said. “We gotta help each other out and all that, remember?”
Damn it. I hated when a person used my own words against me. And I hated it more when that person was my asshat older brother.
“Fine. He can stay.”
“You’re still acting like it’s your decision.”
“Brody!”
He let out a long sigh. “Okay, okay. You can even have my room, and Drew can take the couch. I’m not gonna have my little sister sleeping in a common space with a guy walking around at all hours of the night.”
“Thanks,” I said softly. And I meant it.
“You’re welcome. Just don’t fuck the place up, okay?”
It might’ve been the most welcome Brody had ever made me feel.
By the time I hung up with Brody, Drew looked even more panicked than he had before, if that was possible. He kept shoving his hands in his pockets and then taking them back out again to rub them together.
“Are you trying to start a fire?”
He looked up at me, and I noticed how dark his eyes were—almost black. “Huh?”
“I was referring to the way you’re rubbing your hands together.” I was suddenly embarrassed, though it shouldn’t have been me who felt that way. “Never mind. It was a stupid joke.”
“Oh.” He laughed, but it came out as more of an exhalation than an actual sound. He put both his hands on the top of his head and stood with his elbows out as he rubbed up and down his head nervously. “So… What’s the plan? Is he coming home?”
His worry surprised me, considering how relaxed he’d been when he’d insisted he was Brody. I laughed too this time, an overly exaggerated sound to tell Drew how ridiculous his question was.
“No. I highly doubt that.”
“Good.”
“Good? So you like living his life?”
He shrugged, and when his shoulders fell, he looked a little more relaxed. “So far, so good, I guess. Well, until you showed up. Brody didn’t tell me he had a sister who went to school here.”
“Of course he didn’t. I’m Sophia, by the way.”
Drew walked closer to me and held a hand out, creating a formality that didn’t quite match the situation.
When I took his hand, he said, “Nice to meet you.”
“You too, I guess.” I smiled, hoping the gesture would help me relax. It didn’t. “So, Brody told me I could take his room.”
He smiled back. Unfortunately for both of us, it wasn’t for very long. “Yeah, sure. I’ll get out of your way soon. I just need a few minutes to move some of my stuff.” He pointed toward the small hall that led to the bedroom. “And I’ll change the sheets for you.”
“Take your time,” I told him, suddenly feeling a little bit bad about how accommodating he was being. Though it wasn’t his apartment, so he should be accommodating. Then again, it wasn’t mine either. And I was sleeping in what should be my brother’s room in his apartment, and the guy who was supposed to be him was sleeping on the couch.
God, this was already such a clusterfuck.
D R E W
Was this chick crazy? She had to be. No girl in her right mind would voluntarily share a living space with a guy who’d lied about who he was immediately upon meeting her.
She wore a light-pink shirt that hit just above the waist of her jeans, and her long dark hair, which had been curled into loose waves, matched her dark eyes. With light-olive skin, a round face defined by pronounced cheekbones, long lashes, and a bottom lip that was slightly plumper than the top and begging to be kissed, she was quite attractive. From what I could tell, she didn’t appear insane. She looked totally normal.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Damn it. How the hell had I managed to impersonate someone for this long with absolutely no problem, but now someone I just met gets a read on me within minutes?
“Like what?”
“Like I’m crazy. Or maybe like you’re crazy. I’m not sure which.”
“Can it be both?”
We held one another’s gazes for a second before bursting into laughter.
She began to unpack some of her belongings.
“You need any help?” I looked around and realized she’d only brought two bags. “Do you have anything else back at the sorority house?”
“First thing you need to learn if you’re gonna pretend to be Brody is that he would absolutely not offer to help me do anything.”
“Noted.” I couldn’t reconcile the laid-back, friendly guy I’d known from the bar I worked at with the guy who wouldn’t offer to help his sister and forgot to even mention her.
“And yeah, I have a few things still there, but Aamee will probably send me to the gallows if I step foot in there again. I think a few of the girls can bring the rest over later.”
“Who’s Aamee?”
“The sorority president. Picture like a really sweet, selfless person who’s down-to-earth and beautiful inside and out.” She paused for a moment before continuing. “Then picture the opposite of everything I just said. That’s Aamee. She’s the reason I’m here right now, and I will take her down or waste my entire junior year trying. Well, after I’m done studying and going to class. I’m not Brody.”