“Hi, is Sophia here?” She looked a little confused as she peered around me and into the apartment.
“No, but she should be home any minute. Can I help you?”
There was no way I was letting this random in, especially when I was about to leave. For all I knew, she could be a spy sent by Aamee to scope out her competition. Or worse, to sabotage it. I wasn’t about to let that happen, even if it meant boxing out this Jolly Blond Giant so she couldn’t infiltrate enemy territory.
“Oh, okay, how about Brody? Is he here?”
“I’m Brody,” I said. And if you think you’re getting into this apartment and going through my pretend sister’s stuff, you’d better think again!
The girl laughed, but when I didn’t join her, she stopped.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
“You’re not Brody.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
How had I not anticipated this? I’d underestimated Aamee. We both had. She’d figured out who I really was, and now the charade was up. She’d sent her bodyguard or mercenary to take me out. I just hoped my death would be more figurative than literal.
Brody and Sophia’s parents would find out what was really going on, they’d both get in a shit ton of trouble, and I’d have to find a new place to live. I had to keep this going as long as I could. Maybe Aamee didn’t know for sure that I wasn’t Brody. Maybe she’d just suspected it for some reason and was testing me.
“If I’m not Brody, and this is Brody’s apartment, who am I, then?” I finished buttoning my shirt and grabbed my shoes from beside the door, sliding them on as I waited for her to answer.
“I don’t know who you are,” she said, pushing her eyebrows together in confusion. “A friend of Brody’s, maybe?”
Good. She didn’t know anything for certain. “Nope. I’m Brody,” I said with a confidence I hoped would put to rest any doubt she had about my identity.
“Is this like a joke or something?” she asked. “Sophia,” she called. “Are you in there somewhere?”
She tried moving to the side of me, but I stepped in front of her. “No way,” I said. “You’re not coming in. I’m about to leave for work, so you can go back to the sorority house and tell Aamee her little espionage mission was a failure—just like her presidential campaign will be.”
“Why would I be on Aamee’s side when I’m coming to help Sophia?”
Now she wasn’t the only one who was confused. “I’m sorry,” I said skeptically. “Who are you?”
“I’m Taylor,” she said. “But I’m pretty sure I should be the one asking who you are, because I know Brody, and you’re definitely not him.”
I’m not sure how I’d managed to have nearly the exact same conversation twice since I’d moved in, but I knew one thing for sure: I was not making it to work on time.
S O P H I A
I didn’t expect Drew to be home when I arrived at the apartment, and even more surprising was that he was sitting with Taylor, who wasn’t supposed to arrive until the next day.
“Oh my God,” I screamed, causing her to jump up from the couch where she’d been sitting with Drew, scrolling through her phone. “When did you get here? You’re early! You’re never early.” I didn’t mean that last part as an insult, but it’d slipped, and since it was true, I didn’t apologize for it.
“My night class got canceled, so I thought I’d surprise you.”
“I’m so glad you did! When did you get here?” I asked, my smile wide with all the possibilities now that Taylor would be staying two nights. She was always a blast, and if anyone could help me plan a party, it was her, because she was the life of it.
“A half hour or so ago.”
“Give me a hug.”
We each ran in place with our arms outstretched. It was a strange dance that probably looked like a cross between an Irish dancer and a toddler who had to pee.
We’d performed this dance since we were young, every time we’d see each other after a long time. It was a ritual that was so old, neither of us could remember how it began.
We added a few squeals to our celebration before we wrapped each other up in a huge hug. I hadn’t seen Taylor in six months because she’d stayed on campus over the summer for an internship. Our reunion was long overdue, and I was ecstatic she’d made it here almost a day earlier than she’d planned.
We were still hugging when she pulled far enough away to look at me and ask, “So are we gonna talk about the hot elephant in the room?”
I laughed loudly and looked to Drew, who was still sitting on the couch looking up at us, amused.
“I was planning to call you tonight and explain our…living situation, since I didn’t have time to get into it when I asked you to come out here.”
“What’s going on? Where’s Brody? Why is Drew living here?”
“You didn’t explain anything?” I asked him.
He shrugged. “Didn’t know if I could.”
The “hot elephant” made a valid point. It wasn’t really his place to share where Brody was or why he wasn’t here, and that meant Drew couldn’t explain why he was living here. It was considerate of him to keep the specifics under wraps until I could tell her myself.
Drew was quiet while I gave Taylor the details of Brody’s overseas adventure, my hesitance to live with a complete stranger who I had to pretend was my brother, and Drew filled in the part about how the arrangement benefited him as well.
I apologized for not telling Taylor about all of it sooner, but she understood. Our lives were hectic enough without the added drama Brody had heaped on me.
“Okay, so let me get this straight,” she said. “You’re Brody, and I’ve known you since I was little. Shouldn’t be too hard. I’m only here for two days. I’ll just refer to you as Brody no matter what so I don’t mess it up if I’m around anyone else.”
“Okay, that’s fine,” I said. I’d been expecting her to at least act like all of this was a bigger deal than it was, but I guess to her it wasn’t. Taylor had always been matter-of-fact and possessed an efficiency for getting things done that I’d envied since we were kids.
Other than the fact that she was my ho from long ago, Taylor’s determination and drive was much of the reason she was my first call after I’d realized what I’d need to do to become sorority president. If anyone could help me outline a plan for election, it was Taylor Peterson.
“That okay with you, Brody?” she asked Drew.
Clearly amused, Drew smiled and gave her a nod.
I looked between the two of them. “So if you didn’t fill her in on all of this, what’d you guys talk about for a half hour?”
Drew smiled almost to the point of laughter, but he didn’t let it fully erupt. “Taylor showed me pictures of the two of you from when you were kids.”
I put a hand over my face, but I was sure it didn’t do much to hide how red I could feel my cheeks getting. “You did not!”
“Don’t kill me.” Taylor was already backing away.
“Oh my God! What pictures did you have? They didn’t even have iPhones when we were little.”