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“So, did you talk to Nicky yesterday? He was texting me about dates for the wedding,” Katelyn said, pushing the door to Renee’s open.
“Yeah, he asked me to be the best man,” Aaron said, unable to keep the disbelief out of his voice. The cafe was cozy inside. Though the building was old, the restaurant seemed renovated and modern. Exposed wooden beams spanned the high ceilings. Black trim outlined massive windows, that shed light on the beautiful hardwood flooring. The decor was a blend of bohemian and rustic, highlighted by the patterned rugs, bright curtains, and mismatched chairs at every table.
“Aaron, that’s great! I’m so happy for you.” His girlfriend smiled at him and squeezed his hand. The two of them walked up to the counter, where one of the waitresses handed them menus, waved them toward any of the booths and said someone would be with them in a minute. They picked one in the middle of the cafe, and settled on opposite sides of the table.
“I didn’t really expect it,” Aaron said, his voice quiet. “I’ve been an ungrateful dick to him for most of my life. Honestly, I’m not sure why he didn’t kick me out and just move back to Germany. A loving boyfriend had to have been better than an angsty, homophobic teenager with anger issues and a drug problem.” He put his shaking hands flat on the table before balling them into fists.
Kate reached across the table and laced their fingers together. “Nicky would never have done that, sweetie, and you know that.” She squeezed their joined hands. “He loved you, he still does, and he’s never going to stop. He’s your family, and I’m sure he’s forgiven you for any highlights of your asshole phase. He can’t hold a grudge to save his life.”
Aaron smiled affectionately, knowing what she said was true. After Tilda had died of an overdose, he had been angry. Angry at the fact that she had left him alone, with nothing but a broken-down house and a pile of credit card debt. Angry at the fact that he had found out he was supposed to have a brother, a twin. Angry at the idea of moving in with Luther and Maria, and even angrier at the fact that his flamboyantly gay cousin had swooped in and offered to take him in instead.
He had changed a lot since then. Aaron could credit Kate for a lot of his growth, and the slow mend of his relationship with Nicky. He had gone through rehab, and therapy. He was able to admit that Tilda was a shitty mother, and that she had abused him constantly. And he was able to proudly call himself a doctor, now, right alongside the love of his life.
They had got an apartment together, in a major city for the first time. Though he had originally been apprehensive about starting a job in Boston, he felt thankful to Kate for convincing him. They had been buying new furniture, planning out their schedules, and exploring the city. Aaron was curious if Renee’s , for example, could become a go-to coffee shop for early mornings or late shifts.
“How’s it going on the mysterious twin brother front?” Katelyn asked, drawing his attention back to the beautiful woman sitting in front of him.
Aaron sighed. “Absolutely nothing. I don’t even know what to do at this point. Obviously, Nicky was too young to remember anything, and it's not like I can reach out and ask Luther or Maria. I’m considering just hiring a private investigator, but I don’t know if that’ll do anything. Maybe we just weren’t meant to know each other.”
When he had found the second birth certificate while cleaning out Tilda’s house, he had been furious. How could a mother give up one of a set of twins? And then he had been filled with longing. What if the twin had gone on, and had some sort of incredible life? What if he had a loving family that Aaron had missed out on, simply because he was given away? And then Aaron felt ashamed, because he knew that foster care wasn’t exactly a walk in the park, either. What if Andrew had had it worse than he had? Worse than an abusive addict of a mother who gave him drugs and beat him until he fell unconscious, sometimes.
Katelyn opened her mouth to respond to him, but Aaron’s eyes suddenly caught on the man that had just walked up to the counter.
He seemed to be about Aaron’s age, wearing a purple Renee’s apron over tight black jeans and a bright orange crop top. There was a pile of auburn curls sitting atop his head, and a smoky line of black eyeliner framing alarmingly empty, icy blue eyes. He had a black nose ring on his left nostril, and was clicking a tongue piercing against his teeth. But what was the most jarring were the silvery-white scars slashing across his face and down his body. Some looked like methodical burns while others appeared to be knife wounds. A range of colorful tattoos intertwined with the scars that littered his arms. When he shifted, it was clear that there were scars also littering his torso.
Kate turned around and gaped slightly. “Oh, that poor man,” she whispered, covering her mouth. “That looks awful.”
It looks intentional , Aaron added silently in his head. The man turned around, hearing what Katelyn had said. His lip curled in annoyance, obviously used to people’s stares.
Aaron was surprised when he started over to their table, a cool expression making its way onto his face. For a moment, Aaron was sure he’d confront them about their staring, but when he pulled out a notepad, Aaron realized he was simply ready to take their order.
“Welcome to Renee’s ,” he said, his voice dry. “My name is Neil, I’ll be taking your order today. Have you guys decided on what you’d like to drink?” Neil was slouching slightly, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else. He tapped his pen on his notepad, staring right at Katelyn. He never even glanced Aaron’s way.
Though Aaron knew logically that someone so bored-looking was probably not interested in his girlfriend, he felt a flare of protectiveness all the same. “I’ll have a caramel mocha latte with whipped cream. And a fix for your staring problem, if it’s not too much trouble.”
Neil swung his face around to look Aaron dead in the eyes. A flicker of surprise moved across his face before it was hidden behind his bored facade. “Staring problem?” Neil cocked his brows. The coldness in his expression made Aaron want to flinch away. “Aren’t you the ones whispering about my scars like a bunch of little school girls? You don’t even have the balls to ask, you're just sitting here, gaping like a fish.” He smirked, a cutting little thing, before saying, “I’ll be right back with your disgusting excuse for a coffee,” and sauntering off to the kitchen.
Aaron felt himself blush in both anger and embarrassment. Aaron was aware that he was being a bit of an ass, but the lack of care Neil radiated was getting on his nerves. He was about to get up and storm after him, but Kate tugged on his hands again.
“Don’t, Aaron,” she said. “There’s no reason to make a big deal. It’s kinda our fault for being rude, anyways.” Aaron recognized she was right, and took a few deep breaths to calm down. Then his eyes widened.
“Fuck. You’re going to make me apologize, aren’t you?” He gave her a pleading look. “Please, can we just pretend it didn’t happen?” Aaron knew his tone was whiny, but he really, really didn't want to apologize to a tiny asshole with shitty customer service skills.
Before Kate could respond, the door to the kitchen swung open, revealing Neil carrying what Aaron assumed was his coffee, and a glass of orange juice for Katelyn. He set both down on the table just as a second person emerged from the kitchen.
Aaron’s jaw dropped at the same time he heard Katelyn gasp. He was sure he was hallucinating. Or maybe he was back on drugs. Because the man who stepped up to their table looked absolutely identical to Aaron.
He had the same straight, blond hair. He had the same hazel eyes with gold flecks, though his looked completely apathetic. He had an eyebrow slit and black gouges in his ears. He appeared to have the same abundance of tattoos Neil did, some lining his biceps, while others crawled up his neck.
He was also absolutely ripped, with bulging biceps and broader shoulders than Aaron’s could ever be. He had a tight, black, short-sleeved turtleneck on, along with a pair of light wash, ripped jeans. He was wearing black armbands that covered pretty much his entire forearms too, which were embroidered with colorful flowers and bumble bees.
Okay, so maybe not exactly the same. But he was similar enough to obviously be Aaron’s twin.
“So it appears Neil was telling the truth,” the man said, his voice unbelievably flat. “I have a doppelganger, apparently.”
Neil raised both of his middle fingers. “Shut up, Drew,” he said. “I haven’t lied to you in years.”
The blond flicked his fingers at Neil and said, “And why should I listen to a liar, junkie?”
Neil rolled his eyes so hard Aaron was surprised they didn’t pop out of his skull, before giving Aaron a mockingly saccharine smile and making his way back behind the counter.
Aaron’s eyes fell on the man that was clearly his twin. “Drew?” was the only thing he managed to get out of his mouth.
His twin’s eyes hardened, mouth thinning. “Don’t call me that. My name is Andrew.”
Andrew , Aaron mouthed, astonishment creeping into his mind. “Oh, uh, I’m Aaron.”
Andrew said nothing, simply scanning over his twin's body before turning to look at Kate. He raised an eyebrow.
“I’m Katelyn! But you can call me Kate if you want.” Aaron was very thankful for his girlfriend’s bubbly personality, leftover from her cheerleading days. “I’m Aaron’s girlfriend.”
Andrew nodded. He considered something, then said, “The annoying waitress with no sense of customer service skills is my husband.” Andrew appeared ridiculously peeved at that fact.
As if they had called for him, Neil suddenly materialized again, out of nowhere.
“You can’t talk, asshole. You’re even worse than I am.” Andrew snorted and nudged Neil with his elbow. Though his words were perturbed, the look Neil gave his twin was clearly affectionate.
“Husband?” Aaron croaked.
The silver of warmth in both of their expressions vanished, replaced by a defensive posture that made Aaron want to run. “Problem?” Neil spat, his voice barbed.
Andrew gave a bitter huff of laughter. “Of course my supposedly long-lost twin would be homophobic. Why am I not surprised?”
Aaron immediately tried to backtrack. “No, that’s not what- I don’t- I just-”
“You figured that twins both have to be straight, right?” Neil asked, voice still decidedly frosty. The two of them crossed their arms and tilted their heads in eerie synchrony.
Aaron buried his face in his hands and muttered, “God, I’m fucking this up. Spend the last ten years searching for my brother, and I end up making him hate me within thirty seconds.” Aaron took a deep breath and forced himself to meet Andrew’s eyes. “Sorry, I just- I’ve been looking for you for a long time. This is so surreal. I didn’t mean to come off as rude, I’m just processing the fact that I have a twin who has this entire life I know absolutely nothing about. And I want to know it- I want to know everything about your life.”
“Even about the amazing sex we had last night?” Neil asked, a shit-eating grin spread across his face. Andrew smacked his arm, though there was amusement hidden in his eyes.
“Okay, maybe not everything,” Aaron allowed, trying to keep his ears from turning red. Katelyn chuckled. “But I just- I want to get to know you. If you want?”
Andrew stared at him for a few seconds before glancing at Neil. His husband gave him an encouraging smile before turning to Katelyn and saying, “Come with me. I can show you how to make the perfect latte that’s sweet enough to satisfy one of these two.” Aaron couldn’t help the huff of laughter that escaped him as he watched his girlfriend get led away by one of the most sarcastic little shits he’d ever met.
“I want to get to know you, too.” Aaron turned back to his twin to find a little bit of wariness and a hint of apprehension in his gaze. But there was an openness too, the kind that showed up when people were willing to work for something.
Aaron couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face, so wide that his cheeks hurt. His heart was beating abnormally fast, and his hands were shaking, but Aaron felt a mysterious warmth spread through his body. “Would you let me buy you a cup of coffee?” he asked.
“I’d like that,” Andrew said, his lips twitching slightly, as slid into the chair across from his twin brother.