Garden of Sins

1. She thinks I’m him

Carter

“Is something wrong, Alayna?” I ask and she shakes her head.

She wears ballerinas and I realize what kind of a girl she is. Here at the table, she plays the darling, good girl and with me in bed, she is the dirty whore.

Sometimes, I wonder if she realizes she is sleeping with both of us. You can’t be so stupid not to at least suspect it after so many times. But she smugly sits here with her Caden — and I believe she doesn’t know anything. Alayna has left her long hair, which is dark at the roots and gets lighter and lighter towards the bottom, down because she knows he loves it. I know exactly what he likes. He is my twin brother after all.

Her green-brown eyes, which look like two black holes, are only slightly made-up. Alayna raises her perfectly plucked eyebrows as she returns my gaze and slowly takes a bite of a carrot. Such a dirty little Alayna.

She is back for di

Caden looks just like me, but outwardly, he is not as fucked up as I am. He is the one who still has a chance in life. I’m the one who doesn’t want a chance.

Alayna wears cropped, white pajama bottoms that I will remove later with great pleasure and Caden’s yellow shirt, which she can keep on because it complements her perfectly ta

I glance at my brother who lazily stares back at me because he knows exactly what I’m thinking. He strokes her hair. He does that when he wants her to relax.

She thinks I haven’t had her yet. She believes I’m only the always-a

I love that little shit.

I shrug in his direction because I’m simply a man and I grab a carrot to bite into. I’m probably still high from yesterday. The party was awesome. Alayna was there too. We did it in the bedroom of the guy who threw the party as Caden smoked a joint downstairs. We like doing that — dressing identically and fucking with people. Especially women. We’ve been doing it since high school and we’ve perfected it. I know exactly how my brother ticks and he knows me. I know exactly how he talks, his gestures, and facial expressions — and vice versa. We take turns, just like with Alayna. She doesn’t even notice and I like it. It’s crystal clear to me that I fuck differently than he does. Sometimes, I wonder if she comes as often with him as she does with me. Nevertheless, I would never ask that out loud. And I know how to touch her so that she doesn’t notice the difference.

Alayna’s lips are full and she gnaws the bottom one while waiting for my dad to pass her the orange juice she asked for thirty minutes ago. I take pity on her, reach for the decanter, and pour it for Alayna.

“Thank you,” she whispers. Why so shy, Alayna? Whenever my parents are around, she is such a little deer. In bed, however, she is completely different. And we both know that — that is, Caden and I, not you.

“So, Carter, what are you up to today?” Caden asks and I let my eyes wander lazily from Alayna to him.

“Well, let’s see. There’s a party at Landon’s house. That little loser might kill himself if I show up. You going?”

“I want to go too,” it whimpers from the other end of the table. A

“Party, Ava? You?” He stares at my sister with a raised eyebrow and spears his scrambled eggs. “Absolutely not!” Dad’s a textbook control freak. When it comes to our sister, he’s especially bad. So am I. Not only did he pass on his looks to us: his black hair, his distinct features, and physique, but also his fucked-up character, and what comes from Mom doesn’t improve us because she’s crazy too. We only inherited her eyes, which have a special turquoise blue color, which makes every panty melt. But my little sister Ava has my father’s eyes: indefinable. Sometimes brownish, sometimes a hint of green, sometimes even shimmering blue. Total crazy eyes, as crazy as this family.

But I like it a bit. The whole neighborhood is normal except for us.

A

“That’s not even up for discussion,” my father immediately says somewhat disturbed and Mom places a hand on his arm.

“The answer is no, Ava! You are not going out! You don’t wear makeup and you don’t wear short skirts. Don’t even try it with me, the world is ugly and I won’t let you go to any parties where guys like your brothers run around,” Mom replies, waving one hand in our direction.

“Hey!” Caden sluggishly protests and I grin at our mom totally stoned because she’s right.

Dad smacks me on the back of the head. “Don’t smile so idiotically!”

“Whoa, you suck today,” I mumble and rub my head. “What’s wrong?”

“I have to see your face, that’s what is wrong. Twice!” A

“Dad, just relax.” I put my hand on his shoulder and get the death look that would make even Chuck Norris run away screaming.

“We’re invited to your grandparents’ house this weekend. So, no drugs, no alcohol, no ... Cover your ears, Ava!” She rolls her eyes and does as instructed by Dad. “No fucking around or any of the other antics you usually do,” Dad says and signals our sister she can take her hands off her ears, which she does while rolling her eyes.

“You just want us to show up there like model students because Uncle Riley is coming and bringing his super-perfect Stepford kids. I’m not competing with that, Dad. It’s below me,” I say.

“And you’re below my standards, you toad,” he replies indolently.

“What is it anyway?” Caden asks, “Some Grandma happy-cotton-candy-family-reunion-where-everyone-is-happy?”

“Hey, if your grandma wants a cotton candy family, give her a damn cotton candy family,” Mom hisses and points the fork at each one of us. “That’s rule number one.” There are so many rule number ones I can’t remember which one comes first. I stare at her like she’s a vampire. She hasn’t changed since I was little. Her hair is shoulder-length and deep black. There is always one wrinkle on her forehead and her turquoise eyes always see more than she lets on. I hate that. Neither parent is to be trifled with, so Caden and I have always had to work together. We understood early on that this was the only way to survive in this family and our granddad, or grandpa, is no better. The only reasonably normal one is our grandma Olivia, even though she also has a shot, to be honest.

That’s just the way it is with us Rushes.

Alayna is always a bit intimidated and skeptical when she sits at the dining table with us and imagines how she will suck my cock next without knowing it’s mine and not Caden’s.

“Are you going, Alayna?” Ava asks and wraps one of her golden blonde strands around her index finger. She’s the only one of us who isn’t dark and she resembles Grandma in her youth, as no one gets tired of pointing out.