BooksBarbecue
Back The Game
Chapters (68)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. NOW
  4. One
  5. BEFORE
  6. Two
  7. Three
  8. Four
  9. Five
  10. Six
  11. Seven
  12. Eight
  13. Nine
  14. Ten
  15. Eleven
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Sixteen
  21. Seventeen
  22. Eighteen
  23. Nineteen
  24. Twenty
  25. NOW
  26. Twenty-One
  27. BEFORE
  28. Twenty-Two
  29. Twenty-Three
  30. Twenty-Four
  31. Twenty-Five
  32. Twenty-Six
  33. Twenty-Seven
  34. Twenty-Eight
  35. Twenty-Nine
  36. Thirty
  37. Thirty-One
  38. Thirty-Two
  39. Thirty-three
  40. Thirty-Four
  41. Thirty-Five
  42. Thirty-Six
  43. Thirty-Seven
  44. Thirty-Eight
  45. NOW
  46. Thirty-Nine
  47. BEFORE
  48. Forty
  49. Forty-One
  50. Forty-Two
  51. Forty-three
  52. Forty-Four
  53. Forty-Five
  54. Forty-Six
  55. Forty-Seven
  56. Forty-Eight
  57. Forty-Nine
  58. Fifty
  59. Fifty-One
  60. NOW
  61. Fifty-Two
  62. Fifty-Three
  63. Fifty-Four
  64. Fifty-Five
  65. AFTER
  66. Fifty-Six
  67. Acknowledgements
  68. About the Author

Stephanie didn’t answer immediately, smoothing her jeans down over her thigh. ‘She must have bottled it all up for so long. I wish she’d said something to me sooner. Instead of letting me read it in there.’

Mark noted the non-response to his actual question. ‘You didn’t know what she was going through in school?’

‘I had an inkling, of course. She wouldn’t really talk to me about it though. Even when we were on our own. We were close in some ways – like, we always looked out for each other academically and whatever. She’d help me with English, I’d help her with maths, that sort of thing. When it came to our social lives, we just never talked about it. We were in different classes, different circles. We just didn’t socialise in that way. I know it sounds bad, but we just weren’t into the same things.’

Mark held up a hand, sensing Stephanie slipping away from what he needed to learn from this conversation. ‘It doesn’t sound bad at all. I understand what you mean. Everyone thinks twins should be exactly the same, but I guess it’s not always true. Me and my brother – we couldn’t be more different. We don’t watch the same stuff on telly or listen to the same bands. We have a few things in common, but not much, and only more recently, as we’ve got older. When we were younger and sharing a room, we didn’t like the same things at all. In my teenage years especially. Doesn’t mean we’re not still close now. Things can change. There’s still time, but I need to know everything.’

‘I think she hated me,’ Stephanie said in a low voice. ‘I know that now. She always did, I guess. She wanted what I had, but didn’t know how to get it. I wish she’d said something. Maybe I could have changed things. Instead of letting her fight a battle she had no chance of winning.’

‘How did she fight back?’

‘She was vindictive eventually,’ Stephanie replied, relaxing a little on the bed, as her voice lowered even further. Mark had to lean forward to hear her. ‘I think she just wanted to get back at people she believed had done her wrong. She would spread rumours online. Catfish people, that sort of thing.’

‘Catfish?’ Mark said, the term vaguely ringing a bell.

‘It’s where you pretend to be someone you’re not online. Talk to people, become friends, then get in a relationship with that person, but all the time you’re pretending you’re someone else. Fat people usually do it so they can have nice-looking boyfriends and girlfriends.’

‘How do you get away with that, though?’ Mark said, ignoring the fat comment. Stephanie’s filter seemed to be non-existent. ‘Wouldn’t it be all over the second they met each other?’