I have a messed up life. As of now, my twin sister Alexandra has been dead for 24 hours. She was on her way back from a class trip. A drunk driver hit the school bus full on speed. One minute we we FaceChiming,  the next, I was looking at her body being tossed about and the blood. Oh the blood. It was everywhere. I called her name. I called 911. She didn’t make it to the hospital. Too much blood loss. Every one else made it with cuts and bruises. Not her. The last thing she said to me was on the call, seconds before the crash. “I miss you.”  My answer was a bored “Yeah.” I will always regret that. 

My mother and father own the multimillion corporation that runs the U.S. Always away on business trips. I haven’t seen them in two months. Now they’re in New York to talk to some important director to help expand. Every once in a while, they send me a new watch or something. I f*****g hate them for it. I sigh, placing a cup of ramen noodles in the microwave. My phone dings with  a message from Alix. “Brunch at Newmann’s?” I text back a quick agreement, and grab my glasses from the counter. Today’s a new day. It is.

I hop into Alix’s old Jeep when she pulls up. She not the one to stick around, and she speeds off. We make a little small talk, but not a full on conversation. When we get to the cafe, Alix goes off to find a seat, and she tells me what her order is. I grab two mugs of coffee, and a package of madeleines and find Alix in a corner. I take a seat, and I feel like eyes are burning into the back of my head. I hand her her one coffee and take the other. The feeling of someone watching me increases tenfold and I quietly ask Alix if anyone’s watching me. She glances over my shoulder inconspicuously and eyes widen a little. “What is it?” She almost dies choking on her cookie. “Your m-mother.” She stammers quietly. When the words reach her lips, I spin around. She’s here. “Mother?” I say, not looking away as I walk towards her, not believing it’s her. She embraces me. I pull back, not even sure what’s happening.            “She had to die for you to come back?” I yell, not caring about the place we were. Several heads turn but I don’t stop. “My twin sis- your daughter had to die for you to come back?” She glances around the room nervously, definitely afraid this will hurt her PR. She grabs my shoulder and starts yelling. “Your sisTed was a disappointment to the family. She would rather be a doctor than in the family business? When she can learn from the one operating on her.” No staff kick us out because by now, everyone knows who we are. Emiline and Nick Colson. Mother realizes what she just said and I see the fear in her eyes. We hadn’t released then Alexandra had died yet. I didn’t care. Mother did. I hear the whispers. “Wait, Alexandra Colson died?” “WTF happened to her?” “Look at Emiline, she’s crazy!” Several people have phones out recording. Some try to hide it, some don’t. Mother runs out of the cafe and Alix and I make an exit as well. I apologize to a staff member. “Well that was interesting.” We both said at the same time. 

Thirty minutes later, I get two notifications. One from the funeral director, and one from Apple News. The headline? “Alexandra Colson, dead at age 18” After that comes every news company I know. All similar details. I decide to tell people. I make an official post about revealing what happened and when. Within seconds there are thousands of views. The comments pop up. I pull up a new Froogle Doc and get to work. 

“Alexandra Colson died on April 16 on a late school trip to Spain. On the way back, they got in a school bus departing the airport. The bus bus struck from the side by a drunk driver. She died before they got her to the hospital.”  I decide that short is the best way to go and make a new post. It has ten thousand views within the 3 seconds of it being posted. 

I lie down and fall into a deep sleep. Praying I’d see her in heaven, or anywhere else. And she would talk to me. And things would be ok.