Pitbabe S2, Chapter 6 pg7

 pg7

   I stepped forward, half-brave, half-terrified, my palms ice-cold like I’d been clutching a frozen water bottle for at least ten minutes. My breathing was uneven, and the closer I got to him, the more my stomach churned, like something was swirling inside. It felt similar to the first time at the grave, but so much worse. Back then, I thought I was delusional or maybe seeing a ghost for real. But seeing him here again, standing casually bathed in sunlight, I was pretty sure this wasn’t the nature of any ghost.

   “Hey.”

   I’d been standing behind him for several seconds but couldn’t bring myself to speak. In the end, it was him who turned around and greeted me first. He seemed relaxed, not startled at all by my presence, greeting me like he knew I’d come find him.

   “Way… right?” My voice was barely a whisper. It felt like I was shouting against a storm—I screamed with all my might, but the sound came out so faint it was barely intelligible.

   He smiled.

   “You think so?”

   Even his voice was the same. The way the corner of his mouth lifted when he spoke, the smile he flashed—it was like Way’s reflection in a mirror.

   “No.” But no matter how similar, a deep gut feeling kept whispering in my ear: It’s not him. This isn’t him. “Way’s dead.”

   “Then I guess I’m not that similar,” the man in front of me chuckled softly. He dropped his cigarette butt to the ground and crushed it under his foot until the ember died. “Who said I was so similar you couldn’t tell us apart?”

   “Who are you?”

   “Your friend?”

   “No,” I said firmly, though I couldn’t stop staring at his face. “You’re not Way.”

   “How can you be so sure? Maybe I am.”

   “Stop messing around. It’s not funny.”

   “I’m not joking,” he shrugged, hands in his pockets, his eyes glinting like he was enjoying some private amusement. I hoped whatever was so entertaining didn’t involve me. “I could be your friend, you know.”

   “I asked who you are.”

   “And who do you want me to be?”

   I discovered something else this guy shared with Way, beyond the face. They were both infuriating, but in different ways. Way was blatantly annoying, straightforward. This lookalike was annoying in a psychotic, calculated way. That smug, charming smile was so irritating I wanted to lunge and claw his face, but I held back. Charlie said I’m too old to act like that now.

   “How long are you gonna keep this up…”

   “I knew it.”

   A familiar voice came from behind, cutting in before I could snap at the guy in front of me—lucky for him, I suppose.

   “I was wondering why you didn’t follow me in,” Charlie said, grabbing my arm. He didn’t look surprised to see me here, and even more, he didn’t seem fazed at all by the sight of Way’s doppelgänger standing there grinning. “And you, Phii…”

   He even turned to talk to the guy.

   “I told you not to tease people. Your face just asks for trouble.”

   “Hey, why so harsh?” the fake Way whined, though the corners of his mouth betrayed his act, curling into a smirk as if the situation was endlessly amusing. “We weren’t causing trouble. He came up to us himself. Right, pretty boy?”

   “Can I punch him?” I turned to ask Charlie. Of course, he shook his head, so I reluctantly lowered my fist.

   “I was going to introduce you two today, but you beat me to it,” Charlie sighed, like an adult trying to stop two kids from fighting. Honestly, if we were kids, it might’ve been easier. Because if this fake Way kept smirking like that, even Charlie might not be able to hold me back. “Babe, this is Phii Chris. He’s a doctor helping with the research.”

   Charlie gestured to introduce the stranger (who looked oddly familiar).

   “Phii Chris, this is Babe, my boyfriend. The one I told you about.”

   “You told him about me?” I couldn’t help but blurt out, stunned that Charlie was close enough with this guy to talk about me, yet never once mentioned to me that there was a human in this research lab who looked like Way’s twin.

   “I told him because I knew you’d meet eventually,” Charlie said lazily, giving my shoulder a light squeeze, as if telling me to calm down.

   “And you didn’t think to tell me?”

   “I’m telling you now, aren’t I?”

   “Then why didn’t you—”

   “He’s right, you know,” the guy who had no business in this conversation suddenly piped up. Chris grinned widely, watching me and Charlie like we were a sitcom or some kind of show.

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