Chapter 13

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Two hours earlier...

Trixie's ringtone chimed, Bernie answered on the first tone, "Hey sis!"

Sobbing. All Bernie heard was sobbing. "Trixie... Trix?! Beatrix!"

"Bernie, it's Jared." A familiar deep voice rumbled.

"Jared, Omigawd, what happened?" Bernie was terrified.

"Are you sitting down?" He asked gently.

"It's Grandmum, isn't it?" Bernie asked, she couldn't seem to get a breath in. Somehow she managed to pull the last pan of horderves out of the oven without dropping the pan. She was shaking so badly, it clattered on the counter.

Carly came out, dressed to go to the Phi Delta Epsilon BBQ. "Bernie, what's wrong?"

Bernie put her phone on speaker, as Jared's deep voice explained how her grandmum's house burned with her in it. Trixie's weeping was in the background the whole time, accompanied by Mary's quiet murmuring.

"There's nothing to be done until tomorrow but the fire marshal thinks some kids shooting off roman candles in the neighborhood may have set the roof on fire. The fact that Ms.

Emma has been on oxygen... well... it just made the house burn that much faster."

"I'll... I'll get Alex and we'll be there tomorrow. Tell Trixie, I love her. Bye, Jared." Bernie shook as she hung up the phone.

Carly hugged her, "You can't drive, I'll drive you."

"No... no... There's nothing we can do tonight. We'll leave in the morning. I... I need to deliver these and wait for Alex to get off duty." Bernie took several calming breaths. "I'm going to get a shower, just give me... a... few..." Sobbing, she ran back to her room.

Carly smiled after her, maybe her plan was going to go smoother than she thought. Bernie had never met Anthony; she didn't even know what Alex's brother looked like when Carly asked her. Getting her drunk and entangled with the wrong twin was going to be almost too easy. She was so glad Bernie had a large van that she used for catering deliveries. It would make it so easy for her to leave with all her worldly belongings in one trip. Bernie's need to prepare meant everything was already packed a week early for her move in with Alex.

As Carly carried out the trays to Bernie's van, like a helpful friend, she gloated over the fact that by morning the brothers would be enemies. Alex, who had snubbed her and her sister, would be without the woman he loved so much. Carly smirked as she thought that one of them should have married her, it would have made things so much easier on them.

Bernie came out with puffy eyes and a wan smile, she answered Carly's concerned look, "I'm okay. Grandmum was very old and in poor health, I'm so sorry, Carly. I... I don't know if I can help you now."

"Oh Bernie, you're so sweet. Your grandmum just died and you're concerned for me. Don't worry about it. I'll just move and keep moving. I found a site that helps women get away from stalkers, I'll figure it out," Carly cooed.

Bernie nodded then looked around the kitchen, the dishwasher was humming, and the trays were gone.

Carly smiled and shrugged, "I loaded them for you. I'll go with you, you shouldn't be driving alone."

"Thanks Carly, you're the best."

As soon as they arrived, several of the frat brothers came to help unload their little something-somethings, as Bernie called her horderves. All kinds of bite-sized foods; from bacon wrapped everything to mini quiches, fried raviolis, and taco pockets.

One gave both the girls drinks. It was some kind of trash can punch. It was strong and Carly watched Bernie, who never drank, swallow one glass after another. In the food tent, Carly purposely lost Bernie, then watched her make out with Anthony before going upstairs thinking he was Alex. She smirked and waited. It was only a matter of time before Alex got here from his 48-hour ER shift. She found a comfortable chair out of site but in view of the stairs and waited.

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Alex was so tired he could barely stand up, all he wanted to do was get a shower, find Bernie, and go someplace quiet to sleep, and not necessarily in that order. He could hear the party from the hospital as he started his walk across campus to the frat house he only would call home for five more days, then his home would be with Bernie. He scanned the crowd

and wasn't surprised not to see his fiancée; she despised giant parties. The last text he got from her said she was taking the hot horderves over to the party and that they needed to talk. He had said a small prayer that she wasn't getting cold feet about moving in with him.

I'm here : he texted her.

Trudging up to his room, he opened the door to see his brother laying naked in his bed, spooning some female in the dim light. He stepped back and closed the door quickly.

Shaking his head, he knew Anthony was on the rebound from Carla, but Alex seriously hoped the coed didn't think she was sleeping with him.

He sent Bernie a text message: Don't go to my room, my brother is using it with some girl. I'll be in the food tent.

Back downstairs, he grabbed the food he knew he could eat and a hard root beer. He sat down and took the first bite when a blonde sat down in front of him.

"Hello, Alexander."

Alex almost choked when he looked up and saw Carla's malevolent smirk framed in curly, bleached hair.

"What do you want?" Alex snarled over the music.

Carla shook her head, sneering, "You're such a hypocrite. You and your brother both." She took a sip of a bottle of water before continuing. "You wouldn't share me even though I offered freely to have sex with both of you."

"That's because you're a slut, Carla. A gold-digging, thieving, lying slut who is going to jail," Alex reminded.

"At least, I was willing. How do you think she'll react to know the truth?" Carla laughed; it sounded evil.

"What are you talking about?"

Alex sat up a little straighter, he looked around again wondering where Bernie was because she hadn't answered his text. Something about Carla's insinuation made him feel sick inside.

"The truth, Alex. Or rather what will seem like the truth to your poor abused fiancée; that you and Anthony used your identical twin thing to trick sweet, innocent Bernie into screwing you both like I told her you tried to do to me." She chortled as the color drained from his face.

Alex jumped up and ran back into the frat house. She followed at a leisurely pace and waited at the bottom of the stairs, thinking it was almost too easy to have ruined them.

Alex burst into his room and flipped on the light. "What the hell!" He shouted.

Anthony came up like a shot on the side of the bed toward the door and Alex punched him.

Bernadette was sitting in the bed with the covers clutched over her chest in terror. She stared back and forth between them like she thought she was hallucinating, then she turned and vomited on the floor beside the bed. Alex and Anthony were still trading blows and grappling with each other when they fell across the end of the bed.

Bernie scrambled off the bed and snatched her keys from the bowl on the night table where she always dropped them. Running out only wrapped in a sheet, she collided with Carly at the bottom of the stairs.

Carly looked terrified, "I gotta go, Tony's brother is here. I just saw him go upstairs. Why are you wearing a sheet?"

Shouting from upstairs was drawing a crowd.

"He... they... upstairs..." Bernie stammered in drunken terror, "Fighting..."

"Oh shoot," Carly exclaimed and grabbed Bernie dragging her out. They ran down the street to where Bernie had parked her van. Carly grabbed the keys she offered.

Bernie crouched down in the passenger side in humiliation. "I... I didn't know... They looked the same. I couldn't tell them apart," she sobbed.

"Omigawd," Carly gasped, stammering, "Alex... his full name... is it Alexander? Alexander Marvillis?"

Bernie nodded.

"Ohgawd...Oh no... I'm so sorry. They did it to you. Tony's full name is Anthony. They're identical twins. This... what they did to you...it's what they tried to do to me."

Carly sounded appropriately disgusted and saddened as she lied, "It's what they have always done to their girlfriends, since high school. Oh Bernie, I'm so sorry... I didn't know your sweet Doctor Alex was one of those bastards."

"How...how d-did you know?" Bernie stammered feeling more sick by the moment. "Which w-was which?

"Tony has a scar on his upper arm from a sports injury. It's the only way to tell them..."

"Stop now," interrupting, Bernie demanded; she was already opening the door as Carly skidded to a stop.

Bernie jumped out and vomited until she was on her knees in the empty street, between gags, she screamed her misery. Carly felt bad for how distressed the other woman was, but quickly pushed the feeling away. It needed to be this way if Bernie was to leave Alex and ruin his relationship with Anthony.

"Come on," Carly eased her back into the van. "We'll leave tonight. I'll drive you home before I take off. I'm sorry Bernie,

I didn't know... I didn't know your Alex was my Alexander, I didn't know my Tony was his brother until I saw him at the party. I never put it together," Carly lied as she apologized again with giant fake tears.

Back at the house, Bernie climbed into the shower as Carly explained to their roommates what was going on, told them how Alex's brother Tony was the abusive boyfriend she was on the run from, and the terrible trick they played on Bernie by never telling her they were identical twins. After Bernie dressed, it only took fifteen minutes flat for the five women to have all of Bernie's things in her van and the few trash bags of Carly's things. Bernie had been a friend to all of them and kept them fed. Amy, in particular, cried as she hugged Bernie goodbye because they had been boarding house mates for two years. They waved as watched Carly Sims drove Bernie Austen away. Bernie was going back home to bury her grandmum with a broken heart.

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Anthony managed to get Alex in a head lock and held his older brother until Alex stopped struggling and swearing.

"What the heck is wrong with you?" Anthony growled, he turned his head and spit blood on the floor.

"I hate you! How could you sleep with my fiancée?" Alex hissed.

Anthony stepped back suddenly, shoving his brother forward. He snatched his boxers off the floor and yanked them on. "How drunk are you? I met a girl at the party named Bernadette... I didn't screw your boyfriend. I'm not bi like you."

Alex glared at him, rage and hatred burning holes in his brother, "I'm not bi and I don't have a boyfriend."

"You're always talking about this Bernie like he's your boyfriend, saying you love him and crap..."

"Bernie is short for Bernadette," Alex shouted at him, "Omigawd, my whole family thinks I'm gay!"

They just stared at each other, panting.

"Bernie is a dude's name, even Mom and Dad thought it was great you found someone...There's nothing wrong with being gay, we accepted it without you even telling us because we love you," Anthony finally responded back.

"You talked about my sexual orientation without me?! I loved Bernie, who is a girl, not a dude!" Alex protested. He couldn't remember a time he had been more exasperated in his life.

Anthony grabbed a towel and threw it over where Bernadette vomited because the smell was making him want to do the same. Then he sat down on the bed with his hands in his head, "Gawddammit, Alex, I'm so sorry."

"Whatever." Alex snapped, he grabbed Bernie clothes and went down the hall to the bathroom. A few moments later he was back. "She's gone, she isn't in the bathroom or any of the other bedrooms on this floor. I don't know where my fiancée is! How could you just sleep with her?"

Anthony yanked his shirt on. "I didn't know who she was. It was a mistake! I'll explain it all." He bent to pick up his pants and almost toppled onto the floor, headfirst.

"Fuk!" Alex coughed a strangled word which made Anthony look at him.

"Ohfuuuckme! Carla knew, she was here. She... she said she was going to tell Bernie this was what we did to our girlfriends, that we tricked them into sleeping with both of us." He looked at his brother with a horrified expression, "I bet Carla took Bernie. We gotta find her. How drunk was she? How drunk are you?"

Anthony shrugged, pointing at the stained towel, answering and apologizing again, "Pretty drunk... I'm sorry. Didn't Bernie know we were identical twins?"

Alex blinked a few times, realizing he never told her. "I... we... we never have been until now. I didn't even think about it." Alex picked his phone up off the floor and tried to call Bernie. Her phone rang in the bowl on his night table.

Anthony put on his shoes quickly. He kept glancing guiltily at his brother, "Your car is blocked in, but I think we can get my rental out, it's parked on the street."

"I'm driving, you're still drunk," Alex snarled. His brother could only nod and had over his keys.

After an hour, they finally managed to find all the people needed to move seven cars and get Anthony's rental out to drive to Bernie's boarding house.