He Mistook My Sister For Me On Meetup Day Chapter 02

He Mistook My Sister For Me On Meetup Day Chapter 02

The next morning, Evan showed up to take Iris to his bookstore.

My mother told me to come along.

“Iris doesn’t know much about those books. You can help her out.”

I looked at her. “And what am I supposed to be there as?”

“Her sister.”

She said it like it was obvious.

“It’s her first real relationship. What’s the harm in helping her out?”

Evan stood at the door, caught the tail end of that, and gave me a flat look.

“If she wants to help, fine. Saves Tidecaller from being put in an awkward spot.”

Iris looped her arm through his and cooed, “She’s all talk. She’s always looked out for me.”

They put me in the back seat.

They chatted and laughed the whole way.

Evan asked which letter she loved most.

Iris hesitated, then glanced back at me.

I turned my face to the window.

She forced a smile. “All of them.”

Evan’s smile thinned.

“You used to say number thirty-seven was the one you’d never forget.”

The car went quiet for a few seconds.

Iris’s eyes welled up instantly.

“I’m just so nervous today. My head’s all over the place.”

Evan softened instantly.

“It’s okay. I’m not testing you.”

He glanced at me in the rearview mirror.

“Just ignore anyone trying to stress you out.”

My fingers curled against my palm.

He thought I was the one making Iris nervous—just by sitting there.

At the store, Evan led us upstairs.

By the window sat a full row of navy hardcovers.

Right in the middle was an out-of-print edition of The Tides.

I’d written about it in a letter seven years ago—spotted it once at a used book stall but couldn’t bring myself to buy it.

Evan handed it to Iris. “Seven years late, but here’s your welcome gift.”

Iris flipped through a couple pages and smiled sweetly. “I love it.”

“Which line?” Evan asked.

Her hand stopped.

I knew exactly what Evan was waiting for.

There was a line in that book: The mountain waits for the tide, and every time the tide pulls back, it knows the mountain is still there.

That’s why he went by Stonehaven. Why I was Tidecaller.

Iris pointed at a random line. “This one. It’s so romantic.”

Evan glanced at it and said nothing.

That line was about death.

At lunch, he ordered her fish chowder. It came with cilantro.

Iris took a sip, made a face, and dumped all the cilantro from her bowl into mine.

“Here, you love this stuff.”

Evan’s fork stopped mid-air. “Tidecaller’s loved cilantro since she was a kid.”

The color drained from Iris’s face.

She’d memorized Mom’s scripts perfectly.

“I used to, but my taste changed after the surgery.”

Evan looked at the mountain of cilantro in my bowl.

“What about her?”

Iris smiled.

“She copies me.”

“If I eat something, she says she does too.”

The hesitation in Evan’s eyes curdled into disgust.

“Lena. You’re not her. Just because you pick up her habits doesn’t make you her.”

I looked up.

“You better remember that.”

He didn’t expect me to push back. His jaw tightened.

That afternoon, they took group photos. Iris stood beside Evan. Both sets of parents were pulled into frame.

The photographer asked, “And where does this young lady go?”

My mother answered without thinking. “She’ll take the picture.”

I took the camera.

Through the lens, two families stood close. Evan tucked a strand of Iris’s hair behind her ear. My parents were beaming like it was Christmas morning.

Like they were already one family.

Nobody asked if I wanted to be in the shot.

When it was over, Evan walked up to me.

“I don’t know what history you have with Tidecaller.”

“But she’s finally moving on, and she’s happy today.”

“Don’t weaponize little details against her.”

I looked at him.

“What if those little details were mine to begin with?”

He laughed.

“Your sister told me everything.”

“You’ve been taking her things since you were kids.”

“Don’t make yourself look pathetic.”

On the way home, Iris shoved her phone at me again.

Evan had asked:

[The line I never mailed in letter thirty-seven. Do you still remember it?]

Iris bit her lip.

“You can’t leave me hanging on this one.”

I didn’t take it.

Because letter thirty-seven was the first time Evan ever said he loved me.

That line was never written in any chat log.

Only I knew it.