Double Trouble by Tia Mowry Page B

smile. “I thought that was my job.”
    She grinned at me in the darkness. “I learned from the best.”
    â€œHa-ha,” I said. “Okay, let’s hope for the best, then. I’m good at that, right?”
    Wrong. As soon as I closed my eyes it was there—the image of Liam from my vision. Could we really stop it from coming true?
    At least Cassie is fully on board with helping thistime , I thought as sleep crowded the corners of my mind. I know I can count on her to help keep an eye on things tomorrow. And at least this time we know exactly what’s coming.

14
CASSIE
    â€œHAPPY BIRTHDAY TO my favorite twins!” Mom sang out as Caitlyn and I walked into the kitchen the next morning. She had an apron tied on over her jeans and T-shirt, and she was wielding a spatula.
    I blinked at her, wondering if I was still asleep and dreaming. Because Mom hadn’t been this chipper in days—maybe weeks. Come to think of it, I wasn’t sure she’d ever been this chipper.
    â€œThanks,” Caitlyn said, hurrying over to give her a hug.
    â€œI made pancakes,” Mom said. “Chocolate chip for Cassie and banana walnut for Cait.”
    â€œMy favorite!” Caitlyn exclaimed.
    â€œThanks, Mom,” I said, sitting down. “Smells great.” I tried to muster some enthusiasm, but it felt fake. How could Mom act as if this were a totally ordinary birthday? How could she pretend that nothing was wrong?
    Still, I knew it wouldn’t do any good to antagonize her, especially not today. She’d taken off work to help Megan’s folks chaperone the party, so I’d have to deal with plenty of blowback if I annoyed her now.
    â€œGood, good.” Mom sort of hovered there, waving the spatula around aimlessly, almost nervously. It must have been my imagination, though, because Mom didn’t get nervous, pretty much ever.
    â€œWhat’s this?” Caitlyn reached for a shopping bag in the middle of the table.
    â€œOh! I almost forgot.” Mom smiled. “Those are your birthday presents. Go ahead—open them.”
    There were several gifts for each of us. Onceagain, I played along, gushing over the flip-flops and bracelet she’d gotten me. Okay, the bracelet really was pretty sweet. At the bottom of the bag were envelopes from our Maw Maw Jean and various other relatives on Mom’s side. Mine contained a hefty gift certificate to my favorite store. Again, sweet.
    But it was hard to enjoy it, since thinking of Maw Maw Jean just reminded me of my other grandmother, the one I’d never met, whose name I didn’t even know.
    I wolfed down my stack of pancakes, then pushed back from the table. “Dibs on first shower,” I told Cait. “We should get moving—I told Megan we’d be there by ten to help set up.”
    A few minutes later, I was clean and dressed in my swimsuit and a pair of shorts. As I pulled a tee on over my suit, the key-shaped pendant caught my eye. It was lying on the dresser, where I’d put it last night.
    Yanking the shirt the rest of the way on, I grabbed the necklace. I stared at it, hesitating onlybriefly before putting it on and tucking it under the collar of my shirt.
    â€œWOW,” CAIT MURMURED as we pulled through a set of tall iron gates. “Nice place!”
    Major understatement. This was my first time at Megan’s house, and it was even fancier than I’d expected. A long, curving drive led between rows of huge oak trees. The house was enormous, pale stucco with lots of windows and scrolled pillars holding up the portico.
    â€œHere we are,” Mom said, stopping in front of the entrance. She was still in cheerful mode. “Help me get the stuff out of the trunk.”
    We were unloading bags of food and soda when Megan and Lavender emerged from the house and rushed toward us. Frisking around their legs was a brown-and-white dog on a long leash, the other end of which was looped