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Chapter 4

  • EVA
  • The two doors on the top floor were locked with no keys in sight.
  • "The room on the right is the library and on the left is dad's office, " she started, "We all have keys to the library but no one ever really uses it other than Zoe and, well, dad. " my eyes flickered to the former, who had her shoulder against the wall, with her hands tucked into the pockets of her shorts, before returning to Abi.
  • I was an inch taller than the twins, and while I was sure I could pull of sharing clothes with Zoe, Abi, on the other hand, not so much. My shorts would rip at the seams if she forced them on, that I was certain of.
  • They weren't very identical if you asked me. The only features they shared were their skin colour, nose and eyes, and even the eyes were debatable. Abi's were easier to meet, but Zoe had overly intense eyes that made the browns somehow black. That was why maintaining eye contact with her was such a chore.
  • "So, you've seen it all. Let's go back down so I can show you your room. "
  • As I turned to leave, my eyes fell on a bend to the right at the extreme of the hallway. It was so far off that one wouldn't see it easily which was why I hadn't seen it when I came on. That bend definitely had to be leading somewhere. Hadn't she said there were just two rooms up here?
  • "I thought you said there are only two rooms up here. "
  • "I did. " she answered smoothly, one leg already in front of the other, prepared to go back down.
  • "Then what's down there? " I pointed with my one free hand.
  • She glanced in the direction and her mouth formed a small O, and just as quickly, she recovered, giving a small humourless laugh. "That's not a room. "
  • What did she mean?
  • And with that, she made her way down the stairs and seeing as I had no choice, I followed, and of course, the silent Zoe followed behind me.
  • We stopped when we reached the fourth room in the hallway. Abi twisted the set of keys that hung from the keyhole and pushed the door slightly open, but she didn't make any move to go in.
  • "This room is yours. That room, " she pointed at a room which had to be the biggest since it took up the whole span of the wall facing us, "is dad and mum's room. Those two, " she pointed at two door facing each other, "are mine and Zoe's. "
  • "Who has the one opposite mine? " I wondered out loud.
  • "It's a guest room. "
  • "Oh. "
  • She took a step back, going to stand beside Zoe, who had been watching the both of us with absent eyes. She would have been a whole lot scarier if she weren't wearing colours that had life.
  • "So, I'll leave you to pack. " Abi sent a questioning glance at my bag, and I knew she was just being polite because the contents of this bag wouldn't take twenty minutes to sort through. "You can meet me and Zoe if you need anything. "
  • "But you wouldn't need to because you'd have everything. " Zoe added, finally gracing us with her voice, a low, soft, raspy thing.
  • Was it just me or had there been a note of aggression in there?
  • With the sharpness in her gaze, I'd put my money on the latter, but one couldn't judge her based on her eyes because they hadn't changed since I'd met her.
  • "Okay, well... " I mumbled, at a loss for words.
  • I wanted them to leave already so I could safely hide behind the walls of the room. Granted, I would be seeing them in no time, there was no way I could live with them and not, I just needed to get my bearings. I'd barely spent an hour with them and I felt out of sorts already.
  • I thought I caught a flash of pity in Abi's face, but then I wasn't so sure because it was gone in an instant. She pulled at her sister's hand, walking backwards.
  • "We'll leave you to it. " they bundled down the stairs, disappearing out of sight.
  • I stared at the blank spot they'd just been in for a while, before pushing the door wide open and entering the room.
  • The room —my room, was painted a plain purple, complete with a comfy-looking four poster bed, a bed bench, bed rug, a dresser, side table and a couch off to the side. A door was situated on the side wall and I knew it had to lead to a bathroom.
  • My own personal room and bathroom. Who would've thought?
  • Back at the orphanage, we weren't as privileged. The population in there grew almost everyday as the supplies remained stagnant and with time, we'd had to resort to pairing. A room housed about six beds in it and each bed had two occupants. More times than one, people found themselves on the ground, with no memory of how they got there and some, flat out opted to sleep on the floor. I couldn't fault them when I knew one person could barely fit into the beds, much less two people.
  • I, on the other hand, was one of the lucky people who got to share their beds with the younger orphans. My bed partner had been a three-year-old girl, Fatima, incredibly smart and just as special. She had trouble sleeping, the sole reason every other person refused to pair with her. Sometimes, she'd wake up at night and stare into the dark. It had been creepy witnessing it at first, but with time, I got used to it and devised a coping mechanism for the both of us.
  • I read. For her and for me. Talking about false scenarios and how happy we were going to be even if all I fed her were lies. Lord knew they were better than our reality.
  • Constantly witnessing children like Fatima arriving at the orphanage, took me to a bad place. Hearing the pain in their cries, the sorrow on their tear-streaked faces, how impossibly small and vulnerable they were. It reminded me of myself. That had been me once upon a time.
  • Now that I wasn't there for her anymore, I hoped she was okay.
  • I didn't know from what age a person retained childhood memories and I didn't know if it was possible to have a memory before reaching the age of five, but I remembered tibdits of that night. It played behind my eyelids like a footage when they slid closed.
  • I'd been chilled to my bones, sitting on the floor, my weak arms by my side, helpless to defend themselves against the unforgiving night wind. My desperate cries had rent the air as I screamed for help. Pity. Forgiveness. Anything really.
  • And the only thing I'd been granted, was silence.
  • I could still remember how confused I'd felt, my poor brain struggling to find the word it needed. When I did, I screamed, 'MAMA'. She'd paused as shock registered on her face, and in that short moment, I'd felt hope. My hope dashed when she turned around and made the rest of the journey. Without me. One lesson that night taught me, was that words were never enough.
  • Deep in my gut, I knew my parents were alive. I just didn't know where they were. And I wasn't a hundred percent sure I wanted to.
  • I blinked, bringing myself back to the present. My hand had a death grip on the door-knob as I stood at the entrance of the bathroom. A little bit more pressure and it would have snapped. How nice would it be causing damage on my first day here? The girls would absolutely love it. My ass would be sent back to the orphanage and they'd have their house all to themselves once again. Peace.
  • If only.
  • I might be downplaying my excitement just a little —okay, a lot. The house was beautiful, both inside and out. The furnitures and design were top notch and I would've been alarmed if I didn't know the kind of money my foster parents had.
  • My room was absolutely stunning. Not too girly and not boyish either. It fit perfectly in the middle. Exactly what I would have wanted. Living here wouldn't be hard, rather it was the people I would be living with that bothered me.
  • My foster parents weren't that much of an issue, but the twins...
  • Abi seemed to tolerate me at least. She didn't like me, that very much was obvious and it would be unrealistic to assume she would since she'd only just met me. Zoe, on the other hand, confused the hell out of me. I'd never met a person as complicated as her. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she didn't want me here. At all.
  • What would it be like actually getting to know them without this new relationship hanging over our heads? Would they have let me in?
  • I dropped down on the bed, placing my bag beside me, feeling drained all of a sudden. Running a hand through my unmade hair, I stared absently at a spot on the wall.
  • In another time, another place, under different circumstances, I could have been friends with them. Maybe even good ones. But that was just a thought and it didn't really matter anyway. Because they'd decided to make me an enemy.
  • Even before I became a stranger.