Twin

Chapter 6: Never Am I Going to Leave You

Alex's prospects were right; he did make friends with Dave very soon. Everyday, they chatted and exchanged stories, as well as they joked and tried to guess one another's riddles. In jail, Alex and Dave constantly found means in order to prevent themselves from developing a sense of ennui.

Last week of August

"I'm sick of rice," Alex protested as he sat on the cell's floor, hugging his knees.
"I'm afraid there is nothing I can do about this," Dave said.
"Look, if you don't bring me something normal humans eat, I'll inform the authorities here that you've been misdoing your job."
"Firstly, where do you think you are? A hotel? Secondly, the 'authorities' you speak of would not listen to a criminal. And thirdly, it's time you got used to it, Alex."
Nevertheless, Alex could never exist in time when he'd got used to his new life.
"Then forget it," Alex said with his teeth shut together. "But there is something else, a favor, I'm asking you. I want you to gather as much official news as you can, and convey it to me. News about the residents of Landmay, that is."
"Any resident in specific?"
"Brian Kevin Conolley."
Dave nodded. "I'll try."
"Make sure you try enough; it's important."

Meanwhile, Zach was in the kitchen gathering ingredients to prepare pancakes. He had called Eliza for help, though that wasn't really why he wanted her to come over. He had been missing her all of the time. It was a new thing going on with Zach, but he wasn't concerned at all. On the contrary, he actually liked her occupying his mind. At least he'd stopped thinking about Alex and that night.
"Hey!" Eliza saluted as she came from the backdoor. "What are you doing?! We're having pancakes for dinner?" She asked.
Before he could mention a word, his eyes were stunned. Eliza's auburn hair glided in waves down to her shoulders; he never had seen her with wavy hair before. She had black mascara that added shine to her bright green eyes. He realised she wasn't wearing any lipstick, but she was well known for her naturally flower pink lips, and so she needed none. And as if her lovely face wasn't enough to capture Zach's attention, her body looked extremely attractive. The shirt she wore showed her cleavage, and her tights traced her fine thighs. She looked like a complete work of art which didn't require any additional touch of a brush. God, she looked amazing, he thought. He wondered, too, why he hadn't noticed her beauty in the past years he'd known her. Eliza realised he was staring at her, but that was okay; not everyday she got noticed by a guy she cared about.
"Umm," Zach finally was able to speak. "As a matter of fact, having pancakes for dinner is more delicious than having them as breakfast. You won't know until you try."
She was disappointed; she was expecting a compliment. She waited for him to say something more, but when the wait got long, and he didn't, she asked: "Do you even know how to prepare this dinner?"
"Not really," he said. "This is why you're here- to help."
She told him not to forget adding salt, and she showed him how to mix the ingredients together without spilling all over the place. She thought it was cute how he didn't really know anything about cooking, how he was being a boy. Once the first pancake was done, he said: "You look beautiful today." She blushed and thanked him. That was the only thing she truly wanted to hear from him.
Suddenly, and out of nowhere, Kayta (the Wrights' golden retriever) ran barking to Eliza's legs, begging her for food. "Hi, Kayta," Eliza greeted her, her voice high pitched. Then she gave the bitch a pat on her head. "On no, you're a dog, and dogs are carnivorous. So you won't have this."
"If you keep telling her that, she'll end up biting off part of your leg," Zach jokingly told Eliza. "Come here," he then said to Kayta, and gave her the pancake.
Eliza sighed and crossed her arms.
"It's not like she was going to listen or understand you, Eliza," Zach said.
Eliza noticed that Kayta's belly was swollen. "Is she pregnant or simply fat?"
"Pregnant. This young lady is going to be a mother for the first time!" Zach replied. He sounded so excited, especially since he was a crazy dog person.
"Oh congrats." Eliza gave Kayta another pat. The soon-to-be-mother pet started barking, and she stood- her hindquarters on the floor, her front quarters touching Zach's abdomen. He crouched to hug her, which warmed Eliza's heart; she thought boys who loved pets were just too adorable.

Later during the night, Zach and Eliza were lying on the couch, switching through channels on TV. He was telling her about his mom, how she activated "silent mode" the other day. Eliza told him that that was odd. She opened her mouth to add something, but she closed it.
"What's wrong?" Zach asked.
"Your mom talked to me over the phone yesterday."
"What? She did? What did she say?"
"She was worried about you, especially since your brother isn't here and nobody knows where Brian is. She asked me to spend more and more time with you to help you cope with the new changes."
"Do you really believe it's me who she's worried about?" Zach was disbelieving; his mother never showed sympathy towards him. So what changed now?
"I do indeed," Eliza said. "She's already lost one of her sons, so she doesn't want to lose the other too. This is honestly what I believe."
"She can't lose something she didn't have in the first place."
"But she's your mother, Zach. She has to care about you even though she doesn't properly know how to. Plus, I'm happy for you! Isn't that what you ever wanted? Isn't that why you are marked with scars?"
"Yes, yes. It's just hard to believe that it's finally happening. I mean that's the first time I hear that she asked about me." Zach was starting to feel hopeful. After all, it seemed things weren't going to be so bad. But what a shame, he totally forgot about Brian.
"Did you hear anything new about Brian?" He asked Eliza.
"No. Nothing new. The family is still searching."
"Haven't they told the police?"
"I don't know."
And just while they were speaking, a roaring noise filled the house. Then the sound of shattered glass was audible. It came from the front door of the living room.
"Mom!" Zach shouted. They both ran to the room only to find Mrs. Wright sitting on her knees (her back and head bent down) by the door. She was holding her wrist, and was surrounded by broken glass pieces that initially made the transom. Her hand dripped blood forming a tiny red pool next to her knees. Just as Zach and Eliza sped toward Mrs. Wright, they heard the noise of a car engine fade away from the front yard. Someone was here. Eliza dialled 911. Zach asked in a frighted tone: "Mom, who did this? Was someone here? Are you badly hurt?"
But Mrs. Wright appeared as calm as a sleeping infant, and all what she said was: "Let her go away."