I am for you

Chapter 2. Too close or not

The second year of high school.

The school year started fairly quietly, with the usual fights between the twins, Laurent continuing his medical studies, Larry still looking for adventure, and Mom watching the twins suspiciously. Almost six months had passed since the death of her husband, but she still had not received a response from either of the twins, as their father died. The official conclusion of the pathologist and the police: was severe intoxication and falling down the stairs, but seeing Larry's satisfied look, my mother smelled something was wrong.

She was also embarrassed by how closely her boys interacted with each other. Several times she noticed how they slept on the couch with the TV on or shared one chair for two tightly clinging to each other. Or, when one of them was sick, the other would not back down. For her, it was only suspicious, and the eldest daughter all the time added fuel to the fire, insisting that this was not normal, that they should not behave like that. And the last nail in the mother's patience was the fact that she found the twins together in the shower. And she didn't care at all that Larry was covered in bruises and abrasions, that Laurent was also covered in blood, and that her sons looked like two ghosts in sum. She screamed, waved her arms, and threw words from the bible. Larry became the main evil for her, for a reason incomprehensible to the brothers.

For the twins, the evening just couldn't be worse, but Mom did everything to surprise them. She was gathering things from the closets into a large bag on the floor. The twins sat wearily on the bed. They were exhausted and didn't care what was happening, they wanted to be finally left in peace.

Only in the morning came the realization, but it was too late. One slept in his bed in the house with his mother, the other in a spare bedroom in his uncle's apartment in Paris. It just didn't make sense. Loran, deprived of her twin anchor, has become even more sophisticated and quirky, like a serpent-tempter - honing her manipulative skills.

Larry also did not make life easier for his mother, he took revenge, completely straightening his ugly feathers, and getting into absolutely all situations that had previously bypassed him thanks to his twin. His behavior and bitterness made the woman sad and regret her decision. Larry didn't listen to his mother at all. Therefore, the poor woman had no choice but to return Laurent home. Shortly before their sixteenth birthday, Laurent solemnly returned and, in front of his mother, prevented the inevitable quarrel between Larry and the son of their neighbors. Where their mother would have been yelling at Larry for several minutes, demanding to tame her temper, Laurent had enough of a simple eyebrow movement, and Larry, cursing with displeasure and slightly pushing his neighbor, disappeared through the door of the house. When Larry vanished into the house, Laurent looked triumphantly at his mother. This is what she always missed—the amount of Laurent's influence on Larry's behavior.

Laurent, pulling things out of the trunk, no longer looking at his mother, went to the house.

The room was still shared, Larry's side was in chaos as usual, and Lau's was in perfect order. Larry was Larry, so he completely ignored his brother's return, barely holding back the urge to throw himself on his neck and enjoy the feeling of fullness. Finally, the loneliness is gone. He didn't even look at his brother as he sorted through his things, putting them in their proper places. He didn't take offense at the twin's reaction; He waited. But Laurent decided to teach his brother a lesson and, having contacted friends, went to play monopoly with Reggie, who lived two houses away from them.

Laurent returned close to midnight. Only a dim nightlight worked in the room. Larry was still lying on his bed, only now without headphones. He followed his brother's every calm movement. How he takes a towel and a change of clothes and goes to the shower with a towel, and how he returns after a while. Knocking out the night light lays down under the covers.

Exhaling in annoyance, Larry pulls out a pillow from under him, throws it at Laurent, and pounces on top of himself, starting a solemn and silent fight between them. The silence was broken only by their heavy breathing, they tried to pin each other with one hand and grab onto the pillow. It was hot, heavy, and quiet. Everyone was already asleep, and the last thing the twins wanted to do was wake them up.

As a result, after another attempt to change position, they rolled over and fell from Laurent's bed with a crash.

They lay on their backs on the floor next to each other, covering their mouths with their hands, barely suppressing laughter.

- Asshole!

- Bastard!

They were back in Laurent's bed, still poking and chuckling at each other. But then their bodies naturally intertwined, sharing the warmth, comfort, bitterness of separation, and the joy of being together again. Larry gripped the twin's thin body tightly, barely holding back his tears. Laurent also hugged his brother tightly in return, gently stroking his hair and whispering, "Hush, baby, I'm with you. I won't go anywhere else." Larry sobbed softly, pressing his nose into his brother's shoulder. Increasingly, he thought he was incredibly lucky to have such a twin, Laurent never had to wait for an explanation from Larry, he always understood his twin without words.

After Laurent returned, Larry became himself. More precisely, the way he was before the forced departure of Laurent. School attendance increased, calls from the principal and teachers became less frequent, Larry argued less with his mother, and sometimes he did his homework instead of copying from his twin.

Mom no longer objected to the close relationship between the twins.