Twinset

Truth

Mia's words were stuck in Sebastian's mind like how a fly is stuck on honey. He couldn't stop thinking as to why his sister said that their mother deserved the wound she obtained during the morning. As he remembers the echoing words in his thoughts, Mia sits down on the lunch table, across from Sebastian, with her lunch tray that only contains a pizza and milk. Before she began to eat, she noticed her brother staring off at a distance "...Hey, Seb".

He snapped out of his daze and averted his eyes to his sister, clearing his throat "Yes?"

She tilts her head, exposing her worried expression "Is something wrong? You were dazing out for quite awhile now"

"Oh...yes, I'm fine" Sebastian said with his usual quiet, soft tone. He began to unwrap the foil that covers his hotdog "How about you? Are you feeling ok?" he asked.

Mia answers swiftly "Well, I'm not sick or anything, so I'm feeling fine"

"You weren't acting 'fine' this morning"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you were acting very strange" he spreads ketchup and mustard over his hotdog "Especially what you said about mother"

She puts her half-eaten pizza down and looks at her brother with a confused and somewhat frustrated face "And, what did I say about her?"

Sebastian glances at his sister, noticing the look she is giving him. He sighed "You said that she deserved to be how she was today, bleeding in the hallway. You didn't even think about helping her"

Suddenly, Mia's expression changed drastically. Her smile went away and the constant brightness in her eyes is now dim and dark. When she spoke, her voice was dark and menacing, as if he wasn't talking to his own sister anymore "Did you help her? Or did you just stood there, staring at her wound like the idiot you are? We both know that she deserved what happened to her, your just too stupid to grasp that fact"

Sebastian stared at the stranger that sits in front of him. He didn't know what to say in response, so he nervously began eating again. He kept his eyes down to avoid eye contact. Mia, on the other hand, shook her head vigorously and looked at Sebastian's state "Seb? What happened?". He didn't respond, as if he was afraid to set her off again. When a few seconds of silence has passed, Mia shrugged her shoulders and began talking about how her morning went and what she did during class. However, he continues to finish his food, all the while wondering what has happened to his sister overnight. She didn't go to sleep, she made Sebastian breakfast, and most of all, the way she was talking to him just a few moments ago. Something very strange and dark is happening to his twin and Sebastian is both worried and scared to just let it go like that. He desperately wants to know what is going on with his family. So many questions are going through his head. What is going on with Mia? What happened to their father? Why did their mother lie? Is the family falling apart as they speak?

The school bell rang loud, signaling the students in the cafeteria that lunch is over. Mia stood up first and she placed her Styrofoam tray in the garbage can. Sebastian followed her afterwards, throwing his tray away and silently walking closely behind her.

The rest of the school day went on as usual. In English class, they finished their assigned book and the question sheet. In Math class, they copied down the notes and practiced a few problems. During Science class, their topic was anatomy, so they dissected a dead bird. However, Mia wasn't acting herself throughout the school day. Unlike other days, where she would fall asleep during class or not pay attention, she finished all of her work, plus the homework. Sebastian now knows that he definitely has to get to the bottom of this, and quick.

On the way home, Mia was humming and gazing up at the sky while Sebastian looks straight ahead on the path they are walking. However, they kept a certain distance from each other. Sebastian hasn't noticed the distance, for his mind is filled with thoughts and confusion. By the time the twins arrived at their home, they were already eager to get inside when a sudden shriek was heard from inside the house. Sebastian lunged for the door knob, yanking the door opened wide enough to see the commotion. The twins stood in silence in the hallway to the living room as they watch scene unfold.

"You have no fucking idea what I'm going through! So shut the hell up with your sentimental shit!" Their father yelled with a raging fist in the air and a hand clenched over a broken bottle of beer. Their mother was cowering on the floor, her arm raised to protect herself. You can hear the faint sobs coming from her as the blood drips off of her arm and face.

Their mother began speaking with a soft but weak tone "Please...just stop..please...". She pleads for mercy as she crawls backwards to the wall, away from their raging father.

"No! I will never let you slip away like you did all those other times! This time, you'll pay for what you did to me..." Their father raised his hand that held the broken beer bottle for another blow when suddenly, Mia jumped in front of him; preventing their father to land the attack "Stop it! Now!".

Mia stared at the man before her as he stares back at her with his blood-shut eyes. His heavy breathing fills the room whilst he tightens the grip on the jagged rim of his bottle. "Step out of the way, Mia...you have no right to be here...None of you do!" he pointed to broken bottle towards Sebastian. "If you two weren't born, none of this shit would be happening right now!".

Sebastian looks over to Mia and to his surprise, she's not crying or even shaking. She stands her guard, protecting their mother who still cowers behind her. However, Sebastian is almost as terrified as their mother. His body was stiff the whole time and his mouth couldn't produce any words. Throughout the time, Mia is the only one who is standing up to their father.

"Dad, how about you calm down and explain what's going on?" Mia spoke in a calmly manner.

"Explain this, explain that, how many times do you want me to say it? Huh!? Do you want me to scream it to the world?!" he took a deep breath "I GOT FUCKING FIRED!! Are you happy now!? Does screaming it out to the so-called Gods above will fix everything!? I don't fucking think so! I don't see any bags of money outside those doors!". He stopped yelling and he then stepped closer towards Mia, raising his arm once again to strike at her.

Something came over Sebastian. A strange but strong feeling consumed his body. His fear was replaced with anger and hatred as his father starts beating his sister with the bottle and his fist. Sebastian's hands turned into fists as he witness the blood rolling down Mia's face and arms. Then, within a spilt second, Sebastian threw himself on his father's back. He wrapped his arms around his father's neck in a choke-hold, squeezing as tight as he could. His father began to get weaker as his throat was closing in from the force. The father dropped the bottle and aimed his fists at Sebastian, mostly missing until he hit a direct hit on Sebastian's eye. The attack caused Sebastian to loosen his grip and drop to the ground, now unconscious from sudden blow.