Torn Asunder

Chapter 1 Dante

I stared down at the tiny hand wrapped up in my own, amazed at how delicate her fingers were. Mandy was holding onto me like I was her knight in shining armour, and I guess in this day and age I was. See, Mandy was that quiet nerdy girl that everyone overlooked or teased. But I hadn't, I looked at her and saw that she was beautiful and terrified, like a high strung arabian horse. And my careful work with her was now complete. Beside me Mandy was no longer invisible, using her mousy hair to sheild her away, or keeping a book between her face and everyone around her. I'd brought her out into the world so shown them a face to appreciate.

It's egotistical, I know, taking credit when it fully lands on her genetics. But seriously, a guy has to feel good about his accomplishments right? Beside me Mandy glowed, the soft caramel of her skin a rich backdrop for the bright cornflower blue dress she wore. Her thick, black hair was carefully woven with golden ribbon to accentuate her exotic beauty. Amanda, or Mandy, was Indian and had the delicate features of her father's peopel blended spectacularily with the asian features of her mother. She was lighter than the other Indian students, and darker than the Asian students but now she made them all look half finished. Her nails were painted a heavy gold and were naturally sharp, but they were so small it was amazing to me how they didn't break. Then again Mandy was nearly a foot and a half shorter than I was, so that never helped.

I led her around Parker's party, letting all the guys get a good look at her and all the girls glare daggers at her. Mandy was squeezing my fingers as if she were gonig to bolt, so I rested my hand on the small of her back, rubbing a little soothing circle to help calm her. "They're jealous of you. You deserve it. You're beautiful and smart. They're just pretty." I whispered in her ear and she blinked rapidly, clearing the sudden tears from her eyes. She deserved to feel beautiful and it made me angry that people had refused to see her for more than just her book smarts. A guy can be good looking and intelligent, but for some reason the general consensus of these idiots around me was that girls should only be pretty, being smart automatically made you less attractive. I'd personally rather have an intelligent date that was horse ugly than a supermodel with no conversation skills. You can improve upon ugly, you can't fix stupid.

"You want a drink?" I asked Mandy but she quickly shook her head no. I laughed a little. "You want something that has no alcohol in it?" I rephrased the question. With a relieved smile she nodded. "I'll be right back. If you need me at any time, just text me ok?" I offered, squeezing her hand and then stepping away. The crowd swallowed me up quickly and I let it eventually take me over to the kitchen. Parker's parents were out of town at a family funeral and he'd stripped the fridge of everything expect beer and coolers. There were bottles being passed around and I grabbed a pop bottle, tasting it first to make sure it was just Coke. It was so I broguht it back to the kitchen and found glasses. Then the bottle went back into the fridge and I worked my way through the crowd, trying not to spill a drop. I found Mandy on the couch and nearly dropped both drinks in shock. There Mandy was with the goalie of St. Mary High school. I wasn't sure how it happened but Cameron's tongue was down Mandy's dainty little throat.

"My work here is done." I smiled to myself and set her drink down on the table next to them. Then I drifted back towards the kitchen and added some Captain Morgan to my drink. Every now and again one of my friends would wander by and update me on how Valentine, my twin, was doing. Although she is technically older than me, I feel like the older, protective brother. She was just so different from everyone and her strangeness mader her vulnerable; it was my obligation as the Normal Smith twin to guard her from some of the shitty realities of this world. Take a look at our parents for a prime example of this.

They couldn't get pregnant easy, something about mom's hormone levels being whack or some garbage like that. So a few years go by and they are beyond desperate. Yada yada, a quasi-experimental fertility treatment later and voila! Mom's pregnant. At firstthey thought it was just a solo baby, but then suddenly there's two bundles of joy in the oven. They knew they were having me and then suddenly Valentine. Having me was a miracle they were beyond ecstatic to receive, and then there was surprise baby Valentine; how's that for a mind screw? You're having your first and only pregnancy, your baby boy-to-be is healthy and wait, what's this? There's a perfectly healthy baby girl gestating there too. Man that must have freaked everyone out until they figured out how it happened. She'd been there all along, but through a fold in the placenta wall and my own bulky baby body, the ultra sound never picked her up. As for the monitors, they had registered one heart beat because the two of us were beating on the same rhythm. I don't think our parents ever recovered from that shock though; our entire lives they've always seemed to be caught off guard by Valentine but they do love her very much.