One More Dawn

Chapter 1 - 8 Years Later

"Matthew James Abernathy, get your ass out here now!"

As usual, this was followed by Matt's typical grunt of a response shortly followed by his Lordship strolling out into the living area to meet me. He knew that I didn't have the patience for his behaviour on a good day, and yet he still found joy in constantly provoking these kinds of reactions from me. I could tell that he also knew just how pissed off I was with him- he was my twin, and the deep twin bond that we shared allowed us to feel each other's emotions, kind of. Basically, I knew when he was pissed, and he knew when I was pissed. Even then, there was no sign of the twinge of fear in his eyes that I would have expected from him.

"Darling Twin, how can I help you this fine evening?" He tossed me a lazy smirk before draping himself across the leather sofa. Clearly he either had a death wish or he was just acting plain idiotically.

"Don't play games with me, you know exactly what is going on here. 'Fess up darling Twin, did you or did you not sleep with Kate from my Politics class?" I seethed.

"Kate... Kate..." Tapping his chin thoughtfully, I knew that Matt was mocking me yet again. "Remind me, what's her last name again?" He grinned, thinking he could get away with this pointless act. I was genuinely surprised at his sheer stupidity. Had he forgotten about me? Had he really forgotten about the one gift we shared? Harnessing my inner strength, I reached into his mind and rifled through it like a librarian would search through their files. It took just 2 minutes of searching until I found the information I needed before Matt put up his mental block against me.

"I knew it! You did! You are such a little liar!" I laughed, almost psychotically as I knew of his pathetic attempt at denial. Matt scowled, his green eyes shooting daggers at me.

"What happened to Rule number 1? 'Don't use our gift on each other'?" He pouted at me, trying to act the cute younger twin part. He was born almost 40 minutes after I was, so he was technically the younger sibling.  Something I often liked to take advantage of as it meant that I could be the one in charge.

"It was necessary." Rolling my eyes, I scanned my fingernails as I ignored his 'adorable' pout. I wasn't the person to get fooled by those kind of acts.

"Right..." He muttered disbelievingly. "What's so special about Kate Harrier?"

"How about, the fact that her Dad is the owner of this apartment? The fact that, if he finds out you've done your usual 'hit-it-and-quit-it' move on his daughter, he could kick us out?" Astounded at his apathetic reaction, I decided that the best thing to do was hit him with the potential worst-case scenario. I wasn't lying. Kate Harrier was the biggest Daddy's Girl in the school- one wrong move against her and she went crying straight to her father. The Harriers were a rich family: Andrew Harrier was a big name in the real-estate world, and Geraldine Harrier was his trophy wife/owner of multiple prestigious beauty salons across Washington State. The last person to target and attempt to defame Kate Harrier was Emma Morris and, well, she moved out of state to live in Illinois. Not by her own choice, either. This is why I was worried about Matt. I didn't want to imagine what Kate would do if she found out that she was just another notch in Matt's belt- just another trophy Matt had collected for his cabinet. "How could you have been so foolish?"

"Shit, you're right Al. What the fuck have I done?" He ran his hands through his hair and paced the room a few times. Swirling in my gut, his emotions were a mess- mostly a mess of panic, frustration, fear and a twinge of hunger, but the panic was predominant. Stifling my laughter, I watched as Matt slowly built up a state of hysteria trying to think of a solution. Not the smartest of people, Matt doesn't always see the same way as I do- where I see the only possible solution, Matt sees a completely different outcome.

"You know what the solution is, don't you?" I ask him, acting distracted by pretending to play with my fingernails. He freezes with his back to me, his shoulders stuck tight to his neck in an intense grimace of unseen disgust.

"I refuse." Laughing, I relish in the fact that he is instantly repulsed by the idea. The extent of my sisterly love is something he knows well.

"It's the only option."

"I can think of something- anything would be better than having to do that." Turning to face me, I can see how the intensity of his emotions blaze in his eyes.

"Wow, I didn't realise that actually fulfilling your promises to her would be that bad. It's just one little phone call." I muttered.

"That's the thing, Al, it just is. 'One little phone call' leads to giving her some hope. 'One little phone call' could lead to coffee dates, walks on the beach, slushy selfies, and then, worst of all, a tied down, official relationship." It was official. Matt had gone completely insane. Was he seriously willing to jeopardise everything just to satiate his wild ways?

"Sorry Matt, suck it up and make that phone call. It's the only solution we have right now, and in my opinion it's a damn good one. Just make it obvious that you aren't looking for anything long term with her, there's a very slim chance that might work."  There was no time for this, I really did not want any kind of issue between my family and the Harriers. If Matt couldn't see that then tough, it was clearly up to me to make him see that. Our gazes locked, and we stared each other down as I tried to convince him to give in and call her. These were common when we couldn't agree on something, mainly used when ordering take-out or pizza. I would always win them before, and this time was no different.

"Fine! I'll call her, but if she gets all attached, I'm blaming you!" Letting out a loud sigh, he stormed into his room, and I could hear the frustrated growls he made as he searched for Kate's number on his cell. I knew Matt would phone her, he's not clever enough to do that kind of deception- especially against me. Despite our little agreement, Matt knew that I would use my gift on him to double check that he did it.

A low rumble in my stomach distracted me as I moved to my bedroom so I could change into my outfit for what we were going to do tonight. The original plan made earlier in the morning was to go out for a meal somewhere, just brother and sister for once- we never really went out for food unless it was with our friends, so there was never really the opportunity for Matt and I to have our own brother-sister twin bonding moments. However tonight was going to be special. Matt had decided where we would be going tonight, and to say I was excited about it was an understatement. It sounds like I'm making a big fuss over nothing, but trust me when I say that it was a special occasion. Not only was it a bonding session for Matt and I, but it was also a commemoration for the anniversary of our parents' terrible death. This was a night that was extremely dear to us and close to our hearts; little did we know that tonight's anniversary would be more than we bargain for.