DEAD INSIDE

(5)

"Wake up..." Somebody flicked my nose.

"Ouch..." I groaned as I opened one eye. Not making sense of what I saw, I opened the other one.

Two identical faces were hovering above me.

One with long blond hair and the second one with short curly blond hair. Their big green eyes were copies of Milo's so it wasn't hard to guess who they were.

"Hmm... Hello?" I asked, my voice thick with sleep.

"Hello." They both said at the same time. "Breakfast is ready..." The girl started. "Milo asked us to come and get you..." The boy finished.

That wasn't creepy at all.

"Hmm... Sure... I'll just get dressed..." I said, thinking they'd just wait for me outside or something but they didn't move, so I slowly pushed the comforter back, hoping they'd get the hint.

They didn't budge.

"I love your hair..." The girl finally said. "Could you do mine like that?"

Unsure of what she meant, I reached for my hair and cringed when I realized I hadn't removed the bobby pins before going to bed. Hopefully I hadn't broken them during the night.

"Hmm... Sure, yeah..." I answered and got out of bed.

"You're wearing boys' underwear!" The boy exclaimed and he and his sister burst out laughing. It was the cutest sound and I soon joined them.

"So you like the Ninja Turtles?" The boy asked me a minute later.

"I think they are the coolest dudes ever, yeah..." I quickly put my sweats and hoodie on. "Do you think I could go to the bathroom to freshen up a bit?" They nodded and walked me to a small but brand new looking bathroom adjoining the room.

There, the girl sat on a small stool by the sink while the boy took a seat on the toilet.

Ok, then... I thought as I got some cotton and makeup remover from my small overnight bag and hurried to wipe last night's makeup off my face.

"You're really pretty..." The boy said. "Your eyes are like silver." The girl added.

"Thanks." I muttered, still weirded out not only by their presence but also by their unusual bond.

"What's your name, guys?" I asked them once I was done cleaning my face and untangling my hair.

"I'm Philip..." The boy replied. "But everyone calls him Lip." The girl completed. "And I'm Moira..." She added. "But everyone calls her Mo..." The two of them were so cute, it was unreal.

"Nice to meet you Lip and Mo..." I offered them my hand. "I'm..."

"Ali, we know..." They both said at the same time after shaking my hand. Then, they each took one of my hands and guided me out of the room and all the way to the kitchen that was on the first floor.

As we went down the stairs, I couldn't help but have a strange feeling about all this. Something felt off and when we reached the front hall that opened on all the rooms downstairs, I understood what it was.

There were no photos or frames on the walls, no ornaments on the furniture which had been kept minimalist. This house didn't look lived in.

I knew I had no room to talk with the piles of cardboard boxes spread in my own house but there weren't any toys on the floor or any traces like drawings or forgotten dummies that showed kids lived there.

Either they had a very efficient cleaning lady, or Philip and Moira didn't have access to all the rooms in the house.

Once in the kitchen, I did a double take when I saw Milo in front of the stove with an apron tied around his waist. I could tell by his stiff movements that he wasn't serene.