Caine & Diana || ˢᵗºʳʸ ºf ᵘˢ

CHAPTER TEN - 129 hours, 34 minutes

Caine got up quickly from where he saw perched on the cool, polished, wood floor of the school gym upon hearing the footsteps. He glanced at the wide double doors of the gym, knowing his brother would be here any second.

He wondered if Sam knew about his twin brother. Caine reckoned Nurse Connie had never once mentioned him. Why would she? She'd thrown him away, after all.

He refused to acknowledge the pinch in his heart.

Instead, he clenched his teeth together and took a deep breath, putting on a poker face.

The left door slammed open, and Caine inclined his head lazily. He was actually surprised they'd pulled it off. In came Orc, Howard, Panda, Freddie and Chaz (with that idiot Quinn cowering behind them,) pushing a beaten up, confused, blindfolded Sam in a small trolley. Caine watched in amusement as Orc kicked Sam onto the ground and grabbed his hair, pulling his head back roughly.

It satisfied him to see Sam so weak, helpless beneath Caine's own power.

"Take the tape off," He ordered.

Orc obliged.

Caine folded his arms and smirked down at his brother. "Hey, Sam."

Sam took in his surroundings and glanced around the room. Once he noticed Caine's team of helpers, he squinted up at him. "You have a lot of guys, Caine. I must be dangerous."

He nodded, remembering his conversation with Diana. "I like to be careful." Then he decided to carry out his threat, throw Sam off his game. "Of course, Drake has your girlfriend. So if I was you, I wouldn't try to cause any trouble. Drake is a violent, disturbed boy."

Howard let out a laugh at this.

Caine noted the brief panic in Sam's light blue eyes. Astrid really must have meant something to him.

A weakness, Caine thought joyfully. A liability.

"Let him up," he said sharply.

His brother rose on to two feet, looking shaky but defiant. Caine studied him for a minute. This was his brother? His twin?

Sam's voice broke into Caine's thoughts. "What is it you want with me?"

Automatically, Caine went to chew his thumb, but he caught himself, feeling stupid, and eventually let his arms fall by his sides. Sam could be useful, but he was on the opposite side - his rival. His opponent. "I wish there was some way we could be friends, Sam."

"I can see you're dying to be my new homey," Sam said dryly.

Caine laughed at his sarcasm. "See? You have a good sense of humour. That wouldn't have come from your mother. She never seemed very funny to me." Caine paused effectively. "Maybe it came from your father?"

Sam's eyes flashed. Caine could tell he was surprised at the mention of his mother. And his father, for that matter. "I wouldn't know," he replied, almost carefully.

Caine's heart skipped a beat. "No? Why not?"

"You have my mother's laptop," He accused. "You have all her personal papers. And you have Quinn answering questions about me. So I'm guessing you already know the answer."

Smart boy.

"Yes," Caine agreed with a nod. He told him that his father disappeared after he was born, stating the facts Sam already knew, joking about how his father had left him. "Well, don't feel too bad. As it happens, my biological father disappeared, too." Caine looked at Sam cautiously. "And my mother, too."

He searched his brothers face as he spoke, looking for a spark of recognition. He just looked troubled.

All he managed was, "You're not supposed to wear street shoes on the gym floor."