Sins & Sinners

Cassiel. 3

It was hard for even the teacher to pay attention in my last period AP Calc class with thunder rumbling so loud and frequently that we could barely hear a word he said and the wind so strong that the students in the two rows of seats closest to the window were made to sit on the floor on the other side of the room.

While I usually would have had to stay after school for one extra-curricular or another, all after-school activities had been canceled on account of the weather.

Mom had already texted to say she was picking me up from school and Alex told us the D & D tournament was rescheduled for Thursday, but I wasn't worried about any of that.

I was worried about my sister.

I have no earthly clue where she disappears to when she's not at school and her last period isn't one she sticks around for. She definitely doesn't stay home all day and I haven't heard from her since this morning.

Where is she? Is she safe? Is she caught out in the storm?

I'd like to think that since she was the one who warned me about bad weather in the first place, she'd have been one of the first to go find somewhere to hunker down. But the thought didn't ease my worries nearly as much as it should have.

Accidents happen. Maybe she didn't find shelter in time. Maybe she had to leave that safe-space and find another. Why the hell didn't I keep better tabs on her?

If she went missing, no one would even notice but me and I wouldn't even be able to the police where they should look for my own twin.

"Have you heard from Orisha?" was the first thing I asked my mother when I climbed in the car nearly half an hour later, trying to steady my hands as I folded the dripping, floppy umbrella back up and tossed onto the floor of the backseat.

Still, no word from Ori.

"No, she's not with you?" my mother asked, too busy focusing on backing out of the parking lot to notice the dumbfounded look I was giving her. If she was with me, why would I have asked if she heard from her?

"No, I haven't seen her since this morning. She didn't come home after the storm started up."

The rain was pounding so hard on the windshield that we had to almost yell to communicate.

Orisha didn't even have a car, how would she be able to see two feet in front of her when she was walking?

"No, I assumed she came back to school."

Even Mom looked the tiniest bit apprehensive now, eyes continuously flashing to the rearview mirror like her other child would magically appear in the backseat.

Though she did seem a bit more worried, there wasn't really any emotion to her tone and I felt a bit green at the fact that I didn't know if she was genuinely worried about Orisha or if she was thinking about how bad it would look that one of her kids went missing or was hurt because she was too negligent to keep up with where she went during the day.

Upon reaching the house, I had never been more thankful for the invention of garages as the car pulled to a stop, safe and dry from the beating rain outside, so harsh that I wouldn't be surprised if it could strip the meat of a rhino.

"Richard, is Orisha home yet?" Mom called once we got inside.

There was a beat a silence and the sound of footsteps before my father emerged around the corner from the kitchen, brow furrowed.

"No. She didn't go back to school when the storm started?"

Nobody bothered to answer that question, the answer was obvious. There was a raging probable hurricane outside and the only three people who had even some inkling of concern for my sister's existence had no clue where she was, no ideas for where she might be, and maybe even no way to contact her if her phone was off or dead.

This realization seemed to finally be hitting my parents as well if the looks on their faces were anything to go by. Eyes wide, faces green, and jaws clenched, they looked terrified but also...enraged.

Neither emotions made sense, yes, we didn't know where Orisha was, but it's entirely likely that she's fine, they could at least have some hope.

Still, something wasn't right in their expressions.

"Guys, what are you—"

"Go upstairs, Cassiel."

"Wha—"

"Now!" both my parents snapped, their eyes unmoving from each other's but body language still more than threatening enough for my limbs to jump into the motions of going up the stairs and into my room before I could even fully process what I was doing.

It took a moment of me standing in the doorway unmoving for me to fully understand what just happened and I was more confused and worried than I was before coming home.

What the hell was that about? Was it about Orisha? Why would they make me come upstairs if it was? I highly doubt there's something my parents know about Orisha that I don't, more of a statement of their relationship with her than mine.

But what else would they suddenly want to talk about?

I tried to press my ear to the door and hear something but to no avail. As slowly as my nerves would let me, I eased the door open, my steps as light as possible without levitating as I tip toed down the hall to the stair banister, pausing and listening for some clue of what the hell was going on.

Still nothing.

I couldn't even see them downstairs where they were two seconds ago and the house was completely silent, not a noise at all save for the still-worsening storm that I was pretty sure we could refer to as a hurricane by now.

Where the hell did they go? What was the point of making me go upstairs?

I didn't even bother being quiet as I stomped back to my room and slammed the door as hard as physically possible.

Where the hell is my sister and what is my parents' issue other than finding their child right now?

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose and turning to grab my phone and try calling once again only to pause at the large blurry white shape in the window.

I stared.

What...the hell...is that.

But when I blinked it was gone and the most horrible thought came into my head that maybe I've been the crazy twin after all.