Mandy

Chapter 47

When this life makes you wonder
What have you got to lose
Go back, go back
To the moment of truth
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Caleb watched Mandy's biological mother and sister as his sister walked away from all of them. He was proud of her, she had held her own.

"I suggest you do as she said." Caleb said softly.

The older lady turned to him. He could tell just by looking at her that she was shocked by Mandy's words. "This is your fault." She accused.

He smiled. "No, mam, it isn't." He told her.

The younger one, Jezette, just glared at him and led her mom out of the building.

Caleb ran up the stairs, then into their room; where Mandy was sitting on her bed, tears in her eyes.

"They left." He said softly. "Are you alright?"

Mandy nodded as she wrapped her arms around his waist and sobbed.

Caleb just held her tightly, letting her cry.

"Why don't they understand? Why was Jezette raised in the same environment I was, but she's still there?" Mandy asked through her sobs.

Caleb sighed as he sat down, pulling her onto his lap. "Different people are different Mandy. One environment can be the perfect place for one person, but to another it can be toxic."

"I didn't think it would hurt this much. I always thought that if I saw any of them, I'd just be mad. I don't want to wonder what could have been." Mandy whispered.

   Caleb just hugged her, his eyes meeting Jason's gaze.

   Mandy looked in Jason's direction silently.

   Jason walked over to them and sat down on the desk chair across from Mandy's bed. "Are you really Amanda?" He asked.

   Mandy shrugged. "Depends on what you mean."

   "Jezette's sister. Are you Jezette's sister?"

   "By blood, yes. In any other way, no." Mandy replied.

   "So you two were lying to me when you said you were siblings?" Jason asked.

   Caleb shook his head. "No. We are siblings. Maybe not biologically, but we are siblings."

   "You said you were twins. You can't be twins if you don't have the same parents." Jason pointed out.

   Mandy gave a small smile. "That was our brothers doing. He got tired of using our names while we were at school, so instead he just called us the twins." She explained.

   "I'm only two days older." Caleb replied. "So we are close to twins."

Jason was silent for a minute. "You ran away from your houses?" He asked.

Mandy sighed. "We both needed to get out. By that time, we were pretty good friends, and trusted each other completely. One day, Caleb messaged me, telling me he was going to run. He asked if I'd come along. I agreed, and we decided to wait until my birthday, so both of us would legally be adults.

On the night of my eighteenth birthday, I left a note for my parents, so they would know I hadn't been kidnapped or something. Then, when Caleb got to my house, we left. And now, we're here." Mandy said.

Jason frowned. "I'm still confused." He said.

Mandy and Caleb looked at each other, silently communicating, then Caleb turned back to Jason. "We will tell you our story if you tell us yours."

Jason nodded his agreement. "Deal." He said.