Enemy Basis | COMPLETE

29| the explanation

"This won't make any sense unless I start from the beginning."

All I did was stare at him and wait, not caring how he explained it, just that he did.

When he looked towards me and saw my resolute expression, he sighed and his gaze turned haunted as if this was the last thing he wanted to recount. But he knew he had to for me. He took a deep breath.

"Okay, so you probably already know but my brother and I grew up here in Richview," he started, garnering my full attention as he got lost in the past for the second time tonight.

"I must say that, even though we were twins, Matthew and I were never close. There was always this weird tension between us, this bitterness and resentment. I never looked into it even though, in hindsight, I should've. But I always tried to remind myself that some siblings were too different, that some would never be close and that was fine.

That's where Thomas Thornton came in. He was my best friend, more like a brother than Matthew ever was. And honestly, having him was all I needed. Our families were the wealthiest in town, so we understood each other on that level too. I really did love that guy."

The mention of Dorran's dad's name brought a jolt within me as I came to realise that Dorran and I's lives were much more interlinked than I had initially thought. Talking about Thomas seemed to make my father almost sorrowful, his words taking on this ambience as he continued.

"Thomas and I spent all our time together and even though Mathew was the same age as us, he kept to himself and never joined us. At the time, I dismissed it, thinking it was down to him having different interests, perhaps not getting along with Thomas. He was just different and it was easier to not think about how different he was, how much he wanted to stay away from us, from me.

Thomas and I stuck to our own pretty much and things stayed like that for a while until he met a girl called Isabella, instantly becoming infatuated with her. They were polar opposites but they were perfect for each other and I could tell Thomas was madly and deeply in love with her."

I didn't see where he was going with this or how it could possibly explain anything but I wasn't going to interrupt. This was his explanation, the full story.

"Isabella soon became part of our friendship group. At first, I was a bit sceptical but it was hard to keep her at arm's length and to not love her. She was funny, kind, helpful, forgiving, everything I aspired to be in a way. She was so different to the two of us but she fit in perfectly with us and we became family. I loved those two more than anyone in the world."

He paused suddenly, taking a deep breath whilst a solemn, heart-breaking sheen took over his eyes. I knew this was the part of the story where everything changed for the worse. I wanted to cover my ears and not listen to this part, so anxious to but I forced myself. I had to hear it.

"My life changed on my 18th birthday. I always think of ways to go back and change things so it wouldn't turn out like this, but there isn't ever a time machine, just guilt and bad memories that I'll hold on to forever as punishment."

I took a breath, looking at the floor, not being able to look at him when he looked so sad.

"My parents threw my brother and me a birthday party for our 18th and invited everyone important. Our parents were snobby people, very materialistic and wanted to uphold their well-known and respected status. I often heard my mother snidely remark about Isabella and how she wasn't fit for Thomas, that her 'little importance and value' would never match up to someone who had been bred so finely and who was made for such great things. I always disputed this, fed up with them for being horrible people. But they were too rich and too powerful to care about anyone's opinions but their own. Nothing could hurt them, so they chose to hurt everyone around them instead.