Seventeen year old Safaya Bennett must navigate young adulthood under the stresses of her sins, her crumbling relationship with her twin sister, Rue, and a crippling mental disorder that makes her very dependent on her relationship with Nate Jacobs...
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Family isn't determined by how much blood you share with someone, it's determined by the love and loyalty that you share.
Safaya is my sister, my everything, and I was going to war for her.
Nate looked down at the railing, playing with it with his index finger. "You know, sometimes, when you do illegal shit, bad things happen to you."
"You've never done anything illegal, Nate?" I asked, voice calm for the moment.
Nate still hadn't looked me in the eye. "You talking about your friend, Jules?"
"No, actually, I'm talking about my sister and how you thought it was okay to smash her into a mirror." I countered, making his eyes snap in my direction. "Or maybe, I'm talking about your dad." I smirked, knowing I had hit a nerve.
Nate didn't react, he just turned his head to look back out again at the parking lot. A ghost of a smile flashed across his face and then it was gone. "I just want to make sure you've given it some forethought. I know over the years you've lost some brain cells. I wouldn't want you to say something you might regret." He stared into my soul, trying to find a way to break me but it wasn't going to work. I was more strong-willed than Safaya and he made the mistake of thinking we were the same.
"What are you gonna do? You gonna ruin my life?" I chuckled. "I fuckin promise you I can do that a lot better than you can." I growled. He wasn't going to threaten me. I knew what to expect and I wasn't scared of some punk ass little boy like Nathaniel Jacobs.
He turned his body to face me and I tensed. "What do you want, Rue?" He turned his back to lean against the railing.
"I want you to leave Fez alone. I want you to leave Jules alone. And more importantly, I want you to leave Safaya the fuck alone. If you ever fuck with them again, I'll destroy your life." I said monotone. Standing directly in front of him to assure I wasn't scared. "I'll destroy your Dad's life. I'll fucking burn your whole shit to the ground. Cause I personally have no problem walking into any police station and telling them that Nate Jacobs's daddy likes to fuck little kids."
The boy bit his lip. His eyes trailing my body up and down, I felt fucking sick. "You look very pretty tonight." Nate leaned his face in closer to mine. "Are you sure that Safaya told you everything? You know what I like about her? She has this passion, these goals, for what she wants to accomplish in life. And I seriously think that she's going to achieve them. She'll need help to stay clean, but she'll do it. Did she tell you she likes photography?"
"That doesn't matter--"
"Didn't think so." He interrupted. I wanted to smack that little fucking smirk off of his face. "All of these people inside of this dance are going to go on and live these lives that aren't even worth mentioning. Not my Saf. Not even Jules. What about you?" He said softly.
I kept my eyes trained on him. "Honestly, I don't really give a fuck." I snarled.
"Yeah, I gathered that." He took a deep breath. "That's probably why you're spending all this time trying to rebuild a relationship with somebody who's going to leave you and won't even remember who the fuck you are in ten years. She chose me over you, so, what makes you think she wouldn't do it again?" He placed his hands into his pockets. "When all of this high school bullshit is over, your sister and I are going to leave this place. Maybe go to New York. Start to build our lives together, because unlike you, my Safaya loves me no matter what the fuck I do to her."
I blinked in irritation. "She's not yours. Safaya and I are all we've known our entire lives and our bond is bigger than any manipulation you've used against her for years."
"Did you tell yourself that when you cut her?" Nate stepped dangerously close. "Yeah, she showed me the scar as soon as she got it. Who do you think bandaged her up and laid in bed with her, wiping her tears, as she cried herself to sleep? When you think about it, Rue, you and I aren't that different." He gave me a half smile, knowing that he was starting to push my buttons.
I leaned in closer to his face. "I'm nothing like you." I spat.
"Really?" He raised a brow. "Let's see, we have a tendency to lose our temper. On accident, on purpose, doesn't really fuckin' matter. We know Saf has a wicked mouth on her so that only makes the situation worse, right? Right. Things get heated and we don't even really know what's going on until it's too late. You slice her hand open and I slam her into a mirror. What makes us different, Rue is the fact that she and I will have a wonderful life together; and she won't even bother to come to your funeral the next time you overdose and choke on your vomit."
I took a deep breath. There was part of me that hated it, but, I knew there was somewhat truth to what Nate was saying and it disgusted me. Safaya was a pure soul, so tried her best to be a good person, and Nate and I's influences always found a way to drag her down. I never imagined the thought of Saf leaving me again. I guess I was too wrapped up in having her back that it never occurred to me we would separate. I wasn't going to college any time soon, but, Safaya was bright and kind and I knew she would go far in life. I just didn't think it would be without me.
"I really meant what I said. You, uh...you look really beautiful." Nate eyed me once more. Giving me a once over before he left and disappeared into the chilly night air.
He had just dogged me and my whole life and I had nothing to say. Nate was right and as much as I tried to put the feeling out of my chest, I knew that I was a burden. I was Safaya's burden that would ruin her the longer that I was around her.
