Page 10 of TAINTED by TWINS

It was a silent drive to the Deveroux property, with me leaning my head against the window and looking at the passing trees after we got out of town.

We had to pass through an expressway and into a residential area with lots of farmland.

Now that I look closer at the fields we passed by, it's definitely grapevines.

I saw Jade's motorcycle match our speed and he was riding beside my window. Taking both his hands off the handles, he made a heart with them. I opened my mouth in shock until he "smashed" the heart with his fist against his palm. He made me laugh just a tiny bit before he sped off.

I noticed Jonah looking at me. "You're getting along with my brother."

"What do you mean, he's rude to everyone including me."

Jonah kept his eyes on the road, "You don't know the difference between him being nasty to everyone, and him being rude to people he likes?"

"Are you saying Jade likes me?"

Jonah's jaw clenched. "Let's just say he doesn't hate you. Now let's show him who has the bigger engine."

"Whoa!" Jonah sped up, passing by Jade who then gave us the middle finger. Their little competition made me laugh as I held on for dear life, with Jonah looking at me with a slight smirk.

Did they carry me here?! I held my chest, relieved that I still have my clothes and even ID lanyard. Not that the twins would ever do something while I was asleep— but it's still a valid concern!

I went out of the bedroom with my messy hair and oily face, hearing noise downstairs.

"I'LL SHOVE IT DOWN YOUR THROAT—!"

"Calm down, Jedidiah... I'm not going to drink."

"F*CKING ANSWER THEN!"

"Not until you calm down."

"I AM CALM. THIS IS THE CALMEST I'LL EVER BE AFTER 7 SHOTS!"

"You should've stopped avoiding the questions, then."

"What the hell are you guys doing?!" I stared at Jade straddling his brother with his hands around Jonah's throat, eyes bloodshot red and sweating like crazy.

Jonah angled his head to look at me with a smile despite being choked. "We're playing Truth or Drink. You should join, Jade is really truthful when he's drunk."

"Why is he choking you? Jade, get off!"

Jade pulled away from him, falling on the living room floor as he points at Jonah. "I asked him if my Teddy was really lost during the south Asian cruise when we were 10. I... I asked him if my Teddy really fell overboard—DAMN IT JONATHAN, TELL ME THE TRUTH!"

Jonah surrenders his hands while I walked to the living room, and he was about to reach for the shot glass when Jade grabbed his arm and pinned it on the table.

"No drinks... tell me..." is Jade... crying? "Tell me what happened to Teddy..."

I knelt on the floor across him. "Jade..."

"Jonah would never lie... you'd get people to lie for you, but you never lie! WHAT HAPPENED TO TEDDY?!" Jade cried for something as old as a childhood teddy bear, and I feel horrible.

Jonah sighed, releasing the shot glass. "A younger kid lost her parents and to cheer her up, I gave her your teddy. I told her it's borrowed, but when I found her parents, they were fighting over divorce papers. It'd be horrible to take it away from her, Teddy made her so happy."

Jade grabbed his head and completely broke down, so I ran around the table to sit beside him, rubbing his back.

"Jade, I'm sorry about your Teddy. Don't cry, now... maybe the girl needs your Teddy. It made her very happy, and you helped make that happen. As a child with no parents to raise me, I would've loved a Teddy as well."

Jade pulls away and looks at me with devastated eyes. With a hoarse voice he asks, "Really?"

I smiled at him, "That bear will mean everything to her."

"He's drunk, he'll never cry in front of you if he's sober..." Jonah has on a gentle smile while watching the both of us. "Would you like to play? We ask you a question and if you don't want to answer, take a shot."

Truth or drink. Maybe this'll be a way find out more about the twins, their family... their intentions. "I'm in."

Jade remained in his seat, sniffing the tears away. Looks like he finally accepted that his Teddy belongs to a little girl now. All three of us were sitting on the living room floor with a round coffee table in the middle. I am beside Jade while Jonah is across us, placing the shot in front of me.

"Your turn, then Jade's. We'll go on rotation. The previous turn will ask the question. If the person drinks, you can ask the next in turn. No repeating questions. So Lian..." he smiles at me charmingly, "What's your real name?"

"Huang Li-An," I said in the original Chinese tone. "My mom registered my name as Lian Miller, but I'm proud of my original name."

"It's beautiful," Jonah says, before putting the shot glass in front of Jade. "Your turn to ask Jade, darling."

"Uhm..." I'm not sure how to feel about a student calling me that. "Jade... if you were in a timeline where you're the only one born, would you stay in it?"

Jade has never grabbed the shot glass so fast and downed it so quickly, both Jonah and I laughed. He fell back and his neck laid on the edge of the couch. "F*ck y'all."

"That's why he's smashed," Jonah shrugged, filling up the shot glass again, putting it in front of him. He then looks at me with a tilted head. "Ask away, darling."

I searched my brain for whatever I want to find out about Jonah. "Why do you dye your hair blonde?"

"Because I have blue eyes. It makes me look like I came straight out of a storybook."

I smiled, nodding. "Yep, you do."

He puts the shot in front of me now. "What's your type?"

"Huh?" I look up with wide eyes.

"Your type. In a... person. You don't just like men, do you?"

"How would you know I like men?" I throw back. "I could just be feminine, raised by my mom."

"Straight men is not as pretty as you. Men raised by mothers can be handsome, cute, beautiful. To attract women, you can just be a blooming flower. To attract men, you'd have to be a freshly painted one."

"Painted?"

Jonah tilts his head. "You're a rose who purposely cuts off the thorns and paints yourself red to attract men. Not knowing these men will just rip you off your roots. So darling, answer the question. What's the type of man you're cutting off the thorns for?"

I stared at him with uncertainty, wondering if Jonah Deveroux had always been this... something. That smile is creeping behind my eyes and his words are stabbing my stomach which is causing it to drop in anxiety.

I stared at the shot, refusing to take it for such a shallow question.

"I'd like someone mature, someone who knows what he wants, and hopefully what he wants is me. And if you're right about me, maybe I'd like someone who can handle having bloody hands if my thorns do grow out. Someone who will like me when the paint washes out."

I put the shot glass in front of Jade, who was just staring at the table, definitely drunk. I changed my tone into a cheerful one, "It's your turn, Jade! Wake up! Don't worry, I'll give you a break from the weird questions so you won't have to drink. What's your favorite food—"

"Chicken Adobo—Jonah." Jade slammed the shot glass in front of his brother. "When will you stop sucking mom's d*ck, you never agree with me when I call her out for being a c*nt. The cord has been cut, you can stop s*cking up to her now."

"She's our mother, Jade," Jonah sternly says, "I don't agree with the horrible things she does, but what I'm not gonna do is disrespect and call her names. We can call her out without calling her the many names you call her."

"Cadaver in designer..."

Jonah snaps his fingers, "That. Stop that." He places the shot towards me. "Lian. Is it true you and Uncle Chris are together?"

Jade snorts, "Dumb question, you wasted a turn. Of course they're together. That's why he's here, they've had a fight. Mental breakdown my *ss, Lian's not gonna break down over our dumb*ss research papers. Christiano Ronaldo made him cry."

I turned red from being exposed, but Jade is too drunk to notice. I feel like Jonah already knows, they just want to hear it from me. Jade knew from the start. Still, I took a shot, staying silent. So even if we're exposed, it's not gonna be because I exposed our relationship.

Jonah accepted the shot and it was Jade's turn. "Did you get rid of three of my perfumes?"

"Yeah, they stink." Jade puts the shot in front of Jonah. "Why the f*ck would you want to smell like laundry detergent?"

"It's a clean smell, Jade." Jonah rolls his eyes as he places the shot towards me. "So how long have you been together, Lian?"

Again, I took the shot. Jonah had to ask Jade again. "How many's your body count, Jade?"

"Pass—" Jade drank his, as Jonah pours another one. "How many are yours, Jordan Noel?"

"Cathy—she was my only girlfriend."

"That sounds like a lie," Jade accused, but I choked out a laugh.

"Didn't you say Jonah doesn't lie?" I said with a burning throat from the alcohol.

"What if I lied too?" Jade nudged me with his limp hands, and I can't help but laugh. "It's your turn, sweetheart... if I were Jonah, I'd ask what color yours is."

"What?"

Jonah cleared his throat, "He's drunk, forgive him. Your turn, Lian. Why did you return your mother's necklace?"

Nope. Her personal problems are not mine to tell. I took the shot, the alcohol going straight up my forehead as I gave up my privilege to ask Jade a question.

Jade himself is putting one arm around my shoulder slurring out, "Jonah definitely knows how to get us to drink. See, he's super smart. You should stay the f*ck away from smart*sses."

I was still coughing from the shot, but nod my head. "It's your turn, Jade."

"UghhHHHHH!"

"Since when have you hated mother, Jade?" Jonah asked.

"Because, Jonathan James Giovanni, she refused to let us see dad since we were eleven-teen. I don't give a f*ck if they broke up; we're not the ones dating our dad, we should be allowed to see him. Not to mention she called my Teddy stupid multiple times a day, I was ready to believe she threw Teddy overboard until you told me about the little girl!"

I pat him on the back while cry-laughing because he really just said eleven-teen. "Slow down, Jade... hahahaha...!"

It was Jonah's turn. Jade asked him, "If we were allowed to live with dad, would you live with him?"

"Knowing you'll probably choose father, I'm gonna have to stay with mother," Jonah answers.

Jade groans, "F*ck right off, Jonah."

"She needs someone, Jade. I understand why you and father hate her, and I don't like her too. But at the end of the day, she's still our mother. You'll understand when you're older."

"F*CK OFF, JONAH."

I can't help but stay laughing whenever Jade opens his mouth. Next thing I knew, the shot was in front of me. I sighed, "I can't even imagine you two separating. You're like the same coin. Complete opposites, but somehow the same."

Jade looks at me, offended. "How the f*ck dare you say we're the same—I do not smell like laundry detergent."

I had to wheeze again, leaning against Jade's knee as I wheeze at his inability to understand because of how drunk he is.

Meanwhile, his sober brother just asked me, "Did Uncle Wayne take your first time, or was there another man?"

Nope. Stop asking about him, Jonah. I took the shot.

The questions passed by in a blur, and I don't even remember how much I took—I just knew I didn't want to answer anything Jonah had asked.

"Jonah... what's it like..." Jade asked, with the shot glass in front of his brother. He was staring at him with one brain cell hanging onto an intoxicated barrel of a brain. I can't even hear much about the questions they're asking each other... until I heard my name. "What's it like thirsting over Lian while having no chance with him?"

I heard my name. I don't understand the question, is he asking if Jonah is thirsty? Whatever it is, I remained smiling in a drunk daze while waiting for my turn.

"It's not a thirst," Jonah said. Oh, so he's not thirsty. Got it. "It's a hunger. I'm starving, Lian. You're just sitting there, face and neck red like you just came from my bedroom—and you did. It's a testament to how much in control I am—you were asleep then, you're drunk now. It's extremely easy for me to satiate my hunger, but I'm not that type of guy."

I stared at him, before tilting my head. "Do you... want me to cook for you?"

Suddenly, Jade laughed at my face. And because he laughed, I laughed. He wheezed, "All I could think about was you cooking meth...!"

"Why would I cook in math, that's stupid!" We leaned into each other as we started wheezing for no reason other than both of us looking stupid.

I wiped off my tears, staring at the shot glass in front of me. The only sober motherf*cker in the room looked at me dead in the eyes with his dead eyes.

"What do you really think of the both of us, Lian?"

I threw my head back, sighing off my laughter as my body physically refused to pick up the shot glass.

"Jade is—!" I lifted my arm—actually I don't know where my arm went, but I tried to point at Jade only to smack him in the face with my hand. I burst out in laughter as I held his face. "Oops, hahaha sorry, sweetheart, I'm very sorry... but at first I thought Jade was tough and intimidating... motherf*cker's out here crying over a teddy bear! Jade's actually so soft, so cute..."

"I'll f*cking kill you, Lian!" Jade yells while covering his red face.

"You wouldn't, Jade... but YOU!" I slammed both my hands on the table and pointed—actually, poked—Jonah on the face. I forced open my eyes like my classmates used to yell at me for, looking at Jonah's charming face. "You... you're the type that will actually kill me. You... Jonah... you're gonna be the death of me."

"Why would I kill you, darling?" He casually asked, tilting his head.

I slammed my fist on the table in frustration.

"Jonah Deveroux, the only reason I rejected you is because I was in a relationship—and I know it's wrong, I know it's wrong to look at you through a camera and pretend I don't have a crush—but I had a man, okay! I have someone who liked me even when I looked ugly and I couldn't risk it for you who's only using me to explore your confused sexuality!"

"Sweetheart... Lian..." Jade grabbed my arm—waist, I don't know but he grabbed something and pulled me down. "You're too loud, I have a headache."

I just stared at Jonah. "You were killing me, Jonah. B-but that was in the past. I've moved on, I'm happy with my... my..."

"You're happy with him?" Jonah spoke loud and clear. "Are you?"

That made me cry. I was flailing in frustration, but Jade held me down. Quite literally, he has his arms around my waist and securing my own arms in his hug. I think he's asleep against my shoulder.

"Darling, I think you're overwhelmed..."

"Do you really want to know what I think of you, Jonah?" I wiped my snot with my arm, "I'm afraid of you. I'm afraid my feelings will come back and you'll make me lose everything. My boyfriend, my job, my d*mn life—that's how you'll kill me. By playing a game like this, you'll kill me. So please... leave me alone. Stop this, I beg of you..."

Prince Charming with blonde hair and blue eyes smiles warmly as he leans toward me. Those eyes are finally not empty—they're filled with intrigue, amusement, or am I delusional when I say this? They look infatuated.

"Consider me dancing with your corpse, darling. Because I'm not gonna stop until you're mine."