Page 11

THE FIRST RUIN

Mommy and Daddy have brought back two other children.

I knew they would come because they told me two school semesters ago, but that doesn’t stop the nervous fluttering in my tummy.

They’re from an orphanage, Mommy said. I’m not sure exactly what that means, but I know they’re supposed to stay with us now.

“Go say hi to your new brother and sister,” Mommy urges softly, her hand against my back where she usually puts it when I’m closer to her, out of comfort, I think.

I almost stumble over the hem of my red, long dress, but catch myself just in time.

Sand slips into my ballerina shoes as I glance around the playground.

At least my parents picked a place I love for our first meeting.

That makes me feel safe and not so scared anymore, especially as I pass the slide Daddy always takes me on.

Still, my legs are a little unsteady as I walk toward the girl and the boy standing by the swings with an older lady who has gray hair and wrinkles on her face. At least her smile is kind and careful.

The wind sends a burst of sand across my cheeks, and I squeeze my eyes shut. When I open them, I can feel their gazes on me.

My heart feels like a butterfly is fluttering inside me as I look back at Mommy and Daddy. They both give me a nod of encouragement. Taking a deep breath that makes me feel braver, I take the remaining steps up to my new siblings.

Chewing on my lips, I nervously glance at them both. “Hi, I’m Isolde! I’m your new sister.”

The girl smiles so wide her gums show, giving a small wave with her hand.

I notice her hair is the same color as my dress, and I point at the fabric to show her.

She’s practically bouncing on her toes, looking around the playground with excitement that makes me frown.

I like it here too, but I’ve never been that happy.

“Have you never been to a playground before?” I ask out of curiosity.

She tilts her head, then shakes it. That makes me frown even more.

“But…everyone has been to one at least once!”

“Not us,” she replies sadly.

“Well, where did you come from then?”

She takes a step closer, with her brother following close behind. I have to crane my neck to look up at them since they’re much taller than me.

“A bad, bad place,” she says.

“Like the evil castle in Snow White?”

She tilts her head that way again. “Sure.”

Her hair whips in the wind, lashing across the boy’s face, who has been silently staring at me all this time.

“I told you to tie it up,” he mutters, brushing it off with a bitter expression. Her smile reappears at his comment.

I don’t know why, but something about them makes my stomach tighten.

The boy is still staring at me. He lifts a hand to the back of his neck, messing up his curly brown hair. Aren’t they supposed to be twins? His gaze makes me shift on my feet, a little uncertain.

I feel Mommy and Daddy’s eyes on me from behind. That helps a little.

Then the boy speaks his first words to me since he got here. “You’re our new plaything,” he says, smiling.

I blink, not understanding. Was that a joke?

I look back at my parents, but their brows furrow, too.

“He’s kidding,” the red-haired girl says quickly, looping her arm through mine. “I’m Celine. This is Vernon. We’re ten years old!”

That makes them two years older than me.

Vernon sighs and crosses his arms, still watching me with that unreadable look that makes me squirm. I instantly want to run back to my parents and hide behind them.

Mommy and Daddy glance at the gray-haired lady, their smiles unsure and tight. I turn back to the twins, something sneaky in the air, while they look at me like I’m a toy. Their smiles are weird too, strange and obsessive smiles.

Yeah. These two mean trouble.

—————

PRESENT DAY

STANDING OUTSIDE WHAT USED to be a church, I stare at the remnants of decay and debris.

Some of the facade has been left, but the roof has caved in, leaving it abandoned for the past few years.

I’m back at the perimeters of the graveyard, masses of graves stretching as far as my eye can see.

And yet, I cannot bring myself to visit my parents’ grave.

I still feel guilty about what happened. My heart aching, splintering apart like old wood inside my ribcage, ultimately stabbing my heart.

The memories of the past push to the forefront of my mind, causing a headache to take root in my temples. It’s throbbing, as if someone is banging on it with a hammer.

The cold from the late midnight winter air washes over my face, and I bask in the sensation of freedom it offers. How it digs deeper into my skin, seeping into every crevice of my body and freezing me from head to toe.

My hair is a tangled mess in the wind, and I already dread the battle it’ll be to brush through these stubborn waves.

Staring at the church’s facade, I remember how it was just across the street where I met them for the first time fifteen years ago in the playground. And it was here, at this church, I saw them for the last time—here where the cops caught them, leading to their arrest.

Oh, the rage fueling their expressions when they realized I had called the cops after stumbling upon my parents’ murdered bodies.

I still remember their tongues nailed to the asphalt outside our house, the utter horror that made everything around me too palpable with the thoughts that refused to stop racing.

“It’s almost poetic, isn’t it? Silencing them like they silenced us,” she states, calm as ever. “Don’t you see? We killed them for you. Now, we can be together forever. There’s no one to prevent us from taking you.”

Then, they heard the sirens. And their expressions morphed into one of horror, anger, something fueled with a need for vengeance, before they left me with my parents’ bodies.

I helped the cops find them, arresting them here by the church.

That was three years ago, and I’ve lived in fear ever since. Knowing they would want their revenge.

Our relationship was never something socially accepted. Deemed taboo, even. Something our parents never approved of, but they couldn’t do much about it after we all turned eighteen years old and the twins moved out to their castle. Even when Mom and Dad tried as best as they could.

Some part, deep inside me, craved them like I crave oxygen. In desperate need of their attention and affection, after feeling so lonely for so long. They were always there, causing mischief, but they were mine .

Fuck, there’s a hidden depth inside me that still misses them, even when I’m terrified of my goddamned mind.

Moans echo in my bedroom, Celine’s body clamped close around mine, slick with delicious sweat. Vernon is giving me attention, licking me. This is wrong, but it feels so fucking right.

“Now that we’re all over nineteen…there’s nothing to stop us from having you,” she whispers in my ear, sending a shiver of something twisted inside me.

Dark and deliciously sinful, that’s what she is. What she always has been.

“You’re our plaything, forever,” he growls, suddenly thrusting his cock inside my mouth until I’m forced to swallow it.

I lap up their attention, legs clamping together to get some friction of release.

“Oh, she likes that,” Celine smirks as her tongue dances over my clit.

I moan, the sound sending vibrations to Vernon’s cock, prompting him to push deeper into my mouth, tugging at my hair.

“Such a dirty little girl. Ours forever. You know that right?” he looks down at me as I swirl my tongue over his cock. “There will be hell to pay if you ever leave us.”

I nod, understanding. I don’t want them to leave me either.

No matter what our parents think, they’re not my real siblings. Is it so bad to crave the thing I shouldn’t want? When they make me feel so safe and cared for?

“You’re our obsession,” Celine says as she flicks her tongue over my clit again, sending me reeling on the edge of the precipice. Pleasure, unlike anything else, overwhelms me. “You’re our poison and our antidote. And we? We’re your devils.”

Sucking in a sharp breath against the cold, my fingers frozen, I stare at the church, feeling the first trails of tears trailing down my cheeks.

Fuck this.

All of a sudden, a faint whisper travels through the air, and I instantly realize it’s my own goddamn mind playing tricks on me.

Little traitor…

The words are feminine, chilling, causing a violent shiver to run down my spine.

I look around the empty graveyard, not seeing anyone.

Looking down at my phone, I realize it’s almost midnight, knowing I should probably get home.

I stayed in bed all day until Casper went home, ignoring their invitation and Casper’s attempts at coaxing me to go. What the fuck was his deal?

Now, my birthday is in an hour, and it felt fitting to visit this church.

I don’t know why that sends a shiver of something both terrifying and thrilling inside me. A secret excitement that laces through my veins, sparking like a live wire, sending electric shocks throughout my body.

As I turn to head toward the parking lot, there’s a silhouette hiding behind the trees. My heart instantly starts racing a little harder. The moon casts a sliver of light toward the silhouette, revealing red highlights.

I swallow harshly. Clench my fists tightly until my nails dig crescents into my palms.

I hate this. God do I fucking hate this.

The silhouette moves, and I swear I see more of that red hair, and that chilling caress of a voice that sends goosebumps skittering over my skin.

Why do I want it to be her? Why do I ache for her? For them?

I shouldn’t. It’s wrong, twisted, fucked.

I’m fucked.

The next second, she’s gone, as if she was never there to begin with.

I don’t even think she was.

Stepping through the snow tentatively, I make my way to my car and drive home, done with the church and the odd atmosphere for now. It takes longer to get home with how much more snow has fallen, but I eventually make it.

As I enter my apartment thirty minutes later, I make sure to lock all doors and windows before heading to bed.

I ignored their invitation, but that doesn’t mean they won’t come for me.