#bryoda

- - - - past; 7 years old. - - - - “And this will be your room,” the woman said, giving David a kind smile as he brushed past her and into his new bedroom. Even though he didn’t show it, he was excited that he finally had his own room for the first time since… well, ever. “Well… goodnight, David. I’ll see you in the morning.” He glanced back around, watching as the woman, who had introduced herself as Miranda, walked away. Miranda and her husband both seemed nice, but David still couldn’t help but to miss his mom.. his real mom. It had been two years since the last time he saw her, but there hadn’t been a day that went by where he didn’t want to go and find her, but he didn’t know where she was. She’d find him though, wouldn’t she? Sleep wasn’t something that came easily to the boy that night. It never did in a new place.  Instead, the seven year old stared up at the ceiling, his mind attempting to come up with all the ways this house and these people sucked. It was something that he and Bryce had done a lot after getting taken from their mom, they’d find the things they hated about wherever they were. In a way, it gave him comfort; he was used to it. But, this time, it failed. He couldn’t think of anything bad about this place. His own room, the biggest house he had ever been in, good cooking, a pool, a dog that belonged to the family named Morley. Even the young couple had been generous to them all day. As much as he loved that, a small part of him hated it. He hated that someone could be generous and loving enough to replace his real mom… the mom who had stopped caring about him and Bryce along the way, no matter how much David tried to fight that fact. Getting out of bed, David quietly left his room, tiptoeing down the hallway where Bryce’s room was. He knocked on the door, but without waiting for an answer, he entered the room. He didn’t need to ask if she was sleeping to know she wasn’t. David wasn’t sure it was the twin telepathy thing they had or not, but he knew it was never wrong. “I can’t think of a single thing I hate…” David whispered, knowing she’d know what he was talking about. - - - - past; 16 years old. - - - - For months, David Adkins had longed to be back home. The home that had never been a home to him, where he was constantly arguing with his dad and being reminded that he was a disappointment and a f*** up. It hadn’t always been that way. When Bryce and him had first been adopted by the Adkins, they had been loving and warming, encouraging, understanding, patient. That was the home that David had longed for the last eight months. But things hadn’t been that way in years, and David was stupid to think that maybe things would go back that way when he finally came home. Still, though, seeing his sister and his friends were the only thing that kept David going whenever he wanted to give up. Now that he was home once again, he wondered why he wanted to come back. His foster dad had been more of a d*ck to him than usual, greeting him with a “Well, I hope you learned your lesson and do what I say from now on.” His mom, on the other hand, showed concern but quickly dismissed it whenever her husband walked into the room. Bryce, though, acted cold toward him. When he first came home, she barely even looked at him, and whenever he tried to talk to her, she pretended like she was in her own little world. Maybe she was, but David wouldn’t know. He wasn’t part of that world. Not that he could blame him, because if the roles were reversed and Bryce had spent the last seven months denying his visitations, he probably would just as hurt and cold as she is now. But, she didn’t know how hard it was to look at her. To know that, despite their parents being assholes, she had it good. Way better than what he had, night after night. He wouldn’t tell her though. No. He’d just have to learn to accept her newfound attitude toward him. His friends? Well… he didn’t have any anymore. Rhys had almost two years ago, and the crowd he found himself hanging out with afterwards all ended up in jail after the incident that had happened. David was alone, completely and utterly alone. Their parents left not too long ago for some meeting that David didn’t care much to ask about, leaving him and his twin sister alone. He hated that they weren’t on speaking terms right now. Silence wasn’t something he liked very much, especially when it came from his other half. Forcing himself to shut his laptop closed, he pushed himself away from his computer desk and made his way to the same room that she had slept in for the nine years since they got adopted by the Adkins. He knocked on the door, and it wasn’t surprising that he was met with a deadly silence. The teen knocked a couple more times, and he was just about to give up when he decided that he wasn’t going to. He was going to get her to talk to him, about anything. He didn’t even care if the topic was the weather or about math homework. He walked right into her room, and for the first time since he came back home, he saw that there was actually something different about her. She looked almost the same as she did the last time he saw her before being sent away, but there was something off about her, he just couldn’t place his finger on it. “Bryoda… what’s going on with you? You’re different,” he stated matter-of-factly, though he knew she’d reply with something along the lines of “yeah, so didn’t you.” Because he had changed. He wasn’t the same David he had been eight months ago, and as much as he tried to act like he didn’t need anyone in his life, the truth was, he needed Bryce. He just needed to talk to her, to know that she’s okay and she needed to know that he was okay, even if he wasn’t actually okay. - - - - present; 25 years old. - - - - It was a big day for the twenty-five year old, who had just won his very first case since being employed at Miller & Harrison Law Firm. David beamed as he walked through the law firm, people congratulating him on the win. Being a lawyer wasn’t something that he had planned on doing when he was younger. Sure, he had heard that he would make a fine lawyer some day, with his stubborn attitude, argumentative side, and his ability to never give up, but it hadn’t been until he was seventeen that he realized that’s what he needed to be. Almost like it was what he was supposed to do in life. He never knew it would feel this great though to win a case. He wanted to celebrate it. While he had wanted to spend the night with the three people who meant the most to him in the world, Bryce, Rhys, and Aurora, two of those options were busy that night. Rhys was on a date with his girlfriend, and David knew he wouldn’t home until the morning, and the girl he was sort of seeing was at home with her son. Which left David and Bryce alone, not that he minded. He actually looked forward to spending time alone with his sister, since it had been a while since they did that. Even Tuesdays, they seemed to be busy during the early hours of the day, and they were only left a few hours at night to catch up on their television shows. A little over thirty minutes later, David arrived at his sister’s place. Carrying in a large pizza and other side ideas he had ordered from their favorite pizza place, he walked right on in without even knocking. “Bryoda!” He announced, setting the pizza up in the kitchen. “Guess who won the case? Come celebrate with me, I bought pizza, cheese bread, and chicken wings.” He was in the middle of filling his plate up, when he saw the quick flash of disgust cross over her face, causing him to pause. Just as quickly it was there, it was gone. “What? Did you suddenly get allergic to pizza or something?” He half joked, a chuckle falling from his lips, though he had a feeling this was no joking matter.

- - - - Eleven Years Ago: Los Angeles, California - - - - Acting wasn’t something that was new for the fourteen year, but no matter how many times he had done this, he couldn’t stop the nerves from coming to him. It was always the same - auditions, call-backs, contracts, preparing so much so he wouldn’t mess up for shooting, and hanging with the castmates. That was what the night ahead of him was all about, meeting the full cast and crew of the set. Chase hadn’t had a chance to talk to any of his co-stars yet, some of them he had never even heard of. Though, most of them only had experience in commercials or were newbies in the business. In fact, the only other person who as much experience as he did was Remington Miller, who he heard had gotten the role of his characters twin sister. He had never met the other child star actress, but he had been a fan of a few movies he had seen her in, and respected her work. Maybe that was why he was feeling uneasy more than he usually would. The car stopped, and as he glanced out the window, he realized that they already arrived at the gathering that their producer had organized so all the kids could meet and get settled with each other. “What if they hate me?” Chase asked, his nerves once again getting the best of him. Truth be told, having been in the spotlight since he was just six years old, Chase never had a normal childhood or even had many friends. He had a couple that he knew before he was famous, and he kept in touch and occasionally hung out with his former co-stars, but he had never actually had someone he could work with who he would consider his best friend. This show, a show about high school, would be the closest thing he’d ever get to a high school experience, so he only hoped that he’d actually be close with the other kids as much off screen as they would be on screen. “Chase Donovan Ryder, we don’t talk down about ourselves like that. You’re the star of the show, make them like you,” his mother told him, causing him to nod his head. As witchy as his mom seemed sometimes, she had been nothing but supportive of her son, and needed him to believe in himself as much as she did. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself out of the car, before that sudden burst of courage he had went away. Just as he was expecting, it passed by, replaced with nervousness once again as he walked inside the room that was decorated with balloons, music, food, and even drinks for the grownups. “I have to go talk to someone, but go meet everyone,” Mrs. Ryder said, before disappearing through the crowd of people. Chase looked around until he spotted the person he was most eager, yet nervous to meet. Making his way over to the girl who seemed to be the same age as him, looking just as bored as he figured he’d be by the end of the night, he sat down on the seat next to her. “Remi Miller, right? Guess we’re going to siblings for the next however long.” - - - - Liberty High: Freshman Year - - - - “Avery Blake? No way.” The name of his sister caught Tony’s attention, coming to a stop in the middle of the hall. The girl who had been talking taking no notice as the whispered conversation continued on. “Who would’ve thought that little miss never-going-past-second-base was such a slut?” The nearly fifteen year old looked up at the girls just as one of them giggled, his eyes landing on Hailey, his cooking partner in the required Home Ec class he had. His eyebrows came together in confusion, but before he could listen to anymore of the gossip, he heard a “sh!” from the girl she had been talking to, finally realizing that he had been listening. They hurried off to get to next period, leaving Tony alone with the questions that were starting to go through his mind. What did Avery do? Surely they were talking about another Avery Blake…. right? He dismissed the latter, knowing that there wasn’t another Avery Blake in the world, let alone this school, but he wanted to believe that there was no possible way that something like this could be said about his twin sister. Almost as if someone was invading his personal thoughts, his crappy flip phone beeped, letting him know he had a new text message. He pulled his phone, looking around to make sure that no teachers were around, before hitting the ‘read’ button. Guess who I hooked up with last night? His face scrunched up in disgust when he saw the image attached - a photo of his sister in a car, kissing a dirty blonde hair male that he quickly recognized as Alexander Chandler, his older teammate. “What the f-” Tony stopped himself, forcing himself to look away from the picture. Why hadn’t he even known about that? They might’ve been twins, but they were so much more than that; he thought that they shared everything, but he was wrong. He felt betrayed that his sister never told him, but he also felt anger that this was going around the school. It hadn’t been the first time this year that something like this had gone around the school this year; just a few weeks ago, there had been rumors that Avery had made out with two different guys in the range of a week, but he never expected this from her. Maybe he didn’t know her as well as he thought he did. The rest of the day continued on as normally as possible, aside from the immediate whispers that stopped whenever Tony walked by them. He kept his run-ins with his sister at a minimum, and avoided Chandler as much as possible, which proved to be impossible at lunch time when he sat at Tony’s table. Still, he barely said anything to the junior, conflicted on if he should mention it or not. By the end of the day, he decided not to say anything and to forget about it entirely. At home though, he wouldn’t be able to forget about it. He knocked on his sister’s door, and before she could even answer him, he nudged the door open and popped his head inside the room. “Mom wanted me to let you know that dinner’s almost ready.” He lingered in the doorway a little longer, before it finally came out of his mouth. “So… I got this really interesting text message this morning at school. About you.” - - - - Liberty High: Senior Year - - - - The school year had only just started, but already, Tony could tell that the year ahead of him and his friends would be quite an interesting one. Sure, some of the people he knew were bittersweet about being a senior, seeing as it was a reminder that things would never be the same again; friendships and relationships were bound to end when they left the town for college and work. Tony on the other hand was pumped to finally be a senior and rule the school. Captain of the baseball team, in a secret relationship with Mara Cassidy, his sister’s best friend, and, with his aunt Jenna in a relationship with her new boyfriend and was happy… well, the twins could get away with being out all night without her being all up in their business. It was Saturday night, and while Tony would usually go out with Isaac and Austin, he had decided to stay home instead. Of course, Aunt Jenna had teased him about this, and even Avery had wondered what was up with him, he refused to tell them the reason he wasn’t going out. Mara was coming over to spend the night with Avery, their first sleepover since his sister had come back from her summer vacation in London with their parents. Tony had stayed behind for reasons, one of which included him not being on speaking terms with them, but during that summer, he had spent a lot of time with Mara, and before he knew it, he had fallen in love with her. Not that he had ever said these words aloud to her or to anyone, but they had agreed it would only be a summer fling, but when school started back up and Avery came back home, he couldn’t seem to end it. So they decided to keep it on the downlow, knowing that she wouldn’t take the news well. He spent the majority on the night in his room, actually working on homework, while texting Mara in the next room, and besides when Jenna had ordered pizza for them all, he had barely seen her. That was, until almost two in the morning, when he heard his door open up. He had been laying in bed, half asleep, when she crawled into bed with him, waking him up. She wasn’t supposed to fall asleep with him, after getting what they both had wanted all evening and cuddling for a bit, she was supposed to leave and go back into Avery’s room, but they both had fallen asleep. The next morning, when he spotted Mara next to him, he jumped, nearly falling out of the bed. “Wake up. Avery’s going to wonder where you are,” Tony said, nudging his girlfriend, but she only rolled over, consumed by sleep still. Not even a minute later, he heard a knock on the door, and before he could tell her to go away, Avery poked her head inside. “Hey, you haven’t seen Mara yet have you-” She finished her question, and that was when she saw the figure sleeping in her brother’s bed. “Unbelievable,” she mumbled, her voice laced with annoyance and betrayal. “Av, it’s not what you think,” he replied, ignoring how his sister scoffed at him. - - - - Present Day: Phoenix, Arizona - - - - Things had changed a lot for Chase Donovan since he had finished filming his last scene for Liberty High. By the end of the show, his career had been at its all time high, starring in several movies the following year. But just like that, the star was on a downward spiral, after he had called off his engagement with Kathy. The two were one of Hollywood’s favorite couples, and fans all across were world were shocked when they learned the wedding wasn’t going to happen anymore. Of course, people had picked sides - there were always sides - but no one had known the truth about why they split or why Chase had suddenly moved to Phoenix, Arizona. Still, three years after the drama that unfurled, fans still were arguing who deserves better. He was heartbroken, and had been for years, but he eventually learned to move on, and in all honesty, he wished they would too. Chase actually enjoyed his life in Phoenix, something he thought he’d never be able to admit. But there was something about this place that had helped him move on, that helped him become a better person, that helped him have his name known as something other than “Chase Donovan, the actor.” He had real friends for the first time in his career. Sure, he had always been close to his co stars, especially the cast of Liberty High but he knew how Hollywood, how fake everything including the people tended to be, so he was always cautious about who he actually trusted. In fact, sure, he was friendly with the entire cast and spent many days and nights with them hanging out and answering fan mail together, but the other person from the cast who he had actually trusted was Remington Miller. Instantly, the two clicked, almost as if they were actual twins and not just on the television. Remi had moved to Phoenix not long after Chase had, which surprised him, but he was happy nonetheless to have one of the few people he trusted since he became famous in the first place there, in his new life. During their years filming the show, they would spend every Tuesday nights together, declaring it Twin Tuesdays. After the show ended, they still fit in their nights together every week, no matter how busy their schedules were. If, for whatever reason, they couldn’t, they’d Skype and spend the night over video chatting being random as f***. Ever since the two moved to Phoenix, twin nights had been a lot easier to have. It was Tuesday, and Chase was on his way to Remi’s house. It didn’t take long to get there from the animal shelter, Paws and Pooches, only taking an extra ten minutes while he stopped to pick up the pizza he had ordered an hour ago. When he got to his friends house, he knocked on the door impatiently. “Open the door, f***face. I brought the pizza with me and I’ll eat it all on you, so,” he half joked, chuckling softly. His stomach growled just then, reminding him that it wasn’t actually a joke; he really would eat all of the pizza on her.

Past; 7 Years Old. "Maybe we're the losers Danakin..." David felt a tinge of annoyance at her words and failed to hide the eye roll he provided, though luckily for him, she hadn't seen it. What seven year old was supposed to see themselves as a loser? It nearly broke his heart that Bryce would feel like that, that their own mother would let her feel like that. A woman who had always been so kind, so thoughtful, so nurturing. He hated her. He was only supposed to lose one person, but with his mom's departure, he'd lost his dad, who'd spend his days behind his bedroom door, barely paying any attention to the twins. That hadn't hurt as much as losing Bryce had hurt though. The one person in his entire life who felt exactly what he did, who thought the same things he did, had grown distant from him. The seven year old looked down at their hands, applying slight pressure, before he looked back up at Bryce, his eyes meeting hers. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when he noticed the tears streaking down her face. David could've sworn he felt his heart shatter into a million pieces in that moment. Next thing he knew, Bryce had curled beside him, burying her face against his chest. Immediately his hand left hers, tangling in her hair instead, his fingers stroking soothingly through her hair. He tried to think of something, anything, to say, but several times was unsuccessful. Bryce was here, breaking down - a real break down - in front of him for the first time ever, and David had no words. "Shoot, maybe mom wasn't good enough for us," he finally said after a little while a her sobs quieted down. He knew that she wouldn't believe his words, but he didn't care. His main goal was to get to her to laugh or smile, then he'd work on getting her to believe that everything would be okay. When she pulled away, he gave her a small smile, but hearing the Narnia comment, his smile grew bigger. "Let's go to Narnia then..." he said, then himself back up so he was standing. David offered her his hand, helping her up, before he pulled her over to her closet. The closet wasn't big, but they were both skinny and small that they had enough room to sit Indian style as their imagination took them to places. David took a deep breath as he sat across from Bryce, his eyes closing shut, and soon, the noises - the television from his dad's bedroom, the cars driving by their house, kids yelling somewhere a few houses down as they all played what he assumed was tag - faded. When he opened his eyes, he was no longer in the closet he had been in moments before but standing somewhere on a beach. He knew logically that it was impossible, that logically the two were in the closet still, but their imaginations had always been more vivid and creative than other kids their age. Past; 15 Years Old. David's attempt to not roll his eyes was as unsuccessful as always. Of course their mother was trying hard to be the mother they needed now. Now, when Bryce had no other relatives to stay at and David had murder on his hands. He knew it was self defense and that he couldn't be faulted for it, but... he had killed his own father, someone who had once been his  best friend before the dark days. Someone who would take him to the New York Mets, their favorite baseball team, game. Someone who would spend David's sick days watching a Star Wars marathon with him and then take him out for lunch to go eat burgers, even though their mom would've disapproved of it. For years, he had held on to the hope that his father would wake up one day and be his father again, the kind-hearted man who worked endlessly to provide for his children and wife, but never let work get in the way of his family. But now? That man was never coming back because he had beat him to death. It was a bit ironic if you asked David. His dad had been abusive for years, beating his son until he had bruises covering up his whole body and black and blue eyes. Who knew that that would be the same way he would die? That his son would do the very same thing he hated? Tears threatened to spill from his eyes, exposing how he was actually handling being here, but he wouldn't let Bryce know that. He forced himself to smile - something he's been so good at doing for years that it seemed almost natural to him - at her again, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I bet I have a better life here than you do with mommy dearest," he commented, though he knew it wasn't true. In a way, he was glad that Bryce was living with Kimberly. Bryce had the same relationship with their mom that David had with their dad. Unlike David and his dad, though, there was still a chance that Bryce and their mom could get that relationship again, even if David refused to have one with his mom. His eyebrows shot up when his sister mentioned their step-dad. He shouldn't have been surprised in the slightest - he had suspected for years that the reason she left her family was becacuse of a guy - but still, he couldn't believe that she had actually met another man who wasn't their dad. David and Bryce weren't so different in many ways, but one of their differences were their believes. David was a believer of true love, he believed everyone had one person that they were meant to be with, that was the love of their life. He'd always thought that his mom and dad were soulmates - that's why his dad never got remarried right? Because he'd already found, and lost, his true love -and that they'd eventually return to each other and they'd be the family that they once were. Now though, hearing Bryce, he knew that that was never going to happen, even if his dad was still alive. "So Kimberly met someone? Better than dad?" He wondered aloud, though he wasn't sure if he wanted to hear the answer to that. He must've been if their mom had found a better life with this Chris guy, as Bryce had referred to him as. "If he, or the whore, cause you any trouble, you'd tell me, right?" He knew he should probably stop calling his mother that, since Bryce was now living under her rood, but it had been a habit of the fifteen year old. Ever since he had been old enough to know the meaning of the word, he called his mom it. Even when he had gotten his own cell phone, he put his mom's contact number in it under "the whore", so the few times she did call, he knew not to pick it up. Not that she ever tried to call much, just on birthdays and holidays, but each time, he'd ignore her call. "Because, you know, I'd be out of here in two seconds and kill them," he joked, but not even he laughed at it. Something so natural as saying "oh if someone hurts you, I'll kill them for you" made David's blood turn cold as he remembered that he actually did kill someone for her. "That was a really bad joke, sorry." Present Day; 24 Years Old. So much had changed in his life, and each time he thought it was going to get better, it only seemed to get worse for him. For seventeen years, he had lived with nothing but pain and hurt, and now, when he was finally starting to move forward, to leave the past behind, his ex who he had once believed was dead, was back. He had a great thing going on with Valerie, the girl who lived next door, he and his sister's relationship was slowly going back to how it had been before their lives went to complete sh*t, and he had reconnected with his childhood friend, Tanner. But it felt like he was once again back in the institution that had once been his home. He wanted to cry, he'd wanted to cry every since he came home, but he refused to. He had kept this secret from Bryce, and for good reason, because it destroyed him, it was the reason he started to act like his dad. They both lost someone that they truly loved, causing a downward spiral. Hearing her ask for the real story, David closed his eyes to keep the tears from falling. He couldn't help sniffling as his mind took him back to the rooftop where he met Adelaide all those years ago, almost as if it were that same night. "I snuck up to the roof one night, and I saw her, standing on the ledge. She wanted to jump, but for some reason, she didn't. Almost every night for nearly a year, we'd sneak to the roof and talk and other things..." he paused, taking a deep breath, before continuing on. "One night, they gave me these sleeping pills because I hadn't been sleeping, and I didn't meet her. The next night, she never showed up. She didn't show up for a week, and then... and then I got told that she jumped, and I.. I.. I." His voice broke as he began to sob, remembering how he had felt in the moment he had gotten the news of her death. "It broke me. Completely." The sad part was that the story was far from over.

Past: Seven years old. Bryce was glad David had come in her room this time. She couldn’t ever bring herself to say it, when his tiny fist would hit the door, that she wanted him to come in. That she needed him. She couldn’t admit it. The last person she had truly needed was her mother, and look what happened with that. The pain of the heartbreak was almost too much to bear. Her tiny fragile heart was shattered into a million pieces and right now she didn’t really know if it was ever going to repair itself. The feel of his tiny hand wrapping around her even smaller one made the first smile since their mother had left appear on her lips. It didn’t reach her eyes, but it was there. David was and probably would always be the only person that could ever break down the walls Bryce built to protect herself. ”Maybe we’re the losers Danakin…” she trailed off, biting her bottom lip as she slid into a sitting position next to him. ”We obviously weren’t good enough for her, I tried Danakin...I really did try to be perfect.” she whispered more to herself than to him as the tears streamed down her tiny face once again. She curled her body against his side, resting her head on his chest as she let it all come out. She hadn’t broken down in front of him yet. She hadn’t let him see how weak she really was, how broken and betrayed she felt. But she knew she needed her brother more than anything right now. In a way she knew he was feeling exactly what she felt, but she still couldn’t help but feel like it was different for her, like she was alone. She looked up at him, her big brown eyes holding barely able to hold all the tears that waited to fall. ”I just really want to go to Narnia right now…” she told him, her bottom lip trembling as it stuck out a bit past her top lip. All she wanted to do was escape, to not be surrounded by her new reality. Everything in her screamed at her to run, to go find her mother, but she couldn’t do that. She couldn’t move, she could barely speak, she was frozen in the picture perfect family portrait that had now been shattered to pieces. Past: 15 years old. The air around them thickened as he said her childhood nickname. It didn’t sound the same. It didn’t make her smile instantly or think fondly of the memories they had together...it did nothing. The same nickname that had made her smile for so many years, that had been the shining light at the end of the dark tunnel of their life, just felt so cold and fake. It wasn’t the same. Nothing was the same anymore. She walked further into the room, her converse squeaking harshly against the cold floor. Everything felt so cold and far from okay. Everything. Even her connection with David. They hadn’t been the same for a while but now, everything felt so distant between them. She used to be able to reach a hand out and just know he was there, right beside her. But now? Now, she couldn’t even see him from a distance. Everything in her life up to this point was broken. A mess that she had kept hidden for so long. No one realized the effect their mother leaving when they were seven had had on their lives. The struggle to keep up the picture perfect image that everyone saw them as had weighed on them, especially Bryce. She had always tried to be perfect, to do better, to show her mom that leaving them was a decision she would regret. But if she was being honest with herself, their mom had a way better life than the twins even had a chance of having after her betrayal. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly as he referenced their mother as the wicked witch of the west. She always had felt like David held more resentment towards their mother than she did. While Bryce tried to be perfect and keep up a front, it always seemed like David wore his pain on his sleeve. As much as she wanted to have something to tell him, to take his mind off of his own pain, to know that he wasn’t alone, she couldn’t. Because the truth was, living with mom was so much better than living with their father had been. She didn’t want it to be. For the most part she hated her mother. Everything wrong in their lives began and ended with her. But the lonely part, the part that had no one left, wanted her to move on. To forgive her mother and accept the love she had been waiting years for. She hated herself for being a bitch to Chris too, her new stepdad. She had expected him to be a jerk, to not want to take on the baggage of Kim’s kids, but he had been ready and willing. But Bryce just wasn’t ready. She couldn’t look her mom in the eyes, not when all she could see anymore was David’s fists hitting their father’s face repeatedly. Her throat cleared and she focused back on David. She knew he was putting on a show. No matter how much they had drifted apart, she still knew him. But the f***ed up truth was, she wanted the show. She wanted to believe that he was okay here. That this was better. That things were going to be okay for him. She didn’t want to know the real truth. So she bit her tongue and played along. ”Witchy-er than ever. She’s trying to actually be a mom now, her timings just a bit off if you ask me. We have a step-dad now too, Chris. He’s okay I guess.” she rambled on, not wanting to give the thick air that surrounded them a chance to suffocate her with it’s silence. Present: 24 years old. Bryce sucked in a breath as she waited for David to tell her the truth about Adelaide. She knew he had his secrets, things she didn’t know about him. But every time she uncovered more about his time in the mental institution, more about his life without her, it was always like she was being slapped across the face. The air that hung tensely around them was just a reminder that she didn’t know her brother the way she used to. They didn’t have that bond like no other. They were just siblings. And all the secrets, all the lies split between them over the years was just a reminder of that. And it sucked, it really did. All Bryce wanted was her family again. She’d gotten part of it back with her mother and Chris but she missed her brother. The two had gotten closer throughout the years since his release but it wasn’t how she wanted, not even by a long shot. She craved that oneness with him, the feeling that she used to have that her soul was connected to his. She knew he didn’t keep his secrets to hurt her. But every time it felt like a stab to the heart. She bit her bottom lip, trying to bide her time to figure out what to say as the air grew thicker. ”So...what’s the real story then?” she asked, trying her best not to sound like she was hurt. She was just tired of constantly uncovering things she didn’t know. She knew he would let her in when he felt he needed to but constantly being pushed out had done so much damage to their relationship sometimes she questioned if it would ever fully repair.

Past; Seven years old. David couldn't deny how different everything was, how they had been different for months but David had failed to see it. He felt stupid for not knowing - god, the signs were all there -- and not paying enough attention. Why didn't I see the signs? The seven year old wondered to himself often these days. Their parents weren't as affectionate as they once were, his mom stopped saying "I love you", and the amount of fights between them doubled. Still, David tried to be positive for months, but now he knew he had his mother to blame for that. "Everything's okay, Davey. I promise," his mom would reassure him, and it seemed like that was all he needed. If his mom said things were okay, then things were okay. He never thought of his mom as a liar, but ever since she left, that's all he could think of her as. His twin sister and him were alike in almost every way, but they quickly realized that they responded to things differently. While he was upset about his mom leaving, he wasn't locking himself in his room, hiding from everyone like Bryce had been doing. Each time he would knock on her door to invite her to hang out with him and his friend, Tommy, she wouldn't answer, or worse, she'd tell him to go away. At least if she didn't answer him, he could pretend that she was listening to her CD player. It hurt worse knowing that she didn't want to talk to him. Every time, though, he'd give her what she wanted, sighing as he left her alone. This time, though, he wouldn't. He was determined to get her out of the house, or to at least talk to him and let him inside. Knocking on her bedroom door, he waited a few moments, greeted by the unbearable silence. If David hadn't known better, he would've thought she was dead, but he knew she was here and alive. He could feel her existence. When the girl gave no sign she was going to let him in, he turned the doorknob, surprised when it gave way. He hadn't known why he expected her to lock the door, but it didn't matter if she did or didn't - David had other ways he could get into her room. He wasn't a stranger to climbing out his bedroom window, and since his room was right next to Bryce's, it wasn't that hard to get to her window. "Bryoda.." David began, spotting her laying on the floor, letting a soft sigh leave his lips when he noticed the sweater she was wearing. He slid down on the floor next to her, his hand immediately reaching to grab hers. "Mom's a loser. We're much better off without her," he reassured, giving her a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Past; 15 years old. The last eight years of his life had felt like a bad dream, but this? This felt like a nightmare that David couldn't wake himself up from, no matter how much he screamed and cried and told himself that this wasn't real. Every night, he would lay in the uncomfortable bed that he was forced to sleep on, imagining the world that he had once created with his sister. It was their escape from the world. Whenever David had just been hit, he and Bryce would lock themselves in his bedroom, imaging what life would be like if they grew up like royalty, surrounded by people and animals who would't beat them. Every night, he would hope that he'd wake up, smell the pancakes that his mother was making, and things would go back to how it had been, once upon a time. He knew it was just wishful dreaming, but it was the only thing that had kept him sane since his first night at this institute. The thought alone of being here for the next few years caused his stomach to churn. Never, in a million years, had David thought he'd end up here, spending his days seeing his therapist, reading and playing card games with a bunch of other people who seemed to have more serious problems than him. He knew it was better than where he could've been put, a juvenile detention center, but he still hated that he was here. He knew what people at school said about the people here being crazy, and David wasn't crazy.... was he? "David Adkins." Hearing his name, David looked up from the book he had been absentmindedly looking at. It was only then that he realized he had reread the same two paragraphs over and over again and still hadn't absorbed the words in his mind, having been too into his thoughts. Slamming the book shut, he placed it on the empty chair next to him, before he got up, following the older male who had called him out from the rec room, curious eyes watching him as he went. It was still winter time, so everyone had been in the rec room during their free time. "You have a visitor," he told him as he led him down the hallway. David's mind began to spin; who was here to visit him? He  had been here for a little over two weeks, and besides his mom, he hadn't known anyone in this area, and he doubted that any of his friends had come to see him. Of course, his mom had tried to visit him since his time here, however, David had always refused to see her. He couldn't, not when she was the cause of all his troubles. Taking a seat in the small room they had stopped, David sighed softly as he put his face in his hands, waiting for someone who hopefully wasn't his mom. God, he didn't even like calling her that anymore, and hadn't for a long while. Not even a minute had passed before the door was opened again, and before he could look up, he heard her voice. "Danakin...." He looked up, his golden brown eyes meeting her matching ones. He hadn't known why her visiting him was surprising, and he should've been expecting it sooner or later, but he was hoping that she wouldn't see him like this. He didn't even like seeing himself like this. "Bryoda, hi," the fifteen year old said, forcing his lips to curl up in a grin. "So tell me. How's life with the wicked witch of the west?" He asked curiously, chuckling softly. He could do this. He could prove to Bryce that he was okay, that she didn't need to worry about him more than she already does. He'd be out before he knew it. Hopefully. Present; 24 years old. It had been a long night at work. Then again, every Friday and Saturday nights had been long, working until three in the morning, but tonight had just been plain exhausting, in more ways than one. David had rubbed his eyes, letting out a yawn as he pushed his bedroom door open. His room was a mess, with clothes laying all over the room, but David didn't pay any attention to that or how crowded his room was beginning to get with his girlfriend's things that suddenly seemed to reside there. Making his way to the bed, he immediately fall on top of the bed, not bothering to change from his  jeans or his black and gray flannel into shorts and a t-shirt as he crawled underneath the blanket. He wanted to fall asleep, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to, no matter how exhausted he was. His mind went back to the events this evening, at what happened a little after eleven p.m. "It wasn't real," David whispered to himself, something he had been saying frequently over the years since the night his dad had died. There was no way that it was actually her, right? Sure, he might've talked to her tonight, and actual real conversation, but she was dead, his therapist had told him that. His therapist was crazy, sure, but how else could she explain her sudden disappearance? If she had been released, she would've told David ahead of time, like he would've, but she hadn't. Because she was dead. At the sound of Bryce's voice, he jumped slightly at the unexpectedness of it, his eyes widening. Instead of making a witty comment back at her, he rolled his eyes, his head  laying back against the pillow. He bit on the inside of his lip, applying enough pressure that he could taste the blood, debating on if he should talk about this to Bryce or not. For a while after David was released, the two continued their strained relationship. Bryce would beg him to move into their mom's house so they could all take care of him, but David was determined to not need their help, which was how he ended up living with Nate Dallas. Over the years since then, the two opened up to each other, though there were still things that David had wanted to keep hidden. Not because he didn't trust her, but because did it really matter if he told her about his ex girlfriend? She was dead, and talking about it wasn't going to bring her back. No matter how much her evil spirit showed up, she was gone and he needed to accept that. Almost as if his twin sister was reading his mind, her question made David turn his head s lightly so his attention was focused on her. Why do you look like you've seen a ghost? She asked, and he could've laughed at the irony of that question, if he still hadn't been confused and shocked. "Because I think I just did..." he replied back immediately, swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat. Her questioning look made him sigh, knowing that this was something she would keep asking about, if not tonight then tomorrow and the day after and the day after that until David  gave in. "You know how I told you about Adelaide? Well, I didn't tell you what really happened to her." His heart was beating quickly against his chest, never having been very good at talking about Adelaide and his feelings toward that situation. After getting the news dropped on him, his therapist asked him about it, and David didn't know how he felt. He felt angry, guilty, lonely all over again. Even after expressing his discomfort at this topic, his therapist still pushed until David refused to talk about it at all.

Past: Seven years old. Bryce hadn’t left her room since they’d gotten the bomb dropped on them. She was gone. Their mother was gone. Her best friend in the entire world, was gone. It was as if the world had fallen away for the seven year old girl, only replaced by darkness. Was she not good enough? She could be better. She could be perfect, if that’s what her mother needed. But Bryce knew it was too late. She just couldn’t make sense of anything. She knew that their parents had been fighting, it was always then that her and David would hide out in his room playing Narnia. The only thing that allowed them to block out the noise. Even at seven years old, Bryce understood that her mother wasn’t happy. But, why had she not taken them with her? She left without a word and Bryce couldn't control the anger that was bubbling inside of her every time she thought about it. What kind of mother just leaves? she asked herself, struggling to grasp understanding of the situation. Now here she was, left with boys. Who was going to teach her how to be a girl? Who was going to braid her hair and watch princess movies with her? Who was going to make her crown shaped pancakes in the mornings before school? She didn’t understand how their mom could just leave all of that behind. She was laying on the floor next to her bed, wrapped up in their mother’s favorite sweater. She never knew why it was her favorite. It was covered in holes and stains but it was her favorite and it still smelled like her. The fact that she had left it behind made Bryce’s stomach churn. Was anything ever going to be good enough for that woman? Hearing a knock on the door, Bryce made no motion or response. She just laid there. The innocence that had been her life before falling away from her more and more with each tear that fell from her eyes. She stared blankly in front of her. Too tired to move, to do anything. Why bother? she thought. Nothing she did was ever good enough anyways. Past: 15 years old. Things had been far from okay. Bryce felt like she had literally lost everyone that had ever mattered to her now. With the death of their father…did he even deserve to be called that? it had taken her brother from her as well. The feeling of emptiness and loneliness she had felt when their mother left was back tenfold. She knew he hadn’t left her by choice. She knew he needed this. To be someplace that could take care of him the way she couldn’t. But she just felt so alone. Having to live with their mother and her new family all on her own was like a slap in the face. She had to live with the very woman that created the monster that became their father. Nothing was the same. Everything had changed and become like some f***ed up twisted television show. Nothing in her life made sense anymore. She had no one. Not even the one person that had promised to never leave her side. It had been two weeks since he’d been brought into the Boston Psychiatric Facility. Two weeks since she’d seen him, talked to him, held his hand in her own. God, when had everything gotten so f***ed up? She stood in front of the black metal gates designed to block off the facility from the rest of Boston. As she stepped behind them, giving her name to the guard outside all she felt was coldness. She could feel her heart breaking all over again at the thought of David in this place. She went through security, going through the steps to make sure she wasn’t carrying anything dangerous on her person. She came closer and closer to seeing David and with each step it only felt like she was stepping farther away from him. Things between them had been strained before this. She knew that was her fault. She tried to fill the void her mother had left and it only made the isolation between her and David grow more. She rubbed the pads of her thumb and forefinger against each other, a nervous habit she had picked up over the years. Stepping into the waiting room she pulled her sweater tighter around her, it was cold, so very cold. “Adkins. Bryce Adkins?” her head snapped up as she heard her name being called, a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding escaping from her lips. This was it. She had to be strong. She had to not let him see how broken she was without him. He didn’t need to worry about her anymore. She just needed him to take care of himself while he was in here, something she couldn’t do for him anymore. She followed the nurse into a dimly lit hallway, her nails digging nervously into the palm of her hand. “He’s in here. Leave the door open.” the nurse declared, a sympathetic yet aggressive tone to her voice. Stepping through the door, Bryce rested her head against the doorway, not really sure of what to do next. She’d never felt awkward around David, until now. It was like she was meeting someone new, someone she no longer recognized. She cleared her throat, her arms crossing over her chest in an almost protective stance. ”Danakin…” she choked out, unable to say all the things she had planned to tell him in the two week period since she had seen him last. Present; Bryce was exhausted. She’d been up late working a case until the early sunset. Sometimes she really questioned going into this career path. She knew why she had done it. She wanted to impress him, her stepfather. But sometimes it felt like the only thing she was doing anymore was seeing the darkness of the world. She’d seen so much of it in her 24 years and to make it her everyday life...sometimes she just questioned her choices. But she knew it was a perfect fit for her. She knew she had the passion and the skillset to be great in the field. But sometimes, like now when she was coming home at three in the morning to a silent house, she really wasn’t sure. She walked past her own room, her shoulders sagging with exhaustion as she made her way to his room. She knew David would still be up, he’d probably just gotten home himself from the bar. How the Adkin’s kids had turned into two night owls, she’d never know. Knocking lightly on his door she pushed it open taking in the sight before her. ”Damn bro, you need to clean.” she teased moving past the doorway and over to his bed, silently throwing her body next to his. It had taken them awhile to get to this point. The point where they weren’t constantly walking on eggshells around each other. They still did. And they still fought, hard. But for the first time in years, it wasn’t just a void of space between them. Things had been slowly patching up. More and more of the walls they had built to protect themselves were crumbling, letting each other in again step by step. She finally looked over at him, taking in his state. He didn’t look good. Lifting herself up on her elbows she looked at him, examining him in a way she had tried to stop herself from doing. He didn’t need a mom, he needed a sister. She always told herself that. But it was hard to do, especially times like this. ”Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?” she asked, her eyebrows knitting together in slight confusion as she moved to sit up the rest of the way.

Past; 15 years old. It  had been a few hours since the outburst with his father, and David still couldn't believe what he had done, what he was doing. Running away was something he had imagined doing over the years, but didn't all kids think about that at one point or another? If I ran away, would anyone notice? It was something that David had thought about a lot, especially as he got older and his relationship with his dad got more strained with each fight. At least it got better, he supposed, since he'd take the yelling and fighting over being completely ignored like he wasn't even there like he used to be. At least then his father noticed him. Tears almost welled up in his eyes at the thought of is family back in Charlotte. He might've been pissed at his dad, but he had left his twin sister, as well. She didn't even do anything, and here he was, leaving her behind without even an invitation to join him. David wanted to turn back the clock, to tell his sister about the letter from the woman who took off on them many years ago, to convince her to go to Boston with him so then they could find their mother. But he knew it was too late; he was already on his way to Boston, and there was no way he was able to turn back around to his hometown. David glanced down at his phone for the millionth time since taking off. He had several text messages from his friends wondering where he was and what happened, but there was only one text message he read over and over again since receiving it. Plz come back. I need you. His fingers danced across the keys, typing in I'll be back soon. I love you. David didn't send it though, instead hitting the backspace button on his flip phone. Letting out a quiet sigh, he shut his phone, slipping it in his pocket. He wanted to send it, but he knew he'd probably get a text message all in caps of her yelling at him about how stupid he was being, but he already knew that. He knew he didn't have a plan, but he had a mission he needed to do: he needed to see their mom. ------------------------- A month had gone by since David had left North Carolina, and the journey there hadn't been quite what he imagined it to be like. He succeeded in finding his mom, which had been the sole purpose of running away in the first place, but after that had gone wrong, he realized that he wanted to see the world. His entire life had been spent in Charlotte only. Unlike most kids in his class, he and Bryce barely ever went on family vacations during summer and winter break, so being in Boston was new and foreign to him. He liked it though, and he wanted to stay there and explore as much as he could before he decided to go back home and make amends with the people he's hurt from his sudden departure. While the start of his adventure had been a rocky one - he got rejected by his mother, stayed in an abandoned building for days, sleeping on the  hard floor without even a blanket, and was running low on the money he had spent his entire life saving up - it eventually turned into something he was able to enjoy. He met Tucker about a week staying in Boston, and after hesitantly accepting his offer to stay at his place, he found himself.... happy. He had the one thing he had spent six years longing for - a father figure. Tucker might not have been his dad, but he was there for David when he needed someone, unlike his dad, who drove him away to the point of running away. No matter how happy he was though, there was always a sadness he felt within himself, and he wasn't an idiot. David knew exactly why he was feeling like that - because his twin sister was sad, and he was sad for her. Twin telepathy was something that was real, as proven one night when his wrist started to randomly hurt during dinner. Of course, at that moment, David didn't know what the dull ache in his hand was, but it was there, and it wasn't seeming to go away, but a week later, he'd understand why he was feeling that unexplained pain. "Well, I'm off. See you tomorrow, Shell," David told one of the waitresses at the restaurant he was working at as the busboy. He gave her a grin and a wink, not hiding the fact the fact that he had a thing for the older high school girl, before he grabbed his hoodie, pulling it over his head. Leaving the building, he grabbed his iPod from his pocket, plugging in his headphones for the walk back to Tucker's house. It was his home, too, technically, but David knew he'd never be able to say "his" home. Truth be told, he learned a long time ago that it was the people you were with that made up a home, not an actual place, and he didn't have his home with him. Bryce was his safe place, but she wasn't there with him, so he didn't feel at home. Lose Yourself by Eminem played through his headphones, and the young male found himself quietly bobbing his head to the beat of the rap, not paying much attention to where he was walking. He stopped in his tracks when he saw a familiar face in the distance, getting close to him with each step she took. "Bryce?" He called out, surprised to see the least person he ever expected to see. David continued to walk to her, stopping right in front of his twin. "What are you doing here?" Reaching his hand forward, he grabbed her hand, needing to touch something to make sure that this was reality and not a dream or something. That was when he noticed that something wasn't right with her. He glanced down at her wrist for a moment before looking back at her, his eyes wide. He didn't even need to see it to know that something was wrong. "What happened to your wrist?!" demanded David, before he let out a sigh. "Let's get you back to Tucker's. Come on. Past; 22 years old. His heart raced as he waited for an answer from his sister, wondering if he should take back the offer or not. What if Bryce had enough going on, and the last thing she needed was for two more people to invade her privacy? David shook his head, knowing that she would never actually tell him no, he was just didn't want to be a bother to her. He bit on his bottom lip as he continued waiting, glancing down at the soda can in his hands and he played with the lid. Luckily though, he didn't have to wait much longer because then she spoke, agreeing to it. A grin crossed his face as he looked back up at her, mirroring the same smile his twin wore. "Really?" Asking for help wasn't something that the twenty-two did very often, in fact, he couldn't remember asking for help ever. Even when it came to school group projects, he refused any help from the other students because he didn't like help. He was the kind of person that needed to take charge of his own life, hating to rely on others. But right now, he needed the help, he knew this, but he didn't want it from anyone else but Bryce. "Thanks, Bryoda," he muttered, bringing his Pepsi can up to his lips, taking a sip of it. He just gave her a smile in reply to her comment about him making the right move. Nodding his head, he turned his attention to the television, looking at the titles of movies and television shows that were on as she scrolled down the guide. Hearing that Narnia was on, he grinned. "Let's watch it!" He said excitedly, the Chronicle of Narnia series having been one of his all time favorites. It was the books that got him into books when was really younger, and would always hold a special place in his heart. When she hit the movie, the scene where Peter was getting in a fight at the train station was the first thing they saw, realizing they were still in the beginning of the movie. "Hey, Bryce, do you remember when we used to have our own Narnia like land we imagined when we were younger?" Present; 24 years old. "Dad, I'm hungry," he woke up to, along with shaking from his seven year old. David groaned in reply, before she complained again. "What do you want?" He mumbled, though getting up out of bed was the last thing the male wanted to do. It was a Saturday morning, and he had worked late last night, one of the downfalls of owning a nightclub that stayed open until three in the morning. Plus cleaning up and the actual drive home, he normally didn't get home until close to four sometimes. Point being, it was way too early for David to wake up, but, he knew he couldn't resist anything Carter asked for. She was like his best friend in a way, and the only thing he had left of his deceased girlfriend, and he would do anything to protect her and make her as happy as possible, even if it included him waking up to make breakfast for her. Ten minutes later, he found himself in the kitchen after taking a while to force himself to get up. Grabbing the pans out for eggs and bacon, he put the two pans on the stove burning, turning the dial to medium, before he started to cook. He hadn't realized that Bryce was still asleep though, since sometimes she surprised him and woke up exceptionally early, until the girl came out to the kitchen, rolling his eyes at her comment. "I'll have you know, I'm actually a pretty good cook," David shot back without hesitating, shaking his head as she left the kitchen to go out to the living room where Carter was now watching an episode of whatever show she liked on Disney Channel. As David got out the plates to set the table, he dropped one of them, luckily not breaking the glass, but that didn't stop Bryce from blowing up at him. Her words made his eyes widened in surprise, not expecting her sudden outburst. "Woah," he whispered, before setting the plates down, hurriedly following Bryce as she stormed off into her room. She slammed the door in his face, causing him to frown, refusing to go away even though she just told him to. His knuckles knocked lightly against her door, and without even waiting for her permission, he walked right into her room. "You're not okay, though. Are you sick? Is it that time of month, because I swear to god if I have to deal with another chick on her period, I'll shoot myself."  

Everything had seemed so utterly normal before David had gone and ruined it all, well at least the normal she had grown accustomed to over the past six years. Her dad was in his recliner when she had left that morning making sure to take one of the bottles of liquor from the counter as she walked out. It was something she did every morning, she didn’t drink it, no she just threw it away. Part of her thought that maybe one day, if she just kept taking throwing them away, all the alcohol would finally disappear. Bryce knew it was stupid, hell it was idiotic to even think she could make a dent in the never ending pile of bottles, but that’s just the type of person Bryce was. Walking past David’s jeep she realized she hadn’t seen him that morning but having a test she needed to study some more for, she didn’t think anything of it. The frost that had built up on his car window made Bryce pause for a moment, tossing her bag gently to the hard ground as the tip of her finger made contact with the icy window. I love you doofus, clean your f***ing car. Her fingers worked finishing off the sentence as she stepped away to examine her work. Rolling her eyes at the pile of empty pizza boxes thrown haphazardly around the inside of the blue jeep, he really did need to clean up. Now here she was, her whole world being shaken around her as David relayed to her the fight he had gotten into with their father. She knew he was holding something back, she always knew, but in that very moment she didn’t care. He was leaving her. David, the one person who was always supposed to be there right beside her was going almost 800 miles away from her. She didn’t even know he had a friend in Boston. Was this really how her life was going to go? Everyone always leaving? “I’m sorry Bryoda, I just have to do this.” and with that he was off. She watched as he rounded the corner giving her a small awkward wave and all she could do was stand there. This wasn’t like him. There had to be something more than just another stupid fight with their dad going on. But, David had decided to keep whatever it was secret and while part of her knew that there was good reason for him to be keeping something from her but the other part wanted to scream after him demanding he tell her what the hell was actually going on. But she didn’t. She stayed there frozen in place as the literal other half of her walked out the door, leaving her a broken mess. Others began to stare at her as her breathing began to rapidly lose control as she felt a panic attack rounding in on her. “Adkins, you’re okay, go home.” What was home even going to be now? she thought to herself as she grabbed her cheer bag from the bleachers and running out the door in search of David. But he was no longer there. He was gone and there was nothing she could have said to stop him. He had left her the one person she never thought would.   Running to her car she threw her bag in the backseat before sliding into the driver’s seat. Her hands gripped the steering wheel tightly as she fought to keep her breathing under control. Moving to grab for her keys she put them in the ignition, staring  through the windshield as she felt like her entire world was crumbling around her. Her fist slammed against the steering wheel as she pulled out of the school parking lot racing home. Maybe, just maybe, she could catch him and make him see that running away wasn't the answer. Pulling into the vacant driveway, Bryce knew she was too late. She was always too late. Her fist once again connected with the steering wheel as she let out an angry sigh. How could he do this to her? Deep down she knew it wasn't about her. But she was so hurt. He had always promised he would never leave, would never be like their mother and yet here she was staring at a shell of a home. She pulled out her phone, trying the only other thing she could think of; ”Plz come back. I need you.” was exactly what the text read. But as she laid there on her bedroom floor later that night, no response had been given.Past: 22 years old; “What do you say?” she listened to his words as he told her his idea for him and Carter to move in with her. And the truth was she was excited. She needed the help. Spending all of her free time studying for tests at the academy and working shifts at the local 24 hour diner in Back Bay had been leaving her stressed and at her wits end every night. It wasn't only help she needed though, but company. And here her twin was offering the very thing she had been craving for months as she had been locked up indoors  studying more often than not. She was only a month away from graduating from the police academy so the timing was utterly perfect. Biting her bottom lip to hide her growing smile she nodded her head at him, brushing her shoulder against his. ”I'd love nothing more than to live with you again Danakin, and Carter.” she spoke softly knowing how difficult it was for David to ask for help, even from her. Taking a sip from her can of Dr. Pepper she looked at him, excitement showing on her features. ”I'm off this weekend. With my amazing organization skills we could have you guys packed up and moved in before your shift at the Saigon starts.” she boasted kicking his leg softly with her foot. ”This will be good for you and Carter, you're making the right call Danakin.” she told him, grabbing the remote and flipping on the tv to look at the guide. ”Oo Narnia two is on!” she squealed tucking her feet under his legs and pulling a throw on top of them both. She knew the best thing to do with David was to decide and move on, and that's exactly what she would try to do. He deserved a day of not having to constantly think, maybe living with her would allow him to have more of those days.Present: 24 years old; She was dying. At least, that's how Bryce Adkins was currently feeling. All she wanted to do was sleep.  Unfortunately by the banging of pots and pans coming from the kitchen that wasn't going to be happening anytime soon. Throwing her comforter off of her body in a huff, she slipped some socks on so her bare feet wouldn't touch the cold wooden floor. I'm going to kill him. she thought as she left the confines of her room and walked into the kitchen. Her hand flew up to cover her nose as the scent of what he was cooking filled her senses. ”Jesus Christ David are you trying to poison us all?” she groaned out walking over to the couch where Carter was sitting, watching Disney Channel. She laid flat on her stomach burying her face in the Star Wars throw pillow to hide away from the smell. She was almost back to sleep when the sound of another pan hitting the countertop with a loud bang brought her back to her own hellish reality. ”David Mason Adkins what the f*** are you doing in there?! Learning how to f***ing juggle?! Jesus Christ how are you even up right now? I thought your alarm didn't even work before noon.” she rambled angrily walking back into her room a very agitated David following closely behind her. She slammed the door to her bedroom shut in his face and threw her body dramatically on the bed. ”Go away David, I'm fine.” she lied unable to really make sense of what had just happened.