The Twins.
Most students at school knew Terrence and Theresa were twins. That was about where their knowledge ended.
They knew they looked alike enough to make the connection obvious, though their personalities were different. Terrence was more outgoing, comfortable around people, and usually surrounded by friends. Theresa was quieter and more observant. She didn't have much interest in talking to boys at school, and she was perfectly comfortable letting other people fill the silence.
Neither twin talked much about their family. Especially not about what happened when they were younger. Their family was complicated enough without explaining it to everyone. Too complicated.
Their mother was French, though she spoke English fluently. Their father wasn't French, and their parents had divorced years ago.
Then there was Tanya. Their older sister was seventeen and had graduated from the same school the previous year. She no longer attended with them. She was in France now.
Two months earlier, their father had died. After his death, Tanya had gone to France, where she was receiving help for serious is health problems connected to a drug addiction she had developed while living with their father. Their mother rarely talked about the details. But she worried about Tanya constantly. Terrence and Theresa didn't.
They couldn't.
Whatever concern their mother felt for Tanya was mixed with something much more complicated inside the twins.
They hated their sister. Even after everything that had happened, neither of them knew how to separate the anger they carried from the person Tanya had become.
Then there was Thomas, their older brother. Thomas was twenty-one, six years older than the twins. He had been away at boarding school in France when their family fell apart, and later attended college in England. He was back home now, but he was rarely around.
Still, unlike Tanya, Thomas was someone the twins loved. He loved them too. The complicated part was that love didn't automatically erase years of distance.
At school, most students knew almost none of this. To everyone else, they were simply Terrence and Theresa—the twins who had been in the same school for almost two years now.
During lessons, they weren't even seated together. Theresa sat near the classroom window with Trixy and four other girls: Zelda, Iris, Silver, and Aleesha. Trixy knew Theresa better than almost anyone and could usually tell when something was wrong without Theresa having to say it.
Across the room, Terrence sat with the boys. Jill, Terrence's best friend, sat with her own group of friends: Mira, Emily, Sydney and Amory. She and Terrence were extremely close, but there was nothing unusual about them sitting separately during class. Jill was simply one of the few people Terrence trusted enough to tell almost everything.
Theresa knew that.
She had never had a problem with Jill.
At lunchtime, Terrence spotted Theresa sitting with Trixy and the other girls. He walked over.
"You eating?"
Theresa looked up at him, "Yes."
Terrence glanced at her food, "Actually eating?"
Trixy immediately groaned, "Here we go."
Theresa gave her brother a look, "I'm fine."
"I didn't say you weren't."
"You were about to.", Theresa pointed out.
Terrence smiled slightly, "Maybe."
Theresa shook her head and returned to her food. She knew he meant well. She also knew she didn't need someone checking on her every five minutes. Her health was part of her life, but it wasn't her entire life.
And she wanted everyone—including Terrence—to remember that.
When the final bell rang, the school quickly emptied into different directions.
Jill left with her own friends. Terrence joined a group of boys from his class. Theresa met up with Trixy and several other girls. For a while, their paths were separate. Then, farther down the road, Theresa caught sight of Terrence.
He was walking with a mixed group of friends—boys and girls—and he noticed her almost immediately.
"You're finally here," he called.
Theresa rolled her eyes as she caught up, "I was with Trixy."
"I know."
Trixy stopped at the junction where their roads separated.
"I'm going this way."
Theresa nodded. "See you tomorrow."
"Tomorrow."
Then Trixy turned and headed down her road.
Theresa stayed with Terrence and the mixed group. She didn't need to cling to him. She didn't need him to watch over her. They simply ended up walking home together because, after everything else in their lives, going home together had always felt natural.
Terrence joked with the others. Theresa mostly listened. Every now and then, she added something to the conversation, but mostly she walked beside her brother and let the afternoon pass.
Nobody looking at them would have guessed how complicated their family really was.
Nobody would have guessed how much they depended on each other.
And that was exactly how they liked it.
Their mother was home when they arrived. That alone was unusual enough to make Theresa pause in the doorway.
Terrence noticed too. Their mother was usually somewhere else—another city, another meeting, another business trip.
But lately, she had been home more often.
Much more often.
"You're both back," their mother said.
Terrence dropped his bag near the stairs. "Obviously."
Their mother smiled faintly.
Theresa studied her face. There was something tired about her. Not the ordinary tiredness that came from work.
Something heavier.
"Any news from Tanya?" Theresa asked.
Their mother went quiet for a moment.
"Not today."
Theresa looked away. Terrence didn't say anything.
Their mother walked toward the kitchen.
"She's getting help," she said quietly. "That's what matters."
Neither twin answered.
Their mother stopped. "I know neither of you wants to talk about her."
"We don't," Terrence said.
His mother sighed. "I know."
She continued into the kitchen. Terrence looked at Theresa. Theresa looked back. Neither of them needed to say what they were thinking.
Tanya was far away.
Their father was dead.
Thomas was rarely home.
And their mother, who had spent years traveling for work, was suddenly staying close.
Something about the family had shifted. They just didn't know what was coming next.
Terrence picked up his bag. "Come on."
Theresa followed him upstairs.
Their bedroom was still the one place where neither of them had to explain themselves. Two beds stood close together, as they had for years.
Terrence dropped onto his. Theresa sat on hers for a moment before moving over and sitting beside him.
For a while, neither twin said anything.
They didn't need to.
Downstairs, their mother's phone rang.
She answered it. Then her voice changed.
Both twins looked toward the bedroom door.
Their mother's voice was quiet.
Worried.
And this time, they could make out one word clearly.
"Tanya."
