Three: The Troublesome Twin

Cherry Silverbella Moores stood in the living room of a local drug dealer, waiting for him to fetch her package from his bedroom. She had woken up early that morning, careful not to disturb her twin sister before leaving the house.

"Are you sure you don't want to come into the room with me?" Jobb called from his room.

Cherry rolled her eyes. "No, I'm fine here," she shouted back. Just because she fucked around didn't mean she wanted to have sex with Jobb. There was nothing appealing about him, not even his name. He might even have a similar future to his biblical namesake. She had zero interest in fucking him.

Jobb emerged from the room with a wrapped bag and handed it to her. "Here you go, all set," he said, passing the bag to her.

Cherry took the package and paid him in cash. "Thanks. Until next time."

On her way home, she passed by old Bobby's shop and noticed that his son was inside while the old man was absent. Excitement coursed through her as she entered the shop. It was time for some fun.

Chris, old Bobby's son, spotted one of the twin walking into his father's shop and eyed her suspiciously. "Which one are you? The good or the evil Bella?" he asked with suspicion.

"The good one, love." She flashed white set of teeth, and grabbed a beer from the fridge. "I'll just take this. My sister will settle the bill when gets here." Then, she walked out, whistling loudly.

"Definitely the evil Bella," Chris muttered to himself as he watched her leave. A good businessman would go after his money, but chris had no intention of doing that. The evil bella was all kinds of evil, and he wasn't interested in getting into any troubles.

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Ixora Crystabella Moores was in the kitchen preparing breakfast when her sister walked in carrying a package. She bit her lip, refraining from asking Cherry about the package, knowing she might not like the answer.

"What's on the breakfast menu today, Good-bella?" Cherry taunted as she entered the kitchen with a cigarette and lighter in hand, perching herself on the counter.

Ixora shook her head and focused on cooking. "Stop it, Cher. Do I even want to know what's in that package?"

Cherry grinned wickedly. "Trust me, you don't." She lit her cigarette, maintaining eye contact with her twin as she took a long drag.

Ixora fell for it, as always. "Those things are no good for you, Silverbella. They'll be the death of you."

Cherry exhaled smoke in Ixora's face, as usual, and Ixora went into a fit of cough. Cherry chuckled, and continued smoking without another word.

When Ixora finally recovered, her face was flushed, and tears welled up in her eyes due to the intensity of her coughing fits. The message was clear to Ixora: Cherry doesn't give shit.

"We're having scrambled eggs," Ixora said finally, returning to her cooking.

"That's sweet, Ix. Anything but your porridge. I'm so tired of it," Cherry remarked.

"Porridge is for later, Cher. If you're tired of it, maybe you should try cooking for a change."

Cherry shrugged, eyeing her cigarette. "Fine, porridge it is. One day, your porridge will be the death of one of us."

Ixora knew Cherry would never agree to cook, so she wasn't surprised when her sister chose porridge over cooking.

"We need to start looking for jobs," Ixora said as she served their breakfast.

"Speak for yourself, Ix. You're the one who turned down that job offer in New York City. You've always wanted to work in an art gallery, even studied it in school, and then you rejected your dream job when it came. Why? I don't get it, Crystal," Cherry said between bites.

Ixora stayed silent. Yes, she loved art, but if she'd taken that job, she'd have been far away while Cherry stayed here alone. There would be no one to look out for her or take care of her.

Cherry was her only remaining family, yet despite her twin's lack of concern, Ixora loved her sister. Cherry's reckless ways led her to disregard her own safety, pursuing her desires without fear of consequences.

At times, Ixora felt envious of her in that regard. What would it be like to do whatever the hell one wanted, regardless of the outcome?

"This actually tastes good, I think—" Cherry stopped when they heard a commotion outside.

"That noise is from our courtyard," Ixora noted as the voices grew louder. Who could be causing such a ruckus so early in the morning?

Cherry abandoned her food and rushed to the window, her face lighting up. She tossed her cigarette into a cup of water. "It's trouble, Ixora," she announced, excitement in her voice.

"Of course," Ixora muttered. Cherry only smiled when there was trouble. They both left their breakfast and went outside.

Outside, they saw two angry men and a young woman with them, all looking furious.

Oh God, what has Cherry done this time? Ixora thought, glancing at her twin, whose expression had turned unreadable.

"We're looking for Cherry. Which one of you is Cherry?" the bald-headed man, Baldy, asked.

The twins pointed at each other. Ixora pointed at Cherry, who was already finding it amusing, and Cherry pointed right back at her twin.

Ixora wasn't surprised; Cherry always does this. Without fail.

The man's anger flared, "You find this funny!? Which one of you is that bitch, or are you both going to jail!"

"But why should I take the blame for something I didn't do?" Cherry pouted, batting her eyelashes innocently.

Ixora shook her head, unsurprised. Cherry was quite the actress. "Why are you looking for her?" She asked their angry visitors.

The furious woman glared at them both. "She f-fornicated with my husband and then beat him up. He's still in the hospital because of her!"

Ixora gasped in shock while Cherry laughed, amused. "Did she just say 'fornicated,' Crystal?" Cherry whispered to her twin. "What are we in, the 16th century?"

Ixora shot her a glare, "Cher, you sleep with married men now too?" she whispered back, disapprovingly.

Cherry pinched the bridge of her nose, "The guy didn't mention he was married until I tried to swipe his wristwatch—"

"You mean steal his wristwatch," Ixora corrected hotly.

Cherry waved her off, "Same difference. Anyway, he told me his wife wouldn't steal from him after sex."

Ixora sighed, "Let me guess, that's when you planted your fist on his face?"

"Hell yeah, I did." Cherry nodded with a smug grin. "Decked him like a child. He cried like a baby."

"What are they whispering about!?"  The angry man yelled. "I'll ask one more time, which one of you is Cherry!?" The twins automatically pointed at each other, again.

Cherry giggled like a schoolgirl, enjoying herself. Ixora couldn't help but be glad to see her twin laughing, even in such an odd situation. Cherry was eccentric, but she was still her twin.

The man hissed with frustration as he grabbed Ixora. "It's you, isn't it!? You bitch!" He backhanded Ixora so hard that she winced in pain.

Ouch, that hurt, Ixora thought as she clutched her cheek. When Cherry's laughter stopped, she knew her twin was furious. Cherry always reacts badly whenever anybody mistreated her. Always.

Cherry seethed with rage as she witnessed the man slap her twin. No one harmed her twin, no one caused her twin problems except herself, and no one hurt her twin. No one.

Filled with anger, she advanced toward the man.

"Come on, man, you've got the wrong twin," the other man said when he saw Cherry approaching.

"No, Cher, please, it's okay," Ixora whispered, recognizing the look on Cherry's face. She knew what happened when Cherry got that look – her twin was always a savage fighter.

Ignoring Ixora, Cherry walked up to the man who had slapped her twin moments ago. She delivered a powerful slap to his face, making his ears ring.

Before he could react, she slapped him again, hard. "No one touches my twin, got it? No one," Cherry declared angrily.

That's how the fight began.

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Cherry found herself in jail once again.

"You know, you didn't have to beat them up, right?" Ixora stood on the other side of the bars, watching her twin.

Cherry ignored her and made herself comfortable in Castle Lore's jail, loudly chewing gum.

Footsteps echoed from the other room, followed by the entrance of Sheriff Morgan, a woman in her early fifties who used to be friends with their grandmother. "She's ready to go home," she announced.

Ixora sighed with relief. Every time Cherry ended up here, she feared it might be the day her sister stayed behind bars for good. It's not what she wanted, even though Cherry seemed unfazed by the idea. They had been at the jail all morning, and now it was mid-afternoon.

The events leading to this had happened in a flash. After Cherry delivered those two powerful slaps to the bald man, a fight erupted. The man tore Cherry's clothes in an attempt to restrain her, but Cherry fought back viciously, going for the man's vulnerable areas. She kicked himon the balls so hard that he fell to the ground, howling in pain. This gave Cherry the upper hand, and she straddled the bald man, dressed only in her bra and shorts, and proceeded to pummel him mercilessly. Cherry always fought dirty.

When the other man approached angrily, Ixora felt the need to warn her sister, but Cherry anticipated it. She leaped off the bald man, grabbed a long, heavy stick from behind a tree in their yard, and struck the man on the head with it. He shouted in agony and fell to the ground, and Cherry continued to rain blows and kicks on him. And now, here they were.

"Thank you, Sheriff Morgan. I truly appreciate your help," Ixora said with gratitude.

The older woman nodded, "You're welcome, good Bella. But it's getting increasingly difficult to keep your twin out of trouble. She's quite wild, and at twenty-three, she's an adult who can be locked up. You need to try harder to keep her out of trouble; it's clear she's drawn to it. I'm doing this because of your grandmother Nora." The Sheriff's gaze remained fixed on Cherry, who paid them no attention and continued to pop her gum loudly.

With a sigh, she raised her arms and added, "She doesn't even care."

No, she doesn't, Ixora thought, looking at her twin. She turned back to the Sheriff and said, "Thanks, ma'am. I'll do my best to keep her out of trouble, I promise."

The woman smiled and offered some advice, "When you get home, put some ice on that cheek, Ixora, so it doesn't bruise from where that man slapped you. He'll still answer to us when he wakes up from the hospital. No one assaults a lady in Castle Lore." She paused, "I heard that slap pushed your sister over the edge."

Ixora nodded, not knowing what to make of that.  It was always that way; Cherry would insult her and treat her like shit, but she never took it well when someone else did the same. Cherry always reacted strongly.

Ixora recalled a time in high school when Cherry made the 'School bitch' eat a mouthful of sand for using that same mouth to insult Ixora.

Brows furrowed, the sheriff continued, "Your twin is one complicated human being. She acts like she hates you most of the time but goes to extreme lengths to make those who hurt you pay." She shook her head, bewildered.

"My thoughts exactly," Ixora muttered under her breath. Nobody understood Cherry at all, but Ixora hoped that one day she would.

Minutes later, Cherry and Ixora headed back home, Cherry busy popping her gum and Ixora silently following her. They walked that way for a while before Cherry turned to Ixora, glaring hard, "Learn to defend yourself, Ix."

Ixora snorted. "Thanks, Cherry, but I'll pass on violence. Our town can't handle two Cherrys."

Cherry looked like she wanted to say something else. A moment later, she shrugged, "Whatever. I'm going to A-Good-Night this evening."

When Ixora's head snapped up at the mention of that notorious hotel, Cherry continued to pop her gum unbothered, "I'm just going to clear my head, that's all." Pop. Pop.

Hell. Was it every night that her twin needed to get laid, start a fight or cause trouble? It hasn't even been an hour since she got out of jail.

"I'm going with you," Ixora asserted, raising her chin.

Cherry rolled her eyes, "You're not my mother, Ixora." Pop. Pop. "I can go to the bar alone." Pop. Pop. Pop.

"But I'm your twin. I'm going with you. I'll even ask Vera to join us," Ixora replied with a little smile. Knowing her best friend, she'll surely like to tag along. Cherry going to the bar alone was not an option, especially after their recent jail visit.

Cherry sighed in exasperation, "Great, get the whole of Castle Lore to join us! Gaarrrh! I wish you'd just disappear." She muttered as she quickened her steps.

Ixora smiled and quickened her steps too, determined. "Doesn't matter what you wish. It's A-Good-Night tonight. Tomorrow, I'll start looking for a job."

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VODAA UNDERGROUND IN HERMAND, AFGHANISTAN.

Tonight, it had to be tonight.

With his arms spread wide, he hung from the ceiling, his face obscured by his long hair. His body still bore the scars of the beatings he endured days ago. Thirst clawed at him, but he remained silent. He never spoke. He knew it was just a matter of time before they sent Berezira, the one they thought of as a caretaker, to bring that food and water that tastes like poison.

They were all cruel, every last one of them. He vowed to end them all, someday, somehow. Mostafa, the monstrous leader, would be the first to pay. They had turned him into the very beast they feared.

His mission was to escape, and he had to take Berezira with him. She wasn't even fifteen, yet she had witnessed horrors that no one her age should ever endure. In this wretched place, beauty was considered a crime, according to Mostafa. And Berezira had paid dearly for her exceptional beauty. He swore to avenge her and all the others. One day, their blood would stain his hands.

But first, he had to break free, and tonight was the only chance he had. They had inflicted physical, emotional, and perhaps even psychological damage on him, but they would never erase his identity.

He was Jerald Brown, and tonight, he would escape this living nightmare with Berezira.

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