Chapter 3: The Clemente Twins

Art was clad in a printed white shirt tucked in his fitted cargo pants. He slipped on his dark leather jacket and caught the keychain his father threw towards his direction. The keys clanged when he attached the ring to his belt holder.

"Drive safely." Mr. Salacosa nodded at him when he turned to speak. "Don't push yourself. I'm not asking you to be social. Just at least give chances to people who want in. Have a good night!"

Art also muttered his good nights to his father then reluctantly left. It was already eight o'clock and he was half an hour late, but he still took his time. It was fortunate that his father went to their new house first and started settling in and unpacking earlier this week. All he had to do was fix some things and furniture he was a bit unsatisfied with. 

Art even took a nap in his cozy new bedroom, and if it were not for his father who had knocked on his door, he must have missed the party the guy earlier had reminded him to attend. He wished his father did not, though, but he already promised he would at least put some effort into making connections.

"You have arrived at your destination."

Art parked by the side of the dark road when he heard the mechanical voice from his phone. He surveyed his surroundings but saw nothing more than endless darkness and groves of trees. Tilting his head in wonder, he moved to get the envelope he had received this afternoon.

There was also a small slip of paper inside which contained the time and address of the party. He checked to see if he typed the right address and compared the numbers keenly. When he saw that there was no mistake, he looked outside the window again.

This time, he saw two flashes of light inside the forest. His eyes instantly alerted. When both lights directly pointed at him, he automatically raised a hand to block them and squinted his eyes. With a frown, he watched as the two headed to his car in a neither slow nor fast pace.

Once they were near enough, Art saw that it was a couple with their arms linked. Their hair resembled each other — brunette in color, similar curls, and cut to the same shoulder length. They stood to the side and the man spoke.

"New guy?" he asked, and Art immediately recognized the crispness in his tone. They should be the same age.

Art inhaled deeply before opening the door and stepping out. It was dark, and their lights were pointing to the ground, so Art could not actually see the features of their faces but he could feel their gaze. They made him uncomfortable, but he could tell that there was no malice in both of them.

Art replied, "Yes, Arthur Salacosa. Good evening. You are?"

The man reached out a hand first to shake hands with him and also introduced both himself and the girl beside him.

"Tom Clemente. This is my twin sister, Thea. Just call us by our name." After Tom spoke and shook hands with him, Thea also took his hand, moved it abruptly up and down before also speaking in a scrutinizing tone.

"What are you called?" she asked.

"Art," he instantly responded and asked a question back as well while sweeping his gaze to the dark grove of trees around them. "Did I get the wrong address?"

Tom laughed. "No. We just had a major tree planting project a year ago, and the addresses have not been updated yet."

"It was Lyle who told us you might use the shortcut and end up here at the back. Well, did you?" Thea interrupted.

"Yes. I didn't know," Art replied.

"Understandable. I heard you only arrived this afternoon?" Tom said even before Art could ask who Lyle was. He only nodded to answer while the two in front ushered him to follow them. "Don't worry about the car. We'll have someone move it to the parking lot. Can we borrow the key?"

Watching the people walking in front of him with poised and quiet steps, he assumed they were not someone who would cheat him out of his old car. So he readily handed them his car key.

After a few minutes of walking on a trail, they arrived at a bright garden decorated with antique angel statues and expensive-looking street lamps. Further ahead, Art saw a big house, only a shy away from being a mansion, which was brightly lit both in the upper and lower floors.

They entered through the backdoor and were met by some housekeepers and the kitchen staff who paused and bowed slightly before continuing what they were doing. Art could smell the delicious food, but it seemed that they were already doing the dishes. Art was late and could not eat dinner. However, he swept his gaze swiftly in the kitchen and saw snacks and liquors on a table far away, ready to be served.

"If you haven't had dinner yet, we'll have them cook for you." Art suddenly heard Tom say when they exited the kitchen.

Thea sneered and Art could almost feel her hate stabbing at his face when she turned to glance at him.

"A most important guest, I see," she muttered in a mocking tone.

Art's eyebrows raised a little upon hearing her snide remark. He had never seen this girl before nor had he done anything in their few minutes of first meeting for her to harbor these kinds of negative feelings about him. Yet he thought that she was a girl, and it wouldn't look good to pick a fight, and it was exactly their first time meeting so he was reluctant to retaliate.

By the side of his eyes, he saw Tom gently pat Thea's arm which was linked to his own arm. The twins locked eyes for a moment, then craned their necks at the same time to look at him.

"Be on time next time," Thea told him as she opened a large door.

The words "yes, I'm sorry" were already at the end of Art's mouth. Yet when Thea opened the door, a loud beat blasted through his ears. Art winced in pain and raised both his hands to cover his ears. The twins panicked as well as both of them crowded Art's kneeling body.

"Hey! What's wrong?" Thea nervously asked. His twin, Tom, wasn't any better. Tom was supporting Art by his shoulders and continuously uttering "are you okay, are you okay".

This was the scene that a certain tall, dark and handsome guy had seen when he rushed over upon hearing the commotion.