8:48p.m.

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

“Tomi! Tomi, its okay! Its okay I'm back now! I'm here!” Bill yelled as Tom screamed at the top of his lungs.

Bill couldn’t quite make out any coherent words, but he knew what was wrong. Tomi had woken up alone and he couldn’t understand why. He didn’t know where Bill was. It scared him really. The shadows all seemed much bigger and the darkness much scarier. Tomi didn’t like silence either.

He flung his brother’s arms away from him. He couldn’t find the comfort and familiarity in Bill’s scent; he could only smell the putrid stench of ash and smoke.

“You weren’t h-here!” he cried.

“I’m sorry Tomi, I – I was with Maria,” Bill tried to console him, with out much avail.

“I – I w-was…my – my own!” his face scrunched up as he tried and failed to find the correct words.

“I know you were alone Tomi, but I'm here now? I'm here now!” Tom stopped trying to fight with his brother.

“Billa?” he cocked his head on one side, tears still streaming down his dirty face.

“Yes, Tomi…it’s me…Billa.” he said wearily. He encircled Tom in his arms and took him back to their bed once more, as his twin collapsed into more incoherent sobbing.

“Billa?” Tom ventured after a long period of silence that seemed to be endlessly stretching on.

“What’s wrong baby boy?” he asked fearing the worst.

“I – I made you s-sad?” he asked tearfully.

“No! No of course not, where did you get that idea from?” Tom didn’t answer. All he knew was that Billa looked sad and angry. He remembered daddy. Daddy used to make Billa sad too. He didn’t want to be like daddy and hurt him.

“But…but…”

“Sssh now Tomi,”

“Daddy make you angry…I don’t wanna be like daddy!”

“Don’t think like that Tomi, forget about daddy…he’s not our daddy anymore” he said firmly.

“Not daddy?” he asked his eyes wide in fear and confusion.

“No…not daddy" he sighed and pulled Tomi closer. As close as physically possible and still need to be closer. His hand cupping Tom’s head to his chest, Tom’s trembling arms fastened securely around Bill’s emaciated waist.

“Billa when we go home?” Tom whispered.

“Tomi, we won’t be going home,” Bill sighed and kissed his forehead.

“W-why?” he asked, a crease appearing between his eyebrows.

“Because...” he tried to find a simple enough reason. He didn’t want Tom to fully know what had happened to him before. Though he didn’t really know why any more. He had already exposed Tom to his world. His world where children prowled the streets at night to find “work”. Still, this was more personal. Tom didn’t need to know everything. He wouldn’t understand it all. Bill’s heart sank. For the thousandth time that day, his heart sank. “Tomi, it-it doesn’t matter, we’re happy here? Aren’t we?” he almost pleaded.

“Happy?” Tom asked. Bill pulled him closer, a tear escaped his eye. Falling uncontrollably before he could stop it. Tom didn’t know what happy was. Well, not truly happy. He knew how it felt to be happy, but he didn’t know the feeling of being totally carefree and so elated that you felt weightless. So happy that nothing can bring you back down from your cloud and you feel like you can take on the world. But when Bill stopped to think about it, he didn’t know that feeling either. Another tear followed the first one, then another and then another.

“Yeah Tomi, happy,” Tomi looked up at his twins face. He could see the wetness glistening down his cheeks like liquid crystals falling swiftly from his eyes. It confused him. He didn’t know what to do. He leaned up to his brother’s face and placed small kisses over them, the salty taste strange to his tongue.

“Billa?” he queried when he pulled back. Bill didn’t respond, instead he just cuddled him up and pulled the blanket over them. He would get up later when Tom finally falls asleep and turn out the light. Tom was afraid of the dark.

Bill closed his eyes for what felt like seconds, but when he opened them, it was morning.