Won't Hold You Back

Maddie took a deep breath, her Army duffel bag strap beginning to dig into her shoulder. She looked up at the huge mansion in front of her, hearing the slam of the car doors as she began to remember why she was even there

-

*Three Days Ago*

Stepping into the living room, Angela stood with her hands on her hips.

Madeline and Loren Rotter sat on the plush, mint green sofa

as some soap opera played on T.V.

"So I'm going to get straight to the point, my lovely twin girls. I'm getting remarried to this nice young man by the name of Jerry Lockter. You might have heard of his chain of beauty salons 'Lockter Locks'. I love him and I hope you approve. Start packing, we move into his house sometime this week."

Angela briskly walked out of the room; heading towards her bedroom to most likely pack.

"You know what the hell she’s talking about," Loren monotonously asked as she turned her attention back to the show.

"Not a clue," Maddie replied in the same voice, her actions mimicking her sister’s.

-

*Present*

Sighing, Maddie advance towards the door and she felt her stomach fill to the brim with butterflies. She awkwardly stood in front of it, shifting from foot to foot.

Loren stood next to her, grabbing and squeezing Maddie’s hand for reassurance that they both needed. She dropped it soon after, sufficing with a reassuring squeeze.

Angela appeared behind them, clearing her throat as a signal for them both to move.

They exchanged similar looks before turning to the left side of the porch Loren had stood at, waiting for their mother to knock on the door.

Angie shook her head, her chocolate brown curls seeming to come to life and bounce on her shoulders in joy.

Raising a purposeful fist, she confidently knocked on the door and waited for someone to open it.

The clean white door opened to reveal a small boy with light blonde hair, who looked to be around nine or ten.

He looked the twins up and down before turning to Angie; a look of pure happiness appearing on his face.

The boy launched himself at Angie, Maddie and Loren instantly confused. He buried his head into her stomach, causing a small giggle to slip out of her mouth.

She lightly grasped his arms, gently pulling him to an arm’s length from herself.

"Seth," Angie began with a soft voice, "I’d like you to meet my two daughters."

He nodded, a grin spreading across his face as he turned to the twins.

"That’s Madeline, call her Maddie," she continued and gestured towards the twin with (obviously dyed) pitch black hair.

Maddie gave a small wave in reply, instantly turning her head to look at the garden around them.

Angie’s smile faltered, before turning towards the other twin with slighty dakr brown hair.

"And that’s Loren. She doesn’t have a nickname, but will you help me figure one out for her?"

Seth nodded his head, his blonde curls moving along with his head. Angie smiled, before placing a gentle kiss on the top of his head.

"May we come in?"

He nodded again, clutching her hand and bounding inside. She gave a small chuckle, turning to the girls’ and giving them her signature "You-better-behave-or-you’ll-regret-it" look.

Maddie rolled her eyes as Loren went to go inside, before Maddie's hand snapped out to take a hold of Loren’s upper arm.

Loren stopped immediately, turned towards her sister, and attempted to give her a reassuring smile.

"It'll be okay. It's you and me against the world, remember?" Loren gently said, taking her sister's hand.

Maddie nodded, gulping before walking towards the open door. She held onto Loren’s hand for dear life, afraid to let go and lose her forever.

She couldn’t exactly say she was surprised, seeing as the outside was beautiful, so would the inside be. She was slightly shocked by how grand and shiny everything was.

But what really shocked her was the fact that two boys, who looked a few years younger than herself, were rolling down the stairs in a tangled heap of arms and legs. The two boys had very different hair colors, one a dark mahogany brown and the other a medium shade of auburn.

Maddie heard bits and pieces of their conversation, and the two were obviously fighting over a girl. She shook her head, trying her hardest not to chuckle at the scene unfolding in front of her.

"She’s mine!" exclaimed the one with the dark hair.

"No, she’s mine, you idiot!" the auburn responded.

The dark haired one opened his mouth to yell something back, when the two stopped rolling down the "grand" staircase and hit the ground, a groan coming from both of them.

A very yummy (or so both the twins thought) looking blonde guy ran down the stairs after the two, slightly breathless as he touched down on the ground with a grace that stunned both the girls. He looked up, someone finally noticing the two twins that stood there with an expression of awe.

"So sorry about these two idiots here," he said apologetically in a deep baritone voice, "If you two would walk through that archway there and wait for a bit, Kayla will be right with you to show you both to your rooms. I would take you myself, but I have my hands full."

The girls simply nodded, their actions in sync even though they never intended for that to occur.

"Oh! Where are my manners? I’m Eric," he said, smiling. "The dark haired moron is Todd, and the light haired imbecile is Rick. And you two are?"

Loren spoke up first, "My name is Loren Rotter, and this is my sister Madeline. You can cal-"

"Why does everyone introduce me with my full name? Seriously, dude. I mean, come on. Introduce me as Maddie. Like really, dude," Maddie interrupted with an exasperated sigh, running a hand through her black locks and re-adjusting her duffel bag.

Loren let out a small giggle, shaking her head slightly, "Excuse her, she’s not good with new people."

"Don’t give me that ‘Excuse her’ bullshit," Maddie rolled her eyes, heading towards the opening in the wall Eric had pointed out earlier, "Try to make this quick. I wanna sleep."

Eric stifled a laugh, seeing twins bicker was very funny, even though they looked like they were very close.

Loren and Maddie's heads' snapped back to Eric, their movements almost in perfect sync as they did so. Eric burst out laughing, shocking the girls and the two boys on the ground.

"Wow," Rick let out a low whistle as he started to untangble himself from his younger brother, "It's been a long time since you've laughed..."

Eric heard his quiet comment, immediantly stopping; he cleared his throat, and ran a hand through his blonde hair.

"You two, go clean up whatever mess you made. I have to escort these lovely ladies to their rooms."

"What happened to this 'Kayla' person taking us?" Maddie butted in, not really wanting to be around this male bimbo. She scoffed, heading through the arch way as the four she left in the room trailed after her with their eyes.

"She's kinda hot," Todd said absentmindedly, his body still on the floor.

Loren giggled, "Thanks, she'll appreciate that. I'm gonna go follow her so she doesn't get lost. If you'll excuse me boys," she finished and gave a small curtsey before following her sister.

Eric smirked, "This'll be interesting."

__

A/N: I'm such a fail, it's fixed. I can't believe how stupid I am.