Twisties

Chapter 17

"Hey, sit back. You can do that later," said Jawani, looking back at us. Shockingly, Tara turned around and sat in her seat. I could still hear her little sniffles.

We drove away from the place. I looked at the dashboard that read 4 am. I'd been tied up for only a few hours, but man, it felt much longer. The car ride was silent and soon enough, we pulled up to our house. It was so surreal to me.

"Uh..." I wasn't sure what to say. Thank you just felt too casual for someone who just saved your life, but Jawani just shook his head.

"It's okay. Go get some sleep Tatiana."

I nodded. "Thanks."

He looked over at Tara in the front seat. "You go to bed too and stay out of trouble. We'll be in touch, okay?" She looked up at Jawani, ready to open her mouth, but he cut her off. "Later."

She stared at him for a few seconds more before getting out. I followed and we watched Jawani pull away. With nothing left to do, we turned around and slowly went into the house.

With Grandpa at work, it was empty and dark. Very quiet.

I turned to Tara. "I'm going to sleep now so...goodnight." I had no energy and wasn't in the mood for talking. I didn't even have any words right now.

That wasn't the case with Tara, who hugged me tightly from behind. I felt her body shaking, heard the sobs coming up from within her chest. "Tatiana." Her voice cracked and I could feel tears starting to soak through my shirt. "I'm so sorry. You know I would've traded myself for you right? I love you. I know I'm a shitty sister."

I sighed. I was too tired to do this right now. I didn't know what to feel about all of this and I didn't want to either. But Tara always picked up on her emotions faster than me. Her guilt was consuming her.

I turned around and peeled her off me. "Shhh enough crying for tonight okay? I just want to go to bed and I bet you have a lot you want to tell me, but let's do it later."

I gave her my best reassuring smile. She nodded, grabbing me again. When I tried to pull away this time, she squeezed my hand. "Can we sleep together?" That put a crack in my heart. She looked on the brink of collapsing if I said no. To reject her would've meant I hated her. Despite everything I went through tonight, I couldn't do that.

I squeezed her hand back. "Come on." We walked up the stairs, still holding hands, and went into my room. I didn't even bother changing out of my clothes, just pulled the covers back and climbed in bed. Right away, Tara clung to me.

"I love you," she said, locking eyes with me. "You know that, right?" Fresh tears fell down her cheeks and onto my pillow.

I nodded. "Of course. I love you too." Completely drained of the last bit of energy I had, I closed my eyes before drifting off to sleep.

🌸

When I woke up, it was two in the afternoon. Tara was still sound asleep next to me, her face covered with tear stains. Slowly getting out of bed so not to wake her up, I quietly got dressed before leaving the room. Grandpa was watching the news when I came downstairs. He looked up from the tv once he saw me.

"Everything alright sweetheart?"

I shrugged.

Grandpa started tapping his foot, his slipper flopping up and down. "I was bout to wring your sister's neck when I didn't see her in the bed this morning. Something happen? You two haven't slept together since y'all was kids."

Grandpa seemed genuinely concerned, but I couldn't bear to tell him. He already took on so much. "I'm good Grandpa. I'm just going to take a walk."