Forever Siblings; come what may..

Chapter Five

Fifteen minutes later, the main door opens and sweet Rene comes in.
"Done." She announces. I sense an hint of pride in her voice and I can't afford not being surprised all the more.
Without hesitation, I walk outside and to my surprise, there isn't an hint of anything fishy. I scan the compound for some smoke, of course I thought she is going to burn them out. Everything is clear and no one would ever think that, in less than an hour ago, two people were shot dead here.
"And the Benz?" I ask Rene who is watching me from the door.
"It's been taken care of." Really now? She then turns round and swings her petite hips as she walks deeper inside the house. I am left outside, wondering to myself what kind of a family is this one of ours. Complicated indeed.

Magic?

Allie is seated at the dining table right opposite Elex. For a moment, I look at them, my siblings, one older than me and one younger than me, it's clear not an outsider would really note the age difference between them. Allie looks four years younger than she is while Elex looks four years older than he actually is. Fact is, looking at the five of us, you wouldn't know who is older than who, unless you are actually told.

"Yea, right. Forty thousand dollars!" Allie tells Elex. I am too eager to know how she did it but...but...I am just too angry to start asking. How she did it wouldn't bother me anymore, at least that's a blow to Cornelius. He deserves worse than that. And one thing stands out, there is nothing he would do to Allie, she is his beloved. Problem is, he will blame Oris for it even when it's clear that Allie is responsible. Fucked up indeed.

My phone reads two missed calls and when I check them out, they are from Oris. Why is he calling after he walked out on us?
He answers on the first ring. "Brother."
I am nodding before it occurs to me that we are over the phone and he can't see me. "Are you okay?" I ask, as curtly as I can.
"Where's she? Allie, where's she now?" He asks. His voice is one of sheer concern.
"Here with us. Any problem?" I know I shouldn't be asking this question. Oris never calls to ask about Allie when there isn't any problem at hand.
I am caught arkward when he responds. "Nope." For a moment, I wish I were next to him to see him pop the 'p'. He looks so playful whenever he does it, too unlike what he actually is.
"Would you mind giving her to me?" Of course I don't. Why would I?

I watch Allie's face start to glow and when she wipes a tear drop, then smiles, I wonder what Oris is saying to her. I don't want to look like a Snoopy dog, to their conversation. It's a twin thing. I walk to the kitchen and pour myself a glass of orange juice. I empty it in double gulps and gosh, nothing beats it when it comes to quenching an arid mouth.
"Yea, I love you and you know that." I hear Allie say before she hungs up the call. She truely loves each one of us but she loves him more, that has never been a question of debate.
"Guess the twins have had their broken fences mended?" I say jokingly.
"As we always do." She hugs me tightly as she hands back the phone.
"So?" I know that I sound prying but well, I solely intend to sound so.
"Look at you my sweet brother..." She pokes me on the chest. "We are rich and wanted." She adds, as an afterthought.

Surely?
Being rich is something to be excited about but what about being wanted? She kisses me slightly on the cheek before turning to look at Elex.
"Father just set out to ensure that we are done away with. He's formed a gang with his evil friends and we 'gotta' be on the run...well, this is just becoming as interesting as I wanted it." This is so Cornelius' family.

"And guess what, Oris will be joining us for the dinner in the evening. He will be with us throughout the night and...huh, guys don't forget that today is someone's birthday." She dancingly teases us.

Shit!
We spoiled this, we have fucked up everything. I swear I forgot everything about today even though I was seriously planning for the day last week. "Will she forgive us for not wishing her a happy birthday in the morning?"

"Oh brother, don't you generalise. I did my part, Oris did, you and Allie didn't. She is so mad at both of you. You actually need to bribe me to talk her into joining us for the dinner." Elex's playful side manifests itself. He is indeed the lastborn. He jumps up and down and calls us petty names which are meant to sound accusatory but in real sense sound fun.

It is 6th Nov and our sweet Rene is clocking twenty.

One occasion I love very much when it comes to my siblings is how we celebrate each other's birthdays. We play, joke and laugh together...we go back to the memory lane and dance our childhood to the present. We make wishes for each other and read them aloud to the whole group. The 'baby' gives the rest of us personalised gifts. We drink both our fears and joys out. We, for a moment, forget our personal differences and dance to the music of the soul. The most important part is when each of us... Huh, I cant wait.

Allie and I, race to Rene's room. She is lying on the couch, dead asleep, with a book in her hands. Like for real? She was just outside like twenty minutes ago, and here she is, sleeping as if nothing matters in this world.

'The Ancient Reds' is the book in her hand. Ancient Reds?

"Happy birthday sweet sister." Allie pours a glass of water on her and when she wakes, I pull her into my arms, before she begins whining. Rene and sleep and reading and whining and sleep again, are so inseparable.

"What surprises do you have for us apart from sleeping?" Allie teases as she takes her from my tight embrace.
"I am damn hungry on my birthday. My siblings are the worst in the world." She jokes, rubbing her eyes.
"Don't say that- you know we are the best. Problem is, you are always hungry." I say.
"Of course, you guys are the best thing that happened to this world." A double bear hug draws us close to her and oh, this feels like forever. You all know how I feel when it comes to my sisters, don't you?