SLEEPSONG (BoyxBoy)✔️

Chapter 164

"Y'all are so cute!" she gushed in a thick Southern drawl, swiping each and every item with swift precision and putting them into the biodegradable synthetic plastic bags they kept on hand. "I ain't seen twins as darlin' as you in my life! Y'all are identical, then?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Rachel chirped, giving the woman a deceptively girlish grin. "My sister and I are--"

"--completely identical," Ray quietly finished, tilting her head with a curious glance.

"My word, ya even finish each other's sentences!" the woman breathed, eyes wide with wonder; as she was speaking, she put the last item in the bag and waved the girls along. "All right, you girls have been rung up. I'll try to keep it speedy so your food don't go bad, m'kay?"

"Thanks," Rachel chirped. "You're very kind, Ma'am."

She smiled with rosy lips and clucked her tongue as Horst hobbled forward, but when he tried to move around the cart, however, those jade green eyes landed on his crutches and she frowned. I watched more carefully, noting the way she leaned around the cash register to glance at his legs. To my surprise, her eyes widened.

"Oh, Darlin'!" she gasped, instantly making her way around the cash register and squeezing past the twins. "Hang on, Sugar, you just sit back and relax while I get this for ya."

"Huh?" Horst asked, stepping back when she bent over his cart and hastily started stacking things on the black checkout belt with alarming speed. She moved quickly and efficiently, but more impressively was the fact that she managed to organize it as she was doing it. Jak watched her with tense shoulders, squeezing the metal handle of his cart so tight that it was denting and even splintering, but he said absolutely nothing and just watched until the cart was empty.

"There ya go," she said, nodding and quickly scuttling back through the isle. She hummed to herself as she rang everything up, swaying to and fro, pink hair swishing across her rosy cheeks as she bagged everything in record time. Horst seemed baffled and more than a bit grateful.

"You didn't have to do that," he said, and she looked at him with a soft smile.

"It's Thanksgivin'," she said, green eyes glimmering with love and life. "People should be happy on the holidays! It was no trouble at all!"

"Er, thanks," the kid mumbled, pushing his empty cart over to where the twins were waiting, bags already loaded. Jak said absolutely nothing when he pushed his cart forward and started loading everything up, movements jerky and unsteady.

"You have beautiful children, Sir!" the woman said kindly, and he went still; I saw his head turn, saw him stare down at her through his glasses. Unfazed, the woman gave him a kind, closed-lipped smile. "I hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgivin'!"

"Same... to you," he said in a low, guttural tone that made her freeze; she blinked, pausing for a few seconds, and a strange expression crossed her features. I swore I saw a wash of goosebumps rise up on her arms, which she quickly shook off.

She didn't say anything else to him as she was checking out.

I didn't blame her. Jak was scary on a good day, but I could clearly see that he was acting a little off and it had me worried. I drummed my fingers on my cart and waited as she rang everything up and bagged it, and then finally it was my turn. I pushed forward and started unloading my cart, setting everything on the conveyor belt and watching as it moved the groceries toward her.

"Oh, my Stars!"

I jumped, glancing up to see her staring right at me with wide eyes.

I frowned.