In the deep

Chapter 9

My eye brows knitted in a frown as I studied the pink thing in form of a-wait, this looked like what I saw in cousin Vanessa's underwear drawer. Instantly, the memory played like a movie in my head.

I laid bored on the bed and wished for this vacation to be over soon. Having an uncle that was a deacon even limited my freedom and actions more. I had to be good all the time so as not to tarnish the family image as my father had said.

Being Hephzibah Asher felt like a curse as one was protected-scratch that, one was caged like a prisoner. Asher was a Hebrew name derived from the word Osher, meaning happiness. In the Bible, Asher was one of Jacob's twelve sons who gave their names to the tribes of Israel. Father always made sure he taught us everything about our names.

Sucking in a sharp breath, I sat up and gazed around Vanessa's pink room. There was nothing interesting here except for the novels that were stacked on her white table.

Father had always wanted my twin and I to be like her. She was miss goody two shoes, very decent and beautiful.

I rolled my eyes and picked up one of her books and noticed that the last one under was wrapped in a teen magazine. Curious to know what was inside, I pulled the book out and opened it. I widened my eyes when I saw it was a harlequin's publication, meaning it was a romance novel. Weren't people that acted like they were mother Mary meant to read inspirational or spiritual books instead?

I shrugged and placed it back. I didn't care if she read harlequin or whatever, it wasn't my business.

What should I check next?

I pulled the drawer open and was fascinated by what I saw laying plainly on her granny and netlike panties–a red stuff that was shaped like a cucumber, but it wasn't as wide as a cucumber or was it?

Picking it up, I inspected the body with my eyes and saw a button at the top which I pushed down.

Vooommmmm! It vibrated in my hands and I wondered what it was used for.

"Hephzibah!" The voice sounded very much like Vanessa so I froze at the spot. "What are you doing in my drawer with my-" she hesitated. "With my neck and face massager?"

"Hello?" Mandy snapped her fingers in my face, bringing me back to reality. "Are you okay?"

"Uhm, yeah." I blinked rapidly and returned my gaze to the cucumber shaped stuff, but it was gone. "Wasn't something on the floor?"

"Y-yeah..." Her cheeks were stained with the color red. I was beginning to suspect this girl was something unholy.

"Wait," I said, recalling that I had sniffed that bag earlier and it smelt terrible. "Is that where the horrible stench was coming out from?"

I held my nose and bumped my brows together. Vanessa had told me it was a neck and face massager so what had Mandy been massaging with it that it smelt so bad?

"What?" She asked between giggles. "No, the smell is coming from the liver..." She bit down her bottom lip and had shifty pupils like she had uttered what she wasn't meant to say.

"A liver, why do you have a liver?" I cringed.

"Biology class." She shrugged and dug her hand into her bag. "See, it's only a small part of liver." She pulled out a white leather and was about to unwrap it before I stopped her.

"I don't wanna see." I held my hands in front of me, my bowels churning like I was going to throw up. "Why do you have that in your bag with the other stuff?"