Twelve
"I know once in a while we will find, the sound of your heart beats with mine. And when it's time, I'll leave the ocean behind" Jes Hudak
A r d e n K e l l y ;
"Are you serious?" I whispered loudly.
"What? No I'm not" he pssh-ed me.
"Dude, you don't joke things like that!" I pushed his shoulder and he tumbled on the floor laughing.
"It's funny!" He countered
"It's-!" I said but thought about what I was going to say again.
Well if I were to see my face it would be funny... Never will I admit it's funny.
"It's not" I rolled my eyes and Andy recovered from his laughing fit.
"But seriously, it's not me who's getting tied down, it's Allen" he said as a matter-of-fact-ly.
I just stared at him with my eyes narrowed and rose a brow. "You lying?" I poked his arm and he sat right up as he was before.
"No, I'm not, not this time. Allen's got the most eligible bachelorette following him around like a live sick puppy" he said.
"Anddddd, who's the love sick puppy?" I asked but before Andy could open his mouth and answer me, the sound of bells from the front door rings.
"Andy!" I heard a girl said as I rose a questioning brow at him sitting next to me. He had his eyebrows shot up in surprise.
Quickly, both of us scramble to our feet and peeked behind the shelves of the shop. I had my head under a shelf and Andy next to me. Good thing I dusted the place, or not I'd be homing dust bunnies in my nose.
"Ah- Candace!" I saw Allen scrunched his face as the girl- Candace walked up to him and kissed his cheeks.
I have to tell you this, I bet that she is the love sick puppy falling for Mr. Asswipe behind the counter. Candace is tall even though she's wearing her Chelsea boots. Her face is flushed, cheeks rosy in a natural way and she has brown hair cascading down her shoulder and stopping just above her hip. She doesn't look like a duke's daughter to me, she looks more like a Victoria Secret model on the loose. When Andy said she's beautiful, he wasn't being biased. Candace is absolutely gorgeous and I admit that even though I'm a girl.
"Allen told me you had a job" she glared at him playfully.
"Oh did he?" He clenches his jaw, trying not to show his irritation towards her... Or Andy...
Wait.
Back the ship up.
Did Candace just call Allen... Andy?
My eyes grow wide before my head turned to stare at the real and actual Andy beside me.
"And, what the fuck?" I whispered and he turns to look at me, it's like realization just hit him and his eyes grow as wide as saucers.
"Just play along!" He whispered back and we tried to get our heads out the shelf.
But before the two of us could even successfully get out without being noticed, Candace's eyes flicked to our direction and she rose a brow.
"Abort mission!" He whispered loudly as if no one could hear him.
"There was no bloody mission in the first place!" I said and got my head out of the shelf.
I shook my head and dusted my hair before setting my glare at Andy, he just raised both hands in defense at me.
"What is goi-"
"Allen!" Candace's voice cut me off and I snapped my head to look at her.
She was already walking this way with a bright smile on her face. Once she got near enough, she pulled Andy into a big hug and I saw his eyes closing briefly, as if he's content being close to her.
But that content look on his face didn't last long as Candace pulled away, flashing him another one of her dazzling smiles.
"Great to see you again, Candace" he said and I heard a tinge of sadness mixed in his voice.
"Two days separated from Andy and you was long enough. But you see me everyday on Skype" she rolls her eyes, but not in that bitchy you're-so-annoying way.
I can see that Candace isn't who I thought a love sick puppy is. She seems cool and doesn't seem like she's any possessive or over protective of her man, I think I'm going to like this girl.
"Yeah. But I mean in real life though. Didn't know you'd come today, surprise, surprise" he smiled but I saw way pass that façade of his.
"Well I should've told you, thanks for the address here" she said
"Whatever you need" he bowed a little and I rolled my eyes discreetly.
Then I coughed to break their moment. Aren't I the most wonderful person?
"Oh, hi" they break eye contact and Candace looked at me with a friendly smile. "Friend of yours?" She asked Andy but her eyes are trained on me, the blue color offered me kindness and I gave her a friendly smile back.
"Instantly friends, I met her a few days ago. She's great company." Andy smiles at me and I laughed a little.
"Arden" I offered my hand.
"Arden?" She laughed. "Matches with Andy, hah" she shook my hand gave me a funny smile.
"Yeap" I said, my eyes flickering to Andy.
"Well, just wanted drop by and visit, I'll be coming again soon. This is an interesting place." She nodded her head and looked all around the pawn shop. "Better go and see Andy again before I leave, wish I had more time with him" she laughs
Mmhmm
"Sure" the real Andy nodded.
"Alright, see you around too, Arden" she nods and I returned the gesture.
Once I made sure that Candace had said her goodbyes to Allen or so she thinks is Andy and left the shop, I turned around and grabbed the real and actual Andy and pulled him back to the book corner.
"Explain, explain, oh-so, explain!" I demand.
Andy sighs and slid his back down the wall of the shop before sitting on the floor. I sat beside him soon and stared at him expectantly.
"So?" I prod and he sighs again.
"Long story, Arden" he says while rubbing his face, a face that looks like Allen, a face that Candace thinks is Allen but actually is Andy's!!
I'm so out of the loop right now!
"I've got time. I-" my eyes flickered to the stacks of books on the floor and I shrugged it off hesitantly "yeap, I've got time" I stretch out word and lean back.
Lydia is so gonna kill me if I don't finish registering these books but a good story is always worthwhile, am I right?
"Arden, it's..." He sighs
"Yeah?"
"It's " Sigh sigh sigh again.
"It's complicated okay" he says and I rolled my eyes.
Everything is complicated Andy, you just have to see it in a way that you're okay with it being like that and slowly try to uncomplicated things.
"Look, the reason it was me that Friday-"
"For the posh party you said earlier?" I muttered and then realized what I've just said.
"Uh, am I telling the story here?" He asks and I smiled sheepishly.
"Continue" I said
"Arden, the situation goes way deeper than what I've said to you before. Keep up because in no way am I repeating" he says blankly and I nod, motioning for him to continue his full story and he does.
"When I said it used to be the two of us... Having to be dragged to the parties that our parents attend to and when we decided we didn't want to attend anymore, our parents brushed Allen aside and only brought me." He told
"Why just you?"
"Because I'm the first, I'm two minutes older than Allen and in my parents perspective, me being the eldest should be the one qualified to take over my parent's business, not the second. So that being said, they only thought Allen as this... Second best, always before me. It bugged me, and it destroyed Allen inside knowing that our own parents degrade him like that. I didn't like the way they treated him one bit.
But between the two of us, I know that we're just the same. Brothers and brothers together, you know?"Andy looked ahead of him straight outside the shop, watching pedestrians pass the shop outside.
I guess... I can't relate to what he's saying about brothers... I've never had siblings. And judging by the situation that I am in right now, I don't think I'll even ever have any.
"So me and him? We had a huge advantage against our parents. While they treated me like royalty, they never succeeded to tell the difference between Allen and I. like I said, they're too busy in their own worlds that they can't even tell their own twins apart. So me and Allen switched, acting like me and replacing me going to those balls. And one happy and grand ball happened! Candace walked in our lives and ruined our whole plan"
"Hmm" is all I could say
"She met Allen, he was acting as me and asked my parents if they could be set up together. Allen was opposed to the thought but knowing that he was actually being me and not wanting to blow up our whole plan, he played along. But..." His voice drifted off like he was suddenly someplace else, stuck in his own world.
"But... Andy?" I shook him.
"Hmm?" He seems fazed
"Why do I get a feeling there's more than it goes to this story. Andy I can see it clearly in front of me that you are infatuated with Candace" I said and his eyes grow wide before he abruptly stood up and stared down at me.
"What?" He said, shocked and looking vulnerable.
"Even a blind man can sense and see it, Andy" I said softly. "You wanna know what I think?" I got up slowly and dusted my pants. "I think that you regret letting Allen go to that one happy and grand ball and having Candace fall for Allen instead of you"
"You don't know what you're saying" he scoffs and I stared at him, for a second when he said that, he actually did look and sound like Allen.
"I do know. Andy, why are you keeping up with the charade? Don't you want to be with Candace?" I asked
He sighs and closes his eyes briefly before opening then again, this time his blue eyes looks hollow rather than warm and cheerful earlier.
"Like I said" he ran a hand through his mass of golden hair "it's complicated" he said before lifting both of his shoulders and turning around, letting his back face me. "Now I think Lydia said I had to organize the storage room" he mutters and walks away.
I glared at his retreating figure and thought of what he said, finding an excuse to get away from me.
Liar, I already organized it last Friday...
But I didn't stop him though, I knew he needed some alone time. And I let him.
I sat back down and watched as Andy walking to the back of the shop where the storage room is, soon he disappeared out of my view.
"Love is complicated you know?" I heard a voice say and I looked up to see Allen standing in front of me, looking at the direction Andy disappeared to.
"Oh, I wouldn't know" I answered honestly.
"Me neither" he sighs. "But apparently Andy is experiencing first hand"
I kept quite for while before I spoke up again.
"Doesn't it kill you seeing Andy like this? He's your brother" I said a little too angrily.
"You know... I'm not even sure where this goes. How am I suppose to act on this? If I tell Candace the truth would you think that she'll just see past this mess and forget that I was ever being Andy and go to my brother? No, I don't think so because feelings don't work that way, at least not for me" Allen said as he looked at me with furrowed brows.
Then I realized what his words really meant.
At least not for me.
"You have feelings for her too, don't you?" I asked and he scoffed.
"It's way past that, Arden" he let's out a heavy breath. "Get your station done, Edith needs those books registered before lunch time" he adds before turning around and heading back to the counter.
I stared at the empty space Allen was at before and sighed.
Think about your own problems first Arden, solve yours first before you wanna get yourself into someone else's lives.
I pulled out a small folded pink paper and a pen in my back pocket and sat down, ready to write my second letter.
July 7 2013
I guess I'm not the only one having family issues...
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Hi, how's it hot? Well for me there's gonna be three weeks of exams and uh, (help me)
Vote and comment and I'm sorry abt the amount of typos on the last few chapters. Totally blames typos ✋
See you on the best chapter, later gais.
xx, sar.