Vanessa's POV
Silence. Silence. Silence. Silence.
And then:
Boom!
"SISTERS?!"
Uh, that's what Vlad said.
"Hey, you think they can't understand English?" I whispered into Essa's ear. Her response was a light elbow to my stomach. "Ouch, I was just trying to light up the mood."
"Wrong timing," she whispered back.
Don't mind her, she was sleep-deprived. Sucks to be her.
"Yes, sisters," Vlad confirmed and waited for their reaction. The nervousness I had evaporated because I was struggling to keep my laughter in. Sorry, but why was this funny to me?
"How?" Michael asked, trailing his eyes in between both of us, observing our features.
"Screw how. Vlad, they look around 15," I wanted to correct Dimitri's observation but he continued talking, "Ma died nine years ago."
Okay, so what did that have to do with- oh, fuck! That meant that our dad cheated on their mother? That... Even if we never met him or knew much about our dad, knowing such information just made all the random feelings I had for him down the trash.
I blinked. Michael kept his hand on Dimitri's shoulder to stop him from saying anything else and to what looked to me was a small nod towards us.
Vlad's jaw clenched. Come on, look at me! I did not want this to be true. But, he kept his gaze on Dimitri.
"Adrian, take the twins to their rooms," Vlad told Adrian who awkwardly nodded and motioned us to follow him.
This turned awkward quick enough.
My feet shuffled against the ground as I took steps careful not to trip over my own feet. I really didn't want to get embarrassed. Just before we left, Michael gave us a small, awkward smile.
What was that supposed to do? Give us comfort? Cuz that only made him look constipated- no offense to him, of course.
"So... what are your names?" Adrian asked as we followed him up the stairs.
"Adessa," Essa answered, her eyes adoring the place.
"Vanessa," I beamed, putting a hand around my twin's shoulder so he could see the difference. All of us were trying to ignore the thing Dimitri implied. He nodded and mouthed 'cool'.
"Your accent. You guys lived in America?" He tilted his head, curiosity lacing his brown eyes.
"Among many places, yup."
"Hey, Adrian?" Essa spoke up slowly. "Do you know where our rooms are or are you just randomly taking us deeper into the maze?"
Adrian stopped abruptly, making me almost stumble into him. Could've given me a warning to stop, stupid. A sheepish grin adorned his face as he turned on his feet, demeanor telling me he in reality did not know where he was taking us.
This world has stupid people in abundance.
"You've got to be kidding me." Irritation and annoyance glistered on my twin's face as she grumbled curses in Italian, the tiredness clear on her face. God, who knew jet lag was so bad.
"Wait, wait, there are three rooms out of four that are empty beside mine. I'll take you there for now. Vlad can't say anything to me because he didn't specify where I had to take you." Hope and relief laced his words, a slight shade of red dusted his cheeks.
"Lead the way."
Walking around the mansion, there was only one question I had: How the fuck was my sweet little brain supposed to remember this maze of a house? This was pure torture. It would take me weeks to not stumble into walls.
"This is it," Adrian exhaled once we reached the supposed corridor.
One of the walls between two room doors had three colors of paint splattered all over the eggshell white wallpapers. Wow... this was a great piece of accidental art. The rest of the hallway was a normal hallway. A normal hallway of a billion-dollar mansion.
Pretty sure the mansion -that looked more like a castle- was worth a billion dollars. If not then whatever.
A pair of rooms right in front of Adrian's room - which I guessed due to the mess of a room I could see - had identical doors with a different design that differentiated it from the rest of the five rooms in the hallway.
Adrian rotated the key that was already placed in the lock and opened the door. A small gasp left my lips. I already did expect the size and design of the place to be magnificent but what I did not expect was that the design would be the same as the one I had described to Vlad when we were fourteen.
Was he... was he planning to have us here back then? Then why was he missing for the next two years?
Warmth couldn't help but spread in my chest at this gesture. My fourteen-year self childishly babbled about the room but not in my wildest dreams would I think I would actually have that. And I had a lot of wild dreams.
The bed was placed on a height so I would have to climb the three stairs to get there. Two lamps were on either side and the wall behind was covered in wallpaper. The bedsheet and the furniture were plain while the walls had designs everywhere. It made the perfect contrast.
"Wow," I turned when I heard the word leave Adrian. I raised an eyebrow. "I never knew this room was furnished." He frowned.
"Why didn't Vlad tell us about you both?" The frown on his face deepened.
That was what I wanted to know. I knew the reason why we couldn't come here before, but telling them wouldn't really change anything.
I shrugged. My eyes continued scanning the room until it spotted a door on the opposite wall of the bed. I remembered telling him that I wanted a door that joined Essa's and my rooms. I had no reason why.
I immediately stalked up to the door and opened it. Instead of a room, there was a bathroom in front of me. God, the bathroom was the size of a room. Straight across the door, I opened was another door. Mind you, the door was far away.
So he did fulfill that wish too. Even if that meant I had to share this room-sized bathroom with my twin.
Essa's footsteps were heard right behind me. Opening the door, my lips twitched up in a smile. Essa's room had a sense of warmth.
The walls were covered in warm shades of beige and there were fairy lights on the wall behind Essa's bed. Pillows of the same color scheme covered her bed with a plain, white bedsheet beneath. Her room was comparatively plainer than mine but this was comfier and warmer and brighter and I could go on.
Curse my fourteen-year-old brain to not have this design.
I blame Essa.
Once I was done looking at the room, I shuffled awkwardly. Adrian was still there and I had no idea what to say. Should I thank him? Or should I just stay here avoiding meeting his eyes?
I didn't mind talking to new people but when he was your half-brother who had no idea about you, it got awkward.
Thankfully, my twin came to the rescue.
"Um, so we're going to freshen up?" Oof, she was uncomfortable talking to him too. Practically, he was a stranger to us. "Thank you for showing us our rooms."
Adrian nodded, returning the awkward smile. "Uh, if you need something, I'll be in the room right in front of you."
He left the room right after that. The door closed, the awkwardness still lingering in the air.
I sighed. I guess this was home now. Hopefully, this was the last time we moved.
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Short chapter but I'll try to get another out in the weekend. I'm so sorry for the wait <3
Question: How much sleep have you guys had in the past week? If not enough, then get off Wattpad and go sleep!!