Lily sat across the tea set in silence.
She wasn't totally sure just what was taking place before her and why it had to happen, but she willing to study it like a exhibit behind glass. The twins resumed holding hands and spoke to one another in French, much to Lily's dismay seeing how she understood enough to get an idea of what they were talking about. She felt the kissing was rather strange for the fact they were not only both girls but were related, but she found it stranger that they invited her into their room and that being the first thing to raise a red flag.
Lily thought about the night Lincoln went out to see Ronnie Anne and her time with Lucy, thinking about how quick she was learning a new language the way she did. Lily thinks back to the thought she asked herself the entire lesson: Why? Lucy was being so sweet and caring to her and how seemingly proud she was of her for being so quick to picking up despite her age.
"Bientôt, vous comprendrez pourquoi c'est important…"
Lucy said endlessly through the brief time they were together. Lily found herself leaning in the chair thinking about Lucy. How kind she was to her and oddly enough how sad she seemed. "I'm so sorry" she would say or "This isn't going to last" she would have muttered. The feeling of inner pain bleed from the pale girl like a reopened wound. The thought of that night for some reason brought a burning sensation to her belly and a tight feeling in her chest. Despite the short time and barely remembering her, Lily was feeling a sense of sadness for not being able to engage with her.
"Lily, vous allez bien?" the twins asked in unison.
Lily snaps out of her deep thought to pay attention to them.
"U-Uh...yeah…" Lily said, not making too much eye contact. "So...the kissing…"
"Oh!" Lola said.
"Right!" Lana answered.
"You see, Lily…" started Lola.
"For a while now…" Lana resumed.
"Me and Lana…" Lola said.
"Or me and Lola…" Lana added.
"Have-" Lola started before Lily raised her hand up with a sigh.
"Okay" Lily started. "Lola. Why don't you tell me? Without you and Lana...doing...whatever it is you two are doing."
The twins looked at each other and nodded slightly. Lola clears her throat.
"While our…'darling' sister Luan brings us our tea, I believe it's best we tell you what's going on...at least, as much as we can remember…" Lola said.
Lily's brow raises.
"What do you mean by that?" asked Lily, clearly catching something amiss with the comment.
"We'll get to that" said Lana.
After she said that, Lola leaned into Lana's ear and whispered something Lily couldn't really make out what they were saying. Lola then turns to Lily and shuts her eyes. She softly inhales and exhales as Lana leaves the table and makes her way to Lola's side of the room. Lily had no idea rather or not she was in danger or something else was happening. Either way, she wasn't sure just who to pay attention to. She stares at Lola for a fairly long period of time before turning her attention back to Lana who was haphazardly digging through her twin's cluttered nightstand drawer for something. Lily wasn't very sure what to take away from all this and just waited. She leans in her chair only to hear the light thud from the drawer causing her to sit back up.
Lana walks back to the table with a stack of paper and a pack of new markers. She plops them on the table, letting a few loose pages shatter onto the table and floor. Lily stares at the items, clearly unsure how to respond to them or why they needed them. This is dashed once she opens up the pack and pours the markers about the table and began to lightly tear and fiddle with the box. As she does this, Lola puts on a serious face and looks to Lily.
"You are not safe here…" Lola said.
Lily just sits and stares at the girl who claimed to be her sister.
"I'm not...what?" asked Lily.
"You and Lincoln are in grave danger…" Lola said. "You have no idea how deep you two are in. You should have never returned here…"
Lily is without words. She didn't know what to think about that statement, let alone how to comment it.
"You see, Lily...things here aren't as they seem but we all know that. They know that you know too.." Lola said as she rubs her gloved hands together.
"...'They'...?" Lily thought to herself.
"We were well aware of the possible outcomes of you two returning...we knew the negatives of what we had to do to get you two here...but here you two are. Lost in a house of fear and misery. I wish I was as lost as you right now…" Lola said.
"What...what are you talking about?" Lily asked softly.
Lola looks to Lana who sits the box on the table. Lily studies the box to see that her sister has made the marker box looked older. The sides were slightly torn, the top is missing, the main logo was colored on with a marker and scratched to death and random pieces of scotch tape as placed on the rips along the bent crease that was centered on the box. Lola gives her twin a smile and nod. Lana quickly takes out a marker and doodles crosses and writes random passages from the bible onto the page.
Lily was grown very concerned.
"What is she doing?" asked Lily.
Lola looks to Lily.
"Making the party look real…" Lola answered.
As Lana scribbles away, Lola resumes.
"You see, Lily. Here's how it goes down here. Things changed after Lincoln left again. One moment, I'm arguing with my sister and the next moment, total darkness. Only to wake up tied to that...that chair…" Lola said.
Lily doesn't know what to say.
"I was scared...I was crying...I was...in the basement, listening to her mumble to herself about the bible this and logic that. Just listening to the sound of her scribbling in her documents-noting everything I said or did. Recalling everything I did wrong. Next thing you know...needle to the arm and then darkness again. I wake up. About three days later…" Lola said before stopping.
Lana slowly stops drawing before Lola sighs and rolls her hand, gesturing her to resume.
"I wake up three days later with gloves on my hands, standing in a pool of water, screaming my head off. Didn't know I was being baptized. They looked at me...saying I was acting hellish again. Most of them kneeled and sung hymns, praying to "the son". The rest? Wanna know where the rest did to me?" Lola asked.
Lily looked away, not liking where this was going.
Lola curls her finger, gesturing Lily to come to her side of the table. Lily hesitated but soon made her way over to the other side and stood next to Lola, stiff as a board.
Lola inhales and exhales.
"They said I had my old devilish ways in me…" Lola said. "Lily, stick your hand in the back of my shirt."
Lily is struck with a sense of dread hearing such a blunt statement. Lana stops drawing.
"Lola, don't…" Lana said somberly.
"I-It's fine, Lana. She...she has to know…" Lola said.
"But-" Lana started.
"Just keep drawing. We have to make this look good" Lola said.
Lana, though bitter, went back to drawing and writing. Lily looks to Lola, who gives a agonizingly slow nod. Lily sighs and fearfully sticks her hand in Lola's shirt and rubs her back. Lily turns pale. Lola's back felt like she was touching long lines of braille. The bumps turned out to feel quite familiar. Lily lifts Lola's shirt to only gasp lightly. Along the girl's back were slash scars in various patterns. The cuts looked like as if she was attacked with a weed eater. Lily was hollow-tearing up at the very sight. Lana sniffled and Lola remained silent.
"Wha...wha...what?" Lily said.
"They had to punish me, they said. So, I was tied to pole looking thing, hand my wrist handcuffed and… they took turns flogging me. Beating me. Asking God of all people to forgive them...bits of glass and bobby pins plucked at the ends of it scraping against my back…" Lola said.
"Lola…" Lana said sadly.
"I screamed my lungs out-begged them to stop. They just kept whipping me and prodding me…" Lola said.
"P-Prod?" asked Lily.
"L-Lola, stop this…" Lana said.
Lola pulls down her pants just a bit to show off her left hip and buttock to show healed circular scarring.
"Cattle prod me…" Lola said. "They whipped and prod me…"
Lily was lost for words. Lola turn to Lana.
"They...they made Lana punish me, too…" Lola said somberly.
Tears trailed down lana's eyes as Lola tries her damndest to hold it together.
"She was afraid to hurt me...I knew it...then, she started singing that song…" Lola said.
"O-Over the Rainbow..?" asked Lily.
They both nodded in unison.
"She was trying to calm me down. She struck me once. I screamed in pain and she couldn't do it again. She...ran to comfort me, begged for forgiveness…" Lola said.
Lana looks to Lola with wet eyes.
"I-I didn't mean to hurt you! I-I never want to hurt you!" Lana broke down.
Lola reached over to hug her sister and shushed her.
"When she wouldn't go through with it…" started Lola. "They punished her. Sent her to the box of ivory. When she returned to me...well, after I was myself again, she looked dead. Just sat in one place with that blank look…" Lola said as tears began to form. "She looked like a puppet!"
Lily backed away with tears in her eyes.
The twins held one another and wept together, keeping each other from falling on the floor. Lily sits on the floor of the room, wondering how did things get this bad.
"Those treatments only work for so long...which is why you are here.." said Lana.
"Wha? Treatments?" asked Lily.
"Listen" Lola said. "We both know Lincoln and how he acts. We know he's got some crazy plan in store to find out what has happened here. We can't stop him and the...people who we are during the treatments won't know or remember any of this taking place...so do what you have to.."
"Wait" Lily said, wiping tears from her eyes. "D-Did you guys give her the treatment?"
"Who?" asked Lana.
"Lucy…" asked Lily.
The two looked at one another.
"Yes…" they said in unison.
"S-She remembered me!" said Lily. "S-She remembered the French lessons and everything!"
The girls got from the table and moved closer to Lily, who trembled on the floor at their sudden approach.
"A-Are you sure?" asked Lana.
"That's not possible…" Lola said.
"S-She did! I was there! She remembered the lesson!" Lily said.
The twins looked at one another.
"Could...she actually be fighting the treatments that hard?" asked Lola.
"I-I didn't know we could do that...I thought we fake the lingering and pretend after it wears off!" Lana said.
"We do! But...is..i-is the treatments weakening?" Lola said.
Lily sits and watches the twins pace back and forth, commenting and theorizing Lily's claim.
"W-Wait. Hold on…" said Lily.
The twins stop.
"If you two know everything about the basement and the attic and-" Lily started.
"The attic…" they both said grimly.
The room gets still and quiet.
"T-That night…" Lola said looking away. "That terrible night…"
"So much blood...Lori...she was so angry…" Lana said coldly as she held herself.
"Wha...what happened?" asked Lily.
The two shook their heads.
"We don't like talking about...that night...it was such a mess…" Lola said.
The twins shudder.
Lily gets off the ground and looks at the girls. The girls gaze at her and sigh in unison.
"We don't have anymore time…" Lola said.
"Luan spiked the tea, Lily…" said Lana.
"S-Spiked?" Lily asked.
"The treatment would be in the tea...if you drink it…" Lana said.
Lily covered her mouth.
"Yes...so, you won't drink it...but we will…" Lola said.
"W-Wha?! N-No! You don't have to!" Lily protested.
The twins smiled faintly.
"We kinda do…" Lana said.
"It makes us sick but.." Lola said. "But you knew this. We are unwell."
Lily groans.
"You don't have to drink it at all!" Lily said.
"If we don't, we'll be punished again and forced fed it anyway...might as well go on our own choosing" Lana said.
"We were waiting for the perfect time...the perfect time to tell you everything and it's still not enough." Lola said.
"G-Girls, you don't have to-" Lily started.
"We love you…" Lola said.
Lily got quiet. Lola slowly walks up to Lily and holds her hand.
"There's so much I wanted to teach you…" Lola said. "How you dress nice. How to do your hair. How to paint your nails…"
"How to make mud pies…" Lana said.
"How to walk like a lady…" Lola said.
"How to wrestle…" Lana said.
"How to get boys to do what you want…" Lola said with a giggle.
"How to make mud pies…" Lana said again.
"We...never got a chance to be real sisters to you and it's a mix of things that lead us not being able to do that. But we want you to know we love you and if..i-if there's a way out of this for all of us…" Lola said before pausing.
Lana holds Lily's other hand.
"Would you...have a real tea party with us...as friends?" asked Lana.
Lily stared at the two with watery eyes and a heavy heart. She doesn't know who her sisters are outside this puppet identity they are forced to convey as shadow siblings behind the curtain pull the strings. They weren't evil. They weren't enemies. They were just two confused girls who still want to do normal girl things. Not only that, but they wanted to do those things...as a family. Lily pulls the two in and hugged them tightly. Lola and Lana holds on to Lily and let tears roll off their faces in silence.
"I'll do it as a sister…" Lily said. "I-I'll do whatever to play with you guys…"
Lola breaks the hug.
"It's time to go to your room now. Quickly… before she comes" Lola said.
Lily opens the door and walks into the hallway and turns to them. The two girls sit at the table, smiling with tears drying on their cheeks. Lily shuts the door and makes her way back to Lincoln's bedroom. She shuts the bedroom door and locks it behind her. Lily lays on the bed on her back, crying as tears flew down her face, damping the pillow. Lily hears steps on the stairs from the hallway along with whistling, sounding like the song Jesus Loves Me. It was Luan for sure. There was some knocking and what sounded like a door opening. Lily hears the hushed talking in the hall before the sound of the door shutting is heard. Footsteps are heard approaching the door as the menacing sound of the door knob being turned furiously fills the room, causing the anxiety pressure weigh on Lily's chest like a barbell.
There's silence.
The sound of the footsteps leaving the door echoed as the creaking of the stairs gives Lily the all clear.
"1...2…3...4...5…" Lily said to herself softly.
She stares at the ceiling, too afraid to look at the door and thinking about the girls she saw.
"19...20...21...22…" she said to herself softly.
She shuts her eyes, letting the painful tears cascade down her cheek and onto the bedspread. Lily knew then and there.
"25...26...27…"
She wasn't fighting to save Lincoln anymore.
"28...29…"
She was fighting to save her family.
"30…"
A loud thud is heard nearby. The sound of a sandbag ringing similar. A loud shattering, from what Lily can only assume to be the tea cups, is heard before a second thud.
"Thirty seconds…" Lily said before she fell asleep in a sea of her own tears.