Title: Ruthie's Descent
Rating: R
Authors: Cathryn, jbpspbj, No1uNo
Author's Note: This, like our previous work, is a round-robin fic by those good people at TWOP.
Disclaimer: We own nothing.
Chapter 4
"And," the twin continued, "we want to help."
I was happy to hear this. "Thank you . . .is it David?" I said.
The twin looked at me, confused. "David? What's a david?"
I replied, "Well, I'm wondering, which one of you is Sam and which is David?"
"Oh, well, if you're asking about which one of us has learning difficulties, it's him, but I don't know the words you're using to describe it. What do 'sam' and 'david' mean?"
I had a hard time understanding what the twin meant. "They're your names, dummy. Which one are you?"
The twin looked excited all of a sudden. "We have names? Oh boy! I thought Mom and Dad had run out of names or something. They just always call us the twins and so I assumed we didn't have our own names!"
This was getting annoying. "Well, one of you is Sam and one of you is David. I guess you can each pick a name since you don't know. Now which one are you?"
The twin wrinkled his nose. He really looks a lot like Simon when he does that. "I hate both of those names," he declared. "I want to be named Rod, after that great ex-boyfriend of Lucy's. No, wait, I liked Jeremy better! Oh, I know, I'll call myself Rod Jeremy."
"Ok, fine, Rod Jeremy, now let's figure out what to do next!"
We huddled together and started to plan, but just then Simon poked his head into the living room. I worried briefly that he may have been listening, but then I realized it didn't matter much. It was just Simon after all.
"Who were you talking to, Ruthie?" he asked.
"Oh, I was just…" A meaningful look from Rod Jeremy told me that he was not ready to share his secret with anyone but me. "…uh, talking to myself."
"Why are the boys out from behind the couch?"
"Maybe they like it out here, did you ever think of that?"
Simon looked as though he were honestly considering the question for the first time. "Well, Sam may like it, but I think David is getting scared."
I looked past Rod Jeremy to the Other Twin who, sure enough, was staring around the room as if he'd never seen it before, his eyes widening in an expression that was quickly approaching panic. Perhaps this new freedom was too much for him.
"Wait. Did you call this twin Sam, and that one David? How do you know which is which?"
"Well, this one is taller, so he must be older, and since everyone always says Sam's name first, that means Sam is the oldest, so the tall one is Sam."
I was shocked! As screwed up as his logic was, it seemed that at some point Simon had actually wondered which twin was which, and given each his own name. That was more than I had ever done. Suddenly, it seemed almost a shame to destroy Simon along with the rest of the family. After all, when I was little I spent more time with him than with any of the others, even Mom and Dad. We shared a room, he taught me how to swim; he tried to take care of me. It isn't really his fault that he just doesn't have a clue. I discovered that I didn't really want to torture Simon. Well, not any more than I always have, anyway. But this was a war I was fighting! I had to ask myself, could I trust Simon to help me, to join my side as the twins had? Or, at least, as Rod Jeremy had? (The remaining twin was still staring nervously at the wall and hadn't said a word.)
The answer was no. Anything I told Simon, he would immediately betray to our parents, or to Matt. He is too well trained. He would pretend to understand, but he would really think I had gone crazy. I could probably have talked him into helping me. I can usually talk him into anything. But as soon as he was out of my sight, They would convince him it would be "for the best" to tell them anything he knew so that They could "help" me. No, I couldn't trust him with the truth about my plans.
But maybe he could help me anyway. He just wouldn't know he was doing it.
Rating: R
Authors: Cathryn, jbpspbj, No1uNo
Author's Note: This, like our previous work, is a round-robin fic by those good people at TWOP.
Disclaimer: We own nothing.
Chapter 4
"And," the twin continued, "we want to help."
I was happy to hear this. "Thank you . . .is it David?" I said.
The twin looked at me, confused. "David? What's a david?"
I replied, "Well, I'm wondering, which one of you is Sam and which is David?"
"Oh, well, if you're asking about which one of us has learning difficulties, it's him, but I don't know the words you're using to describe it. What do 'sam' and 'david' mean?"
I had a hard time understanding what the twin meant. "They're your names, dummy. Which one are you?"
The twin looked excited all of a sudden. "We have names? Oh boy! I thought Mom and Dad had run out of names or something. They just always call us the twins and so I assumed we didn't have our own names!"
This was getting annoying. "Well, one of you is Sam and one of you is David. I guess you can each pick a name since you don't know. Now which one are you?"
The twin wrinkled his nose. He really looks a lot like Simon when he does that. "I hate both of those names," he declared. "I want to be named Rod, after that great ex-boyfriend of Lucy's. No, wait, I liked Jeremy better! Oh, I know, I'll call myself Rod Jeremy."
"Ok, fine, Rod Jeremy, now let's figure out what to do next!"
We huddled together and started to plan, but just then Simon poked his head into the living room. I worried briefly that he may have been listening, but then I realized it didn't matter much. It was just Simon after all.
"Who were you talking to, Ruthie?" he asked.
"Oh, I was just…" A meaningful look from Rod Jeremy told me that he was not ready to share his secret with anyone but me. "…uh, talking to myself."
"Why are the boys out from behind the couch?"
"Maybe they like it out here, did you ever think of that?"
Simon looked as though he were honestly considering the question for the first time. "Well, Sam may like it, but I think David is getting scared."
I looked past Rod Jeremy to the Other Twin who, sure enough, was staring around the room as if he'd never seen it before, his eyes widening in an expression that was quickly approaching panic. Perhaps this new freedom was too much for him.
"Wait. Did you call this twin Sam, and that one David? How do you know which is which?"
"Well, this one is taller, so he must be older, and since everyone always says Sam's name first, that means Sam is the oldest, so the tall one is Sam."
I was shocked! As screwed up as his logic was, it seemed that at some point Simon had actually wondered which twin was which, and given each his own name. That was more than I had ever done. Suddenly, it seemed almost a shame to destroy Simon along with the rest of the family. After all, when I was little I spent more time with him than with any of the others, even Mom and Dad. We shared a room, he taught me how to swim; he tried to take care of me. It isn't really his fault that he just doesn't have a clue. I discovered that I didn't really want to torture Simon. Well, not any more than I always have, anyway. But this was a war I was fighting! I had to ask myself, could I trust Simon to help me, to join my side as the twins had? Or, at least, as Rod Jeremy had? (The remaining twin was still staring nervously at the wall and hadn't said a word.)
The answer was no. Anything I told Simon, he would immediately betray to our parents, or to Matt. He is too well trained. He would pretend to understand, but he would really think I had gone crazy. I could probably have talked him into helping me. I can usually talk him into anything. But as soon as he was out of my sight, They would convince him it would be "for the best" to tell them anything he knew so that They could "help" me. No, I couldn't trust him with the truth about my plans.
But maybe he could help me anyway. He just wouldn't know he was doing it.