Chapter 15 - "All Those Sick Things You Said That I Would Do" - Michaela's
Story
May 6th, 2000 - New York, New York

Beep. Beep. Beep. I slammed my hand down on the alarm and slowly got out of bed. It was only 7am, but we had to get up early this morning so that we could be fresh for the trial and 8.30am. I looked through my suitcase for a responsible looking, yet stylish (some of the court case was to be televised) outfit. Black skirt that came just below the knee (I didn't want to look cheap), black top. I needed some colour. I picked up a pastel green cardigan and held it up against myself. Pretty good. I picked up the clothes and stood up, ready to go into the bathroom.
"Hey Michaela!" Tweedle-Tay said groggily, opening his eyes. "What time is it?"
"7 am," I replied. "You'd better get up. We're having breakfast with Louisa at 7.30."
"Right," Tweedle-Tay said, looking annoyed at the prospect of getting up early.
"Try and hurry," I added running off to the bathroom.

*****************

"Good morning guys!" Louisa said, running over to our table at the little cafe down stairs from Grandmother Morgan's apartment.
Louisa was a lawyer who worked for the government. The government wanted our parents put away but had to have them put to trial first. We were going to be the key witnesses. "Good morning," I said cheerfully.
Grubbery pulled over a chair so that Louisa could sit down. "Have you ordered yet?" she asked.
Tweedle-Tay nodded. "Grubbery and I did," he said. "Michaela was too stressed to eat."
Louisa nodded and turned to me. "Honey, I understand that you'd be nervous. The next three days *are* going to be very stressful. But you have to eat. We can't have you fainting on the witness stand, can we?"
"I guess not." I replied.
"I'll order you a bagel," she said, ordering our meals as Grubbery's and Tweedle-Tay's were being delivered. As we began to eat, Louisa continued to talk. "I think we are a shoe-in to win this case. Tweedle- Tay may not get his lost Manson earnings back, but your parents are sure to be punished in some way. There is no way they can escape punishment. It's going to be obvious to the jury that they are in the wrong." She paused and took a sip of her coffee. "To tell you the truth, I feel sorry for their lawyer. I really can't think of a plausible defense for them."
"They'll probably go with the 'we're good Christians' defense," I said bitterly.
"But it's obvious that they aren't," Louisa said warmly. "The paintings on the attic, Grubbery's coma...."
"They might say that we're lying," Grubbery cut in.
"They might," Louisa agreed. "But that's pretty weak."
"I think they'll go with picking out all the bad things we did," I said, looking at Tweedle-Tay.
He nodded. "I'll bet that's what they do."
Louisa paused. "I think you'll have to pay damages for what you did to the house. But nothing else you did was illegal."
"Well, not in New York," Tweedle-Tay mumbled under his breath.
Was it illegal? I think it was. Shit.

******************

"I, Michaela Manson, swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God," I said, with my hand on the bible. It was typical that I'd have to be the first witness called to the stand. I'd never seen anybody do this before. I looked down at Tweedle-Tay and Grubbery, who were dressed in matching clothes for once in their lives. To the right I could see my parents and my other siblings. My mother was wearing a pink, floral dress, obviously trying to look like a good suburban house wife. My father was.... argh!
"Michaela," Louisa began, looking up at me and telling me to remain clam with her eyes. "You didn't meet your parents until you were fourteen years old, did you?"
"No."
"And this was because you were living with your grandmother, wasn't it?"
"Yes."
"When you met your parents, how did they respond to you?" Louisa asked, leading me in the right direction.
"My mother was pleased to see me, and my father said that I was, um, a devil child who would ruin the family. I was allowed to stay in the family for a about two weeks, when they decided that they would send me away."
"Why did they want to send you away?"
"They said that I would be bad for Manson's image. You know, the band."
"But they didn't send you away. When your brother, Tweedle-Tay, said he didn't want you to leave, what did they do instead?"
"Our father said we'd both have to leave. Our mother said she'd put us up in the attic for a few days until he got over his anger. But those few days turned into a year and a half."
Louisa nodded seriously. "And what happened to you when you were in the attic?"
I paused. "Well, we only had one meal a day so we both lost about thirty pounds. And, well, we got *really* bored and well....."

******************

Our parent's lawyer came to the stand. "Good morning Michaela," he said. "How are you?"
"Erm, I'm okay, I suppose," I replied nervously. I had to be so careful of this man. Whatever I said, I felt as though he was going to twist the meaning of it.
"That's good," he said, nodding to himself. "Michaela, this book you speak of, the diary... How do you know it was real?"
"Real?" I repeated. What did he mean by real.
"Yes, real. Authentic. How do you know you're brother didn't write it?"
"Because it wasn't his handwriting. And one of the diaries was written by my grandmother, and I can recognise her handwriting."
"So, due to these diaries, you believe that your parents are brother and sister. Twins," the man continued.
He was digging his own hole! "Yes," I said.
"And you have proof of this?" he continued.
"They had a DNA test," I explained.
He nodded. "So they *are* twins. I think it's wrong for twins to have sexual relations, don't you Michaela?"
He was actually helping us. "Yes."
He nodded again. "Well that's interesting. Be honest with me Michaela, have you slept with your brother, your *twin* brother, Tweedle- Tay?"
Shit. I was under *oath*. I couldn't lie. I glanced down at Tweedle-Tay who was looking up at me with fear. Grubbery looked amused by how ridiculous the question was. He was going to be devastated.
"Michaela, did you have sexual relations with your brother Tweedle- Tay?" the lawyer pressed.
"Yes," I choked out. "But we were in the attic. I didn't want to. Not then. If they hadn't put us in the attic, this never would have happened!" Tweedle-Tay was sliding down his seat and Grubbery was looking at him in disgust.
"So are you saying it was rape?" the man continued.
"On occasion."
"How many occasions?"
"Once."
"And how many times have you and Tweedle-Tay had sexual relations?"

I could see Grubbery and Tweedle-Tay whispering. "Four times."
"So, are you and Tweedle-Tay bad people?"
Well, yes. But I didn't say it. Were we? "Just let me think about that." I thought for about ten seconds. "No. Tweedle-Tay and I would not be in the situation we're in today if we'd never been in the attic."
"And what makes you think that?" the lawyer asked.
"Tweedle-Tay was a fifteen year old boy. You know how fifteen year old boys are. All they *ever* think about is sex. I was the only girl he *saw* for a year and a half."
"But that doesn't explain you, Michaela."
"Tweedle-Tay and I became best friends," I said. "We loved each other." I paused. "Anyway, girls have sex drives too!"
"So you and Tweedle-Tay gave into your sex drives?"
"Yes," I said weakly.
"And that's what your parents did too, wouldn't you agree?" he continued.
"No. They weren't locked up in an attic at a crucial stage in their development. They had other people. If we'd had other people we never would have done this!" I protested. This was hell. I just wanted to come down from the stand. Oh god, and it was being televised too.
"Right," the lawyer said. "Well, I for one have a little bit of trouble believing that, don't you?" he said, turning the jury. "That's all I have to say."

********************

"So you see," our mother said to her lawyer, "We only sent Michaela away because we couldn't get enough food on the table to feed her. And when we put the twins up in the attic, we only wanted them to learn to get along. We were doing everything for their own good."
"You were just trying to give your children a well-rounded upbringing?" the lawyer asked nicely.
"Exactly," our mother said charmingly.
"That's all for now," the lawyer said.
"Case adjourned for the day," the judge said.
I slowly stood up from my seat and began to follow Tweedle-Tay and Grubbery from the court room. Today they'd managed to question me, my father, Grubbery, and my mother. Tomorrow they'd be doing Tweedle-Tay, Neuton and secondary character witnesses. Our parent's case seemed to be avoiding the torture they'd inflicted on Tweedle-Tay and I and was instead concentrating on what bad children Tweedle-Tay, Grubbery and I were. For such an irrelevant case, they were doing a good job.
When we were standing outside in the foyer, Grubbery turned to talk to Tweedle-Tay and me. "I really don't know what to say to the two of you," he said. "I can't believe you've slept together. You're not doing it anymore are you?"
"No," I said quickly. I wasn't ever going to sleep with Tweedle-Tay again.
"I don't know," Tweedle-Tay said at the same time. "Michaela and I are having a hard time."
I sighed. "I really don't know what to do."
Grubbery shook his head in disgust. "You two make me sick," he said. "But I can't hate you for it." He forced out a laugh. "I'm confused too....."
"Hey!" Three little blonde children ran over to us. Elizabeth, Kestrel and MacArthy.
You should have seen the look of excitement that came over Tweedle- Tay's face. "Hey!" he said back. "How are you?"
Elizabeth raised her eyebrows. "Not great," she said. "I don't know what to think. I mean, you guys aren't lying when you say that our parents did those things to you, are you?"
I shook my head. "Unfortunately, no."
"Then I really *do* come from a family of mental cases," she said sadly. She paused. "I can't believe that our parents could be so mean."
"Where's Mozzie?" Grubbery asked.
"With Neuton," MacArthy said.
"He's been looking after us," Kestrel added. "He thinks your all liars."
"Neuton is certain that our parents are in the right," Elizabeth continued. "If you are lying, why?"
"We're not lying," Tweedle-Tay said. "If you don't believe us, when you get back to Tulsa, go up to the attic." He paused. "But not for too long. Our parents might shut the door on you."
Elizabeth looked sad. "If you *are* right, our parents are going to go to jail. We might never see them again."
"We might be separated," Kestrel added.
"Our parents might leave us?" MacArthy asked.
Elizabeth shook her head. "You can't let that happen, Tay. You just can't."
"I won't let that happen," Tweedle-Tay promised.
"Good," Elizabeth said. "We'd better go now. Neuton will just die if he finds out we've been talking to you."
Well, I for one hoped he'd find out.