Hey Loves,

Thanks to ALL the amayzayn people who still read this book and all who have supported me so far. Y'all are the best!

There's less than five chapters left for this book so things are going to get a bit more serious and uh, well just read to find out.

Disclaimer: The christian faith is portrayed in different lights and while I do not wish to jeopardize anyone's opinions, I do apologize to anyone who may take offence.

Don't forget to vote comment and read on :)

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Chapter 23

I wake up to someone softly knocking on my door.

"Who is it?" I ask a bit gruffly.

Isn't it too early for visits?

"It's Davi." A voice replies.

"And Adira." Adds her sister.

"I'll be right down." I reply loud enough for them to hear before getting out of bed. Turns out it's not too early for a visit as I've slept through the better part of a fine Saturday morning. Getting dressed in sweatpants and a tee after my shower, I head downstairs,

"Ah, the king finally graces the peasants with his presence." Adira says in a mock offended tone.

Me, I just toss them some soda cans, not bothering to apologize and get seated comfortably. Mum's out; I found her note on the kitchen counter so we're alone for now.

"We came to pick you up for lunch and a movie." Davina says.

"What if I'm unavailable?" I ask, quirking my eyebrows.

"Ricky." Adira begins, smiling innocently. "We can do this the easy way, or we can do this our way."

"Okay, okay." I say, holding my hands up in mock surrender. "I'll just go get dressed."

Half an hour later, we're all seated comfortably at the mall. Adira and I munch on some greasy chicken burgers while Davina satisfies herself with a salad.

"How can you guys eat that stuff?" she asks, grimacing.

Adira and I give each other a look as if to say, "Can you believe her?"

"I think the better question is, how can't you?" I reply.

"Just never mind." She says, shaking her head and spearing a lettuce with her fork.

"So Ricky." Adira begins lightly. "How have you been?"

"Been better." I reply, taking a huge bite of my burger to stall.

"That's not going to save you from being questioned, you know" Davina says, giving me a knowing look. Busted

"It's been a bit hard, you know, I'm just struggling to keep it all together." I reply honestly. There's something about this whole situation that makes me want to be honest. It seems like the easier option right now.

"Okay, crazy idea." Adira says offhandedly. "Why don't you come to church with us tomorrow?"

I look to Davina for help but she just smiles, focusing intently on her salad like it's suddenly so interesting to look at.

"No offence but why would I want to do that?"

"Because you clearly need help."

"Yes and there are therapists for that."

"Church can be your therapy." Davina says, looking up from her salad. "You can come tomorrow and never return ever again if you end up hating it. Plus, we'll give you anything extra you want. It's a win win situation really."

"Even if that something extra is fifty pounds?"

The twins share a look I can't quite decipher, and then slowly nod their heads.

"Deal." I say smiling. I wasn't serious about the money but Davina is right. This really is a win win situation. I mean, I can use the extra leverage to ask Adira out. Either way, I'll be happy, I think.

"So." My soon to be girlfriend begins. "Why don't you like the idea of being Christian?"

"It's complicated."

"Well, we've got all day. It's not like we got the tickets already or anything. We don't have to go."

"I don't think there's some guy in the sky who made everything. If there is, then either way he's a bad guy."

"Why would you call God a 'bad guy?" she asks, making air quotes

"Think about it." I say. "When I was younger, my excuse of a father abused my mum and I and now he just let my aunt who never hurt anyone die."

"Ricky, God created everything but he doesn't force his creation into making decisions. We can all do what we want and sometimes bad things happen that we can't control."

"It's easy for you to say." I mutter. "Your life is going perfectly."

"Is that what you think?" she almost screams incredulously, then laughs when Davina pats her shoulder, signaling for her to calm down.

"No one's life is perfect." Davina says. "You know that."

"Yeah, I know. It's just, I'm sorry." I reply feeling a tad bit embarrassed.

"Have you never wondered why you never see a Mr. Williams at our place?" she asks quietly now.

"Or why we never make mention of our dad." Her sister adds in an even softer tone.

Now that they mention it, I have wondered but I always pushed it aside thinking their parents are probably separated like mine or he's off working somewhere else. I didn't think it would be nice to ask so I just never bothered about it. I mean, they seem fine without him around.

"I guess I always thought your parents are maybe divorced?"

The twins both shake their heads, smiling tightly. It seems like it's a sensitive topic but they want to go on so I let them. My curiosity has been aroused anyway.

"Our dad used to work at a bank" Adira begins. "A few years ago, there was a bank robbery. They got away with a lot of money and killed two people; the bank manager and his secretary."

"Our dad was the manager." Davina says, wiping away a lone tear just before it reached her cheek. "The news hit us really hard. At the time, mum was pregnant with ruby and she went into forced labor. A few hours later, Ruby was born healthy and safe but premature and our mum was at the brink of losing her life."

"It took everything the doctors had to keep her alive."

"The robbers were caught," Davina says. "But it doesn't change anything. They killed an innocent man and deprived him the privilege of seeing his third child. Ruby never got to meet her father because of them."

"We're lucky mum had a stable income or we'd have been doomed for sure." Her sister adds.

Wow. At first I just sit there, not knowing what to say. I had no idea they'd been through so much. I mean, they seem really happy with their lives.

"I'm sorry you guys had to go through all that." I say, after a while,

"It's okay, it was a long time ago." Adira says.

"You know at first we were like you, hating on God and the robbers." She continues. "But over time, we realized it's really not worth it. It's not God's fault those robbers killed our father and I reckon they've gotten what they deserve."

"We learned to forgive them. Everyone deserves a second chance no matter what. We're only human, we're allowed to make mistakes and correct them." Her sister adds.

"Look at you guys." I say half smiling. "So young and yet so wise." I say smirking. It's a good kind of smirk though, they understand.

The twins laugh, shaking their heads. I check my watch to see that it's getting quite late.

"Guess we won't be seeing that movie after all." Adira says, sensing my thoughts.

"It's okay." I reply. "This was much better anyway."

We trash our garbage and then head home. It's a silent ride and we're there before I know it.

That night, I mull over everything the twins said and I think about how Alex had talked about God before but stopped because I told him it made me uncomfortable. "Everyone deserves a second chance no matter what."

Even Kenny?

The thought swirls over and over in my mind as I fall asleep.