|GIVE ME SOMETHING|

The music blared from inside the Jeep. We could hear it from inside the house.

It was an early school morning, and Baylor was heating up the car while Harley and Cara prepared for the school day ahead of them.

They both ran out the door, hopping in the car. Cara buckled herself in the back seat as Josiah and I scooted in with her.

I've become like a child again, always riding in the back seat. Although I was always a child technically, since I never made it to adulthood. That's another depressing thought I can give more attention to later.

For now I watched the twin orphans in the front seat. Baylor sang along with the music with a massive smile. Harley glared at him, annoyed no doubt. She reached for the volume, but was stopped short by Baylor's hand.

"Come on, Harley. You've got to lighten up." Baylor yelled over the beat.

"It's too early for this, Bay." She screamed back.

"It's never to early to party!" He said, attempting to dance even though he was limited by his seat belt.

Harley's lips twitched, I think she was fighting a smile.

Although she gave a lot of effort to hide it, Baylor noticed. "Whew! There it is, that beautiful smile!"

Harley turned to face the window.

"You know Harley," Baylor said as he turned the volume down. "It's a good thing you got my smile."

"I'm your twin idiot, I got your everything, almost..." she said. An eye roll followed.

"I know that, that's why you're lucky that you look like me." He said smiling.

"I didn't get it from you, I got it from mom and dad." She returned.

"Yeah well I'm older. That's why people always say 'Harley looks just like Baylor, she sure is a lucky girl.'"

"No one says that." Harley said, shutting down his attempt at a joke.

"They do, you just don't hear them because you never go anywhere." He said. His smile was gone now.

"I go places, I'm going to school right now."

"Only because you have to, you'd sit at home in your corner all day if you could." He answered.

"What's to like about school? No one likes me anyway."

"You don't really give much effort in making friends either. You sit alone in the library every chance you get."

"So what, I like to study. Making good grades is more important than making friends." Harley said. Her gaze was out the window.

"No. Your happiness is the most important thing." Baylor said, glancing over at her.

Harley exhaled deeply. "I am happy." She answered forcefully. It didn't sound like she believed it though. Her answer was too rehearsed to be believable.

Baylor looked at her with weary eyes. He cares for her, I can tell. It hurts him to see her unhappy.

He turned the music up, and they didn't speak for the rest of the ride.

After dropping Cara off at the preschool, they pulled into the high school parking lot.

Baylor and Harley exited the car as mirrored images, both slinging their backpacks on their shoulders and slamming the doors on either side of the Jeep.

They walked side by side through the maze of cars. Josiah and I kept up with them with ease by walking through the cars instead of around them.

They didn't speak at all, in fact the first voice I've heard since we left the Jeep was a guys voice. "Yo Baylor!"

Baylor's head snapped in the direction of the teenagers voice. "What's up, man?" Baylor returned with a sudden smile.

His direction changed to that of the group of boys. They all were huddled together, but made room for Baylor to enter.

"See you later, Harley!" Baylor called over his shoulder.

She didn't acknowledge his words, besides giving him an eye roll. She hung her head down and rushed into the school.

I followed her all the way to the library, no surprise there, and we both sat down in between the shelves.

At first she did nothing besides sit there awkwardly, but then she pulled a book from her book bag.
I didn't get to see the title, but it looked like an average book.

Josiah appeared on the other side of me suddenly. "There you are." I said.

"Here I am." He said, smiling.

"Why does she come in here?"

I could tell he was rewording his answer in his head. "Well Harley... The old Harley that is, didn't have many friends."

That doesn't make much sense to me... "Why not? Baylor seems to have plenty."

"You weren't very talkative, and you kept to yourself."

Well, some people prefer to be alone. "Was she happy with being alone?"

My questions are getting hard for him already. "Um no. I wouldn't say so."

"Then why did she do this?" I said, motioning towards the balled up girl in the floor.

"You didn't really know how to make friends. People don't usually like to hang out with unhappy people." I didn't like how he was referring to her as me... I know we're the same person, but it feels weird hearing him say I wasn't happy...

None of this makes sense. I don't like to be alone now, in fact I hate it. Why couldn't she just change, or at least pretend to be friendly?
"How could she act like that?" I asked.

"Honestly, you were depressed. You didn't know how to relate to people enough to make friends. Harley, you were never able to get through your past." Josiah said. He wasn't making eye contact with me. He only does that when he knows more than he's telling me.

"But Baylor has friends. How was he able to make friends?"

"He didn't see it happen. It's easier for him to forget about, whereas you thought about it constantly. You didn't want to move on, you didn't want help from anyone."

"Baylor tried to help me, didn't he? That's why he brought me candy, and tried to make me smile..."

"Yes. Your brother loves you. He was all you were willing to cling to." Josiah said.

"It seems like a big job for a young boy, keeping two people happy. I'm sure he had struggles of his own, but he always worried about me too." The more I think about him, the more I miss Baylor.

"It was a big job, but he had help."

"Who-" I started, but my words were cut off.

"Harley?" It was his voice calling out through the library. I could hear his footsteps getting closer.

I had almost forgotten that she was sitting next to me. I noticed her wipe away a tear right before he reached the aisle we were hidden on.

"Harley? What are you doing? We're gonna be late for class..." His words ended in a whisper. I think he noticed her tears.

He rushed over to help her from the floor, and immediately pulled her into a hug. "Aw kiddo, what's wrong?" He asked quietly.

"I can't do it, not today. I don't want to be here." She whispered between sobs.

"Why not?" He asked.

"I just realized today is mom's birthday."

He hugged her tightly as she tucked her face into his shoulder. "Harley, she died so long ago... You have to stop thinking about it."

They both crouched to the floor; Harley still clung to his shirt. "She didn't die, she was murdered." Harley said in an angry whisper.

"I know, but you have to get over it. It's time to get over it." Baylor said. Tears were forming in his eyes now too, but he did his best to hide them; to be strong for her.

"I can't just get over it, she was our mother. And that man, he just killed her right in front of me for no reason."

Baylor didn't respond to that statement. Maybe he didn't have the words to say, I mean he probably didn't know the truth either.

He just held her, letting her talk, or cry, or whatever else she needed to do to calm down. Minutes passed as they sat in the lonely library. They probably missed the class they were going to be late for, but that didn't concern the twins right now.

"Baylor, do you think that he remembers that it's her birthday?" Harley said, breaking the long silence.

"Who?"

"Our Father."

"Maybe. I don't know." Baylor answered.

"Do you think he regrets what he did?"

Baylor searched his mind for a good response; the least painful response. "I think that he misses us, and that he didn't want things to happen the way they did."

Harley was quiet for a while, so I guess that this answer was acceptable, or at least good enough.