Lacey's head exploded in pain, and she doubled over as her ribs stabbed her in her back a few inches above her right hip. Tears streaming, she whimpered.

"What's wrong, Lace?" Terry's brown eyes fastened on hers, and his arm went around her waist as she sagged toward the floor just outside their English class.

"Hurts. My head, my back. Can't breathe." Lacey whispered.

"What's going on?" Mr. Greyson's snarky demand was the last thing Lacey wanted to hear.

"I'm not sure. She says her head hurts and her back hurts. She's having trouble breathing." Terry had his phone out and he dialed 911.

"Get her down on the floor before she falls." The teacher's curt command had Terry easing her onto her back, but Lacey rolled to her side with a yelp.

"Need to sit up, can't breathe," Lacey complained again.

"911 what is your emergency." Terry had put his phone on speaker before he helped Lacey to lean against the lockers in the hall.

"We need an ambulance at New Hampton High School." Terry took command of the scene.

"We know we have already dispatched one. For a head and back injury, in the lower hall by the back entrance to the stage."

"I'm sorry, but we need another one. I have a seventeen-year-old girl with head and back pain who can't breathe." Terry answered.

Lacey reached into her hoodie pouch when her phone buzzed and checked her messages. She tugged Terry's hand to get his attention and pointed to the text.

"Cancel, Terry. I'm feeling better, the pain is easing and I'm catching my breath, but we need to get down to the office. Zee is hurt."

Lace,

Anya attacked Zee. Bruised head and back where she was kicked. Called 911 waiting for help.

Lacey snatched her phone back from Terry and looked up at Mr. Greyson. "I'm going down to meet them. They can take me with them to the hospital. Zee's hurt and you can't make me stay here." She pushed herself up the wall and took Terry's hand. "Let's get out of here."

"Get back in the classroom." Mr. Greyson walked toward the door shooing students back and away from Lacey. She shot daggers at him with a look that would kill. Typing quickly, she answered her text.

I knew the second it happened. Meet you at the office. I'm going with her. You and Terry follow in Zee's car.

"Come on Terry we're leaving." Lacey turned to push the door to the stairs open. "I have to go with her."

I will get her keys. Here come the paramedics. She passed out, but she is breathing.

I know she's alive. See you in a bit.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Lacey scanned the waiting room as she and Terry got back with drinks and sandwiches for everyone there. She kicked herself and decided to give her coffee to the police officer sitting with them. He wasn't there when they left. Agent Carmangy stood up to give her his seat and joined Percy where he leaned against the wall. The room was stuffy, and she really didn't want to stay, but it would be rude to refuse his kind gesture.

"They're all black. I brought enough creamers and sugars, you should be able to doctor your coffee however you want it," she said as she slid her tray onto the low table in the center of the room.

Terry emptied his pockets, scattering stir sticks, sugar packets and tiny plastic cream containers, catching one of them as it rolled off the edge of the metal edged wooden tabletop. Everyone grabbed cups, and she leaned back against the lumpy, worn upholstery. The echo of aching ribs had her wincing inwardly, but she kept her face calm. She took her phone out and did a google search. Do twins feel each other's pain?

Uncle Matt sat in the lone armchair, his foot tapping the floor in an erratic, nervous rhythm. Her father sat between her mother and her, his arms over their shoulders. When she turned to Terry, he slipped into the last spot on the couch, frowning when he realized he had to settle for holding her hand.

Percy stood beside Agent Carmangy and rocked restlessly from one foot to the other. The atmosphere sizzled, but no one was talking.

"At least Zee woke up before we got to the hospital," Lacey blurted out. She had to do something to lighten the mood. No one picked up any of the food.

"She's going to be fine, the ER Doc told me the X-rays and MRI were precautionary because of the location of the bruise on the back of her head. They didn't think her ribs were broken, but possibly cracked."

Matt said. "Have you located Anya yet? She's not stable, and with her mother in the holding cells waiting to see a judge for bail, she is technically an unsupervised minor."

"Doesn't work that way. She just turned eighteen. Her birthday was in January. She started school a year later than she should have for some unknown reason. She should have been a year ahead of the twins." The police officer laced his fingers together and stretched his arms. "I'm on juvenile delinquent watch for our department, so I know her. Heather Blake is my partner. We know her favorite run spots, so I've got officers looking. She'll be arrested and charged as an adult. We'll sort out her story and bust her alibi. We've done it a few times." He shifted on his wooden chair, as they heard footsteps approaching.

They all turned at the same time when the Doctor turned into the room. His smile brought a sigh of relief from Deanne before he opened his mouth to speak.

"MRI shows no bleed in the brain. The X-rays of Zena's ribs show a crack on the twelfth rib, no chips and definitely no break there. She's going to be sore, and have trouble breathing. We want to keep her overnight to make sure there's no concussion. We think it was pain from the rib injury that made her lose consciousness." He held up a hand to stop their questions, and continued, "Lacey, in case you are wondering, what you experienced is something identical twins have reported in the past. They say they can feel their twin's pain. Not all of them have the connection, but enough do to prove it as a real thing. It's been tested by psychologists and psychiatrists who have written papers on the phenomenon."

"So, I'm not going crazy," Lacey said. "Good to know. I wonder how close we have to be for it to happen?"

"Distance doesn't matter." The doctor consulted the clipboard he carried. "We've got a room for Zena upstairs. Once she's settled, she can have visitors, but she does need to rest. We'll be giving her some pretty potent pain relief for the first bit, so she'll be woozy and sleep a lot. Any questions?"

Uncle Matt grabbed a chicken sandwich, unwrapping it as he spoke.

"Percy, you can go up first. I'll be along later. The rest of you, head on home, you can visit her at home. Doc, how long before she can go back to school?"

Her father pushed up from his chair and picked up his coffee snagging two sandwiches for himself. It seemed like good news was all it took to remind everyone to eat.

"A day or two at home, as long as she doesn't go back to dancing until her rib heals and she can breathe freely, she can go back to class. We'll give you detailed instructions when you take her home tomorrow."

"Thanks Doc. This is great news." James pulled his arms away from his wife and daughter, stood up and offered his hand to Deanne to pull her up.

"What about Zee's car?" Percy asked.

"I'll take it back to school with Terry, so he can pick up his bike. Then we'll follow each other up to the mansion and he can take me home," Lacey said. "What about your bike, Percy?"

"I'll make sure he gets back to it when visiting hours are over. I think he wants to be with Zee until then." Matt winked at Percy as he spoke.

"She scared me to death. I won't be happy until they arrest Anya," Percy declared.

"We'll let you know as soon as we have her in custody." The officer glanced at the FBI agent, who nodded as well.

"All right. Terry you can stay with us tonight. It's already late, you can eat with us." Deanne pointed at the food on the coffee table. "I'll let your mother know," Deanne said.

"Are we all good?" Matt asked.

Lacey watched as everyone nodded.

Right, as good as it gets as long as Anya is on the loose. I hope the hell they find her soon. And distance doesn't matter? I wonder if this has happened before. All those miserable times when my joints hurt. I'll have to ask Zee if she remembers feeling it when I busted my arm. And then when I fell off the balance beam the first time I tried a front flip and twisted my ankle.