It began with Carol of the Bells.

It always did.

It started out so little, it was almost imagined.

But with each step she took backward, with each volume it rose, the picture became clearer.

It played out in HD, there was no mistake.

Mmachi was crouched on the floor not too far from the wall which had been beige a few minutes earlier.

She wasn't sure the new found color would last long just as she was certain Katherine wouldn't.

Her legs kept moving on their own will as the room became smaller, giving her a good view of things she hadn't noticed earlier.

The red ribbons which overshadowed the green leaves of the Christmas tree underneath it.

The red balloons which danced around lazily, a few inches above the floor.

Even the red star on top of the Christmas tree.

None could stand out as much as the unfamiliar red liquid still dripping down what used to be the beige wall.

The one thing that would make sure that particular Christmas would never be forgotten.

Waves of nausea hit her as her body trailed on, leaving her somewhere around the bloodstained beige wall.

Mmachi's screams could barely be heard over the almost deafening sound of Carol of the bells.

Her legs began to feel too heavy to move as she watched her parents rush past her to where Mmachi stayed on the floor—unconcerned that she was bathed in blood—as she refused to let go of Katherine.

She could see her father's mouth moving as her mother stood next to him, her palm the only thing stopping hell from letting loose as it caged her lips.

She could see the tears in her mother's eyes which begged desperately for release.

Why wasn't she crying?

She stopped moving as she felt something hard hit her back.

No matter how hard she tried she couldn't take her eyes off the scene unfolding before her.

Until everything started to fade, the blood on the wall the only thing left. And beside it stood Katherine . . .

Chidiogo woke up, jerking forward as she did so.

Her heart thundered against her chest so much so that she couldn't tell what shook her more between it and the fear which engulfed her.

Her fingers trembled as her body fell into an involuntary rhythm despite being temporarily incapacitated by fear. Her breathing was labored as she tried to calm her nerves.

It wasn't until she heard a voice that she came to the realization—she wasn't alone in the room.

"Mmachi?"

She turned to see Amelia sitting on the bed closest to hers, her face barely made visible by the lamp on her bed.

The stacks of paper and books scattered all over her bed could pass off as a bed sheet.

Chidiogo shook her head.

"N-not Mmachi."

She stared down at her still trembling hands avoiding the girl's piercing stare.

"Oh. The other twin."

Her voice came out flat, the concern initially present on her face replaced with a neutral expression.

The other twin.

"Yeah."

"Are you okay?"

From her tone, Chidiogo could tell that the question was borne more out of formality than concern. Either way, she appreciated it.

"Yeah, thank you."

After getting a nod and a few minutes of silence, she spoke again.

"Lia right?" She'd heard a couple people addressing her by the name.

"Amelia to you."

Chidiogo nodded, a bit thrown off by the harshness in her voice. She made up her mind to stay off the girl's path as much as she could.

She took a quick scan around the room. Her heart beat had reverted to it's normal pace. She could make out next to nothing in the room which was lit only by Amelia's dull lamp and the moonlight which peeked in through the net screened window.

Her eyes travelled around the room before she asked, "Where is Mmachi?"

Amelia glanced up from her book for the briefest second before replying.

"I don't know. I actually thought you were her. I haven't seen her since she left the class yesterday."

Chidiogo's eyebrows drew together.

"Yesterday?"

Amelia's eyes remained on her book as she spoke. "Yeah, it's past midnight."

Not believing it, Chidiogo stood up to find the light switch.

She struggled through the darkness, running into objects which were in the way. She couldn't make out anything even with the illumination Amelia's lamp provided for the rest of the room.

After one fall and several trips, she made it to the wall. She groped around for the light switch, relying on the vague memory she had from seeing the room twice.

She found it and flipping it on, she glanced up at the digital wall clock.

The LED displayed 12:15.

"It's supposed to be lights out. If the hostel mistresses notice that our lights are still on, we're going to be in a lot of trouble."

Chidiogo turned around on hearing Amelia's voice.

"Sorry, I didn't know."

She attempted to turn the light back off, despite knowing how hard it would be for her to return to her bed if she did so, when Mmachi walked into the room halting her actions.

The first thing Chidiogo noticed about her was that she wasn't in her uniform. Rather, she wore a sky blue off-shouldered long sleeve gown.

Chidiogo stared at her for a while.

If she didn't come back to the hostel earlier, Chidiogo thought, how did she manage to change out of her uniform?

That only meant one thing—her staying out late had been premeditated.

Mmachi looked Chidiogo over before proceeding to walk into the room. Just then, Chidiogo noticed a piece of cloth wrapped unevenly around her upper arm.

She couldn't really tell what the color of the cloth used to be but the red all over it set off alarms in her head.

"What happened to your arm?"

She watched Mmachi walk to the opposite end of the room, stopping right in front of a white bed stand which housed a bare mattress. Mmachi stared down at the bed, hesitating for a while, before plopping down on it.

Amelia glanced up from her book, giving Mmachi a once-over.

"You're back?"

"Nah, still on my way. Miss me already?"

Amelia rolled her eyes at her sarcasm. "You wish."

"Bold assumption. I really thought you knew me better."

"Ha! Did you perhaps loose your mind on your way back?"

Mmachi shrugged. "There's no telling."

Their small banter ended as soon as Chidiogo's footsteps were heard approaching Mmachi's bed. Mmachi looked up once Chidiogo was in front of her, staring back at her blazing eyes with the same intensity.

"Will you give me an answer or not?!" Chidiogo started, trying—without success—to keep her voice down, "Did you really think I would just die the topic if you walked away? Or let me guess, you'll find another excuse. It's just a prank again, right? It's nothing, just red marker or maybe it's even the whole ink that just mistakenly spilled on your arm and you had to cover it with a cloth, huh?"

Mmachi stared at her, the corner of her lips twitching down.

"Just say something! And I want the truth this time around. That letter wasn't written with red marker and it definitely has something to do with you coming back in the middle of the night with an injured arm, doesn't it?" Chidiogo asked, struggling to keep her voice steady this time.

"I'm really tired and I want to get some sleep, can we talk about this later?"

Mmachi shut her eyes as she spoke.

Chidiogo scoffed, shaking her head.

"Need I remind you that you hate sleeping on mattresses without bed sheets?"

"Doesn't change the fact that I'm tired," Mmachi said in an almost whiny voice.

"At least answer my question."

Mmachi's eyes fluttered open.

"You're just stressed from school and all. And you're probably lacking sleep so I get that you're talking nonsense."

Chidiogo stared at Mmachi, her eyes widening.

"I'm talking nonsense?"

"Quit being dramatic," Mmachi said, stifling a yawn. "You keep seeing blood everywhere. I won't be surprised you see it in your sleep too."

Chidiogo fell mute for a while. It took a lot of effort for her to force her lips apart and even longer for her to force the words through her clenched teeth.

"You're trying to change the topic!"

"Am I?" Mmachi arched her brow the way she usually did.

Chidiogo let out a sigh.

"You know you're really frustrating."

"So are you."

"Can you two stop it!? At this rate you'll not only wake Kaima but the whole building."

Amelia's voice caught their attention, putting a temporary halt to their conversation. Only then did Chidiogo notice someone lying on the fourth bed.

The white duvet spread over the whole bed made her wonder if truly someone was beneath it.

"I'll stop as soon as Mmachi tells me how she got injured," Chidiogo said.

Amelia made a sound between a scoff and a chuckle before speaking.

"At the expense of us getting in trouble? No way! Just turn off the lights already. I don't want to be washing toilets while my mates are getting ready for school."

Chidiogo wouldn't drop the topic.

"You're her friend right? Try asking her, she might—"

"Why are you so concerned?" Amelia asked.

She was taken aback by the girl's words, her tone doing little to ease the effect.

"Of course I care, she's my sister."

"Sure you do," Mmachi said.

The sarcasm in her voice made her feel a pang in her chest. She sighed. It was pointless trying to talk to her.

"Turn off the lights."

She heard Amelia say just as she started walking to her bed.

She shot the girl a glare, resisting the urge to scream back at her to switch off the lights herself. She shuffled to the adjacent wall, her hand on the light switch when she heard a voice which made her freeze.

"What's going on here?"

Standing at the door was a dark skinned lady with an average height. The round glasses she wore made her eyes look small giving her a queer look with her bulging forehead and pursed lips. She raised a perfectly carved brow, her stare pinning Chidiogo down.

"Why are you coming back now?" the lady asked.

Chidiogo furrowed her brows. Her lips parted but no words came out.

"Are you deaf?!"

Chidiogo closed her mouth, reopening it just to close it again. She looked away from the woman's scrutinizing gaze, redirecting her stare to a random object on the white L-shaped desk at the opposite end of the room.

She let her eyes trail up the wall, taking in the floral wallpaper. She stopped when they fell upon her reflection. She took in her appearance.

Her eyes looked a bit sunken, her face an almost pale white with her hair in disarray from just waking. Nothing struck her in particular until she took in her clothes, her eyes widening with realization. She was still in her uniform.

She was quick to glance back at the woman, her mouth opening to explain but the lady beat her to it.

"Since you'd prefer to keep shut, let me save my time. I hope you're good at washing. Honestly, I don't care if you're not. Just know you're on toilet and laundry duties for a month. Four a.m. sharp, I don't want to look for you."

The woman turned around to leave but paused on hearing Chidiogo's voice.

"I'm not coming back now. I-I fell asleep in my uniform and—"

The lady walked out of the room. Chidiogo stared at the doorway minutes after she left, her shoulders sagging. She turned around to find Amelia and Mmachi fast asleep, Amelia sprawled over the heap of books on her bed.

Whether they were faking or not, she couldn't tell. She didn't know how long they'd been like that either.

With a sigh, she walked to her bed, casting a quick glance at the fourth bed. Her eyes lingered longer than she had intended before she lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling until she could stare no more.

———††††———

The day went by in a blur. The only reminder that events actually took place was the pain which made it's place in every muscle in Chidiogo's body. Pain from scrubbing and cleaning the whole morning and still having to attend classes on time.

Standing in the middle of the empty classroom, she stared hopelessly at the pile of books scattered on the floor, realizing rather lately that she should have listened to Amelia.

After a while, she summoned the will to bend down and pick up the books. She hurriedly gathered them, shoving them into her bag.

With much difficulty, she stood up. On the verge of walking to her seat, she felt hands snake around her waist from behind.

She stiffened, her heartbeat picking up pace. She remained like that for a while until she felt someone's breath against her neck causing her senses to fly back.

Alarmed, several thoughts ran through her mind. None of them were enough to jolt her worn-out muscles into action. Still in shock, she heard a voice dangerously close to her ear causing chills to make their way down her spine.

"I thought you would come later but it seems you missed me a lot, right babe?"

She could feel goose bumps rise at the spot where his breath fanned her neck as she wondered what he was talking about.

She replayed the words in her head slowly, trying to make meaning out of them. She never promised to meet anyone. She couldn't even remember speaking to anyone and she couldn't understand why he would call her 'babe'.

Was he mistaking her for someone?

Then it clicked. Mmachi had a boyfriend.

That sent her muscles into action as she flung out of his grip, turning around to clear his confusion.

"I'm not . . ." She trailed off as she got a proper look at his face.

There was something strikingly familiar about him, something she couldn't place. She had seen him before, that was for sure.

She opened her mouth but couldn't form words as she tried to figure out where she had seen him.

"I get that I'm handsome. You can stop staring now."

The cockiness in his voice was irritating. She frowned, deciding to tell him off.

"I'm not Mmachi."

He raised his brows, the corner of his lips lifting up in amusement.

"You say the weirdest things," he said, breathing out a laugh.

"I'm serious! I'm her twin sister!"

He let out a deep, rich chuckle. One which, on a norms, would have made Chidiogo wonder how someone could make a simple chuckle sound so exquisite.

But in this case, she couldn't help frowning and wondering why he was laughing.

"I definitely believe you. Why don't we forget about that now?" he asked, a smirk replacing the smile on his face.

"No, you don't under . . . "

She trailed off when he took a step towards her. She took a matching step backwards.

"Come here."

Before she knew it, she was engulfed in a bone crushing hug. She was paralyzed for a moment. She regained herself almost immediately as she struggled to get away from him.

He broke the hug, his arms still wrapped around her waist as he stared down at her lips. Her lips parted as she tried to speak just as he bent his neck, his lips grazing hers lightly.

She sucked in a breath, taking an almost impossible step backwards as his hands caged her waist. Her heart almost leapt out of her chest when he claimed her lips in a slow kiss, his arms tightening around her waist.

She could feel her pulse pounding in her temples. She didn't know whether he was just a good kisser or she was loosing her mind but her body reacted to the kiss in a way which scared her.

Shock drilled her feet to the floor and as hard as she tried to break out from it's paralyzing grip, the myriad of thoughts swarming through her mind kept her a prisoner.

Only one person had ever made her feel this way. Las.

Her mind screamed at her to pull away but her body remained unresponsive.

Something else still persisted within her, preventing her from giving into the kiss.

I can't do this to Mmachi.

The thought seemed to restore her control over her body. She was just about to pull away from him when Mmachi's voice rang through the classroom causing her to jerk away from him.

"WHAT THE HELL!?"

A/N: Hey lovely people. I updated on time yeah?

It should have come earlier than today but anyway, better late than never.

Ever since I decided to write this chapter Carol of the bells has been stuck in my head 😂🥲.

Your thoughts on the chapter?

Apparently this story seems to have a mind of it's own and I honestly have no idea what is going on, just in case you wanted to ask😗.

I'm not so sure but it might end up being a short story or maybe not, as I said earlier, it has its own mind.

Until next time.

Love you❤.