A Twisted Love

Rain fell lightly on the sidewalk, and Colton watched it through his window, wishing it would rain even harder. The weather matched his mood, and he always had preferred cloudy days to sunny ones. The house was quiet, except for the sound of a some Disney channel show that Olivia was watching downstairs. Cameron was watching her and keeping her company.

Colton's mom never asked him to watch Olivia. He wasn't exactly sure, but he had a feeling it was because she was afraid of him. It was so sadly pathetic. "Cole!" Cameron shouted, suddenly Colton could hear his footsteps padding up the stairs and too his bedroom door. It was closed, as always. Colton liked to have privacy.

"What do you want?" Colton snapped as the door swung open. He was irritated that Cameron hadn't even had the decency to knock. Cameron awkwardly stood in the door's threshold, scratching the back of his neck.

"Uh, well me and Olivia were going to go out to McDonald's to get something to eat. I was wondering if you wanted to come." He stated. Colton let out a quick sigh and thought about it. He thought that he was pretty hungry. Dinner last night hadn't been very fulfilling and he hadn't eaten breakfast, despite the fact that it was around 2 o'clock.

Colton shrugged. "Whatever." Cameron gave a crooked smile and started to walk away. "Hurry up!" He called as he clambered down the stairs. Colton grabbed a random black and white checkered jacket, his cellphone and his iPod. He sluggishly walked down the stairs, not exactly eager to be going to a place filled with little kids.

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"How's your happy meal, Livvy?" Cameron asked as he plopped down on a plastic bench, right in front of the children's' play area. "Great!" She exclaimed, staring longingly at the kids running around and playing. "Eat first." Cameron suggested in a firm voice. Olivia nodded and dug into her disgusting, greasy cheeseburger.

Colton bit into the salad that had been the first relatively appetizing thing on the menu he had seen. It tasted of wax and a faint trace of plastic. He scrunched up his nose and spit his chewed food directly back into the container. Olivia screwed up her face. "Ew! That was disgusting, Cole!" She commented. "So?" He inquired, not really caring what she thought. Cameron sighed, not saying anything.

Finally Olivia was finished with her 'food' and she took off her shoes and bolted for the play area. Colton sat there for a long while, tracing over the patterns on the table in front of him with his index finger. "Cole?" Cameron questioned, his voice oddly soft. Colton turned his head rigidly. "Huh?" he mumbled, his mind still elsewhere. "Are you feeling okay?" Cameron asked. "Fine." Colton muttered, getting annoyed. Why would he even bother to ask such a stupid thing? he thought bitterly.

"You look kind of pale. Maybe you're sick." Cameron pressed on. Rolling his eyes, Colton turned. "I said, I was fine." He said, emphasizing the last word. Cameron shrugged, meeting Colton's gaze evenly. "If you say so." He said nonchalantly. Colton searched Cameron's eyes, that were about two shades lighter than his own. That was the only original difference between the two twin brothers. To make sure there was more of a difference though, Colton had gotten snake bites and his hair was very often styled differently.

Abruptly Colton stood up, causing the plastic bench to creak slightly. "I need some air." He said to Cameron before stepping out of the crowded fast food restaurant. He sighed, breathing in the cool air outside. It was still raining so he stood slightly under the awning above him. He glanced around quickly to make sure Cameron wouldn't catch sight of him, and he pulled out a cigarette from the pack that had been in his pocket for quite a while now. He took out his lighter and lit it quickly, pressing his lips to the mouth of the cigarette and exhaling deeply. This always had a calming effect on him.

He pulled the cigarette away from his mouth and breathed in another deep breath. Thick smoke filled his lungs as he did so. Suddenly Colton heard the front entrance door of McDonald's being opened and then slammed shut. He didn't think much of it until there was someone standing right in front of him glaring. Colton glanced up and his breath caught in his throat when he realized it was Cameron.

Cameron grabbed the cigarette from his hand and threw it to the floor, stomping on it quickly, before Colton even had a chance to act. "What the fuck was that for?" Colton grumbled. Cameron shot him an angry glare, and Colton backed down a bit. "What were you doing?!" Shouted Cameron. "I thought it was pretty obvious." Colton said sarcastically.

Through gritted teeth Cameron spoke, "Really Cole? Even after what happened to dad?" His tone was low and threatening. "Back off, mom!" Colton spat. Cameron's eyes narrowed more. "I can't believe you." He said in a low voice. "What's your problem?" Colton questioned.

"My problem," Cameron started, taking a calming breath before he continued. "Is that you're going to kill yourself if you keep on smoking like this. And what problems? You're the one that has problems!" Cameron yelled, causing people to glance at the scene the two were causing. Colton's sarcastic expression dropped, his face becoming dead serious. He looked away from Cameron, not wanting to meet his gaze. Even though Colton had already known of his own many problems, it had somehow hurt more coming so bluntly from his twin brother.

"I-I Know." Colton stuttered. Stuttered? Since when do I ever stutter? He asked himself. Cameron placed a hand on Colton's shoulder, which he shook off immediately. "Just please, please stop smoking." Cameron practically begged, softness seeping into his voice again. Colton nodded dumbly, as Cameron shoved his hand in Colton's jacket pocket and pulled out the rest of his pack. He crushed most of the cigarette's in his hand and then discarded them in the trash behind him.

"Thanks a lot." Colton said bitterly. Cameron clenched his jaw. "Are you trying to hurt yourself?" Colton didn't know how to reply to this, so he just shrugged, hoping the subject would be dropped. Cameron's jaw opened slightly as if he was about to say something but he decided against it and snapped his mouth shut.

"I should go get Olivia from the play area, then we could leave." Cameron suggested a minute later. With a barely perceptible nod from Colton, Cameron dashed back inside the restaurant to get Olivia.

Colton leaned his head against the cold and slightly damp brick building that stood before him. Slowly the words of his brother floated through his head, crowding it.

"Are you trying to hurt yourself?" He heard Cameron say in his mind.

Colton still wasn't sure if he even knew the answer to that question.