Tell Me, What's Real?

"Izzy? Izzy, wake up!"

My eyes opened lazily, focusing hazily on the image in front of me. The familiar blue eyes with a strike of gold stared back at me, and a smile fluttered onto my face. ‘]"Crap, did I fall asleep again?" I groaned, rubbing my eyes with the back of my hand.

Leslie let out a quiet laugh and nodded, before motioning for me to move over. I rolled over, leaving her space to get in. She quickly slipped off her slippers, before pulling the covers down and hopping in beside me.

Sharing a bed at night had become a ritual with us. It had started when we were 8, when Leslie woke up from a nightmare and asked to join me. From then on, it didn’t feel safe without being next to each other at night. When we laid next to each other, it was like fitting the pieces together, giving us our silent connection that made us both feel safe and whole. I knew in a way she was and would always be a part of me, as I would be to her. Sometimes we didn’t even have to speak to know what was on the other’s mind. We just knew. It was as if we had our own secret code, that only us -the twins- could understand. But if there was, we had never established it, it had merely been there at birth.

We had somehow managed to convince my mum to buy us both double beds, though we never once told her why. I think somehow she knew, but if she did she never once commented.

I rolled over so that I was facing Leslie, whose eyes were currently trained on mine. She had a faint smile on her face, which somehow managed to make me smile too. "What?" I whispered, and watched as her glazed eyes slowly registered me and the smile on her face grew.

"Casey’s taking me to the beach tomorrow," she said, her distant smile growing at the mention of her boyfriend’s name.

It was safe to say that both Leslie and I were considered outcasts out our school. Though in saying that, no one really hated us either. They just didn’t like us.

But I guess it never really mattered to us. We were each other’s best friend, and it was rare that we were ever apart. We were completely identical, with our long blonde hair and blue eyes with a twinkle of gold, except for the fact that two years ago I had decided that I wanted to be an individual, and on a whim I added a blue streak to my hair. Straight after, Leslie had claimed she was jealous, and added a pink streak to hers.

So that was how people told us apart. Izzy = blue, Leslie = pink.

The only other thing that was different was our personality. I was a lot shyer, where as Leslie was more out there, and it was usually she who prodded me to do things. She was the leader, the bossier one, and although some would have hated it I loved to be led.

Leslie had had plenty of boyfriends during her life, where as I had only had one, which lasted only 2 days. I suppose you could say Casey was a bit like us; an outcast, but not really hated by anyone. I didn’t really know much about him although the three of us had been together a lot, but all I knew is he made Leslie happy. And that was enough for me.

I allowed a smile to flutter onto my face, and I looked into her shining blue orbs. "You really like him, don’t you?" I whispered, pulling the blankets up around me. A wistful smile covered her face as she nodded.

"Yeah, I do."

My smile brightened and I nodded before it all fell silent. Our blonde hair lay in tangles together on the mattress, and the both of us watched each other with distant expressions. I let out a yawn, causing Leslie to chuckle quietly. "When are you going to get a boyfriend?" she asked, smirking slightly because she obviously knew the answer.

"Hey!" I protested, narrowing my eyes at her. "I’ve had a boyfriend! David, remember? 7th grade?"

Leslie only laughed, shaking her head at me. "Izzy, you broke it off after two days because he tried to kiss your cheek. That doesn’t count as a real boyfriend. Besides, that was almost four years ago. When are you going to get another?"

I frowned, giving her my most evil glare, which I knew was pretty crappy. "I’ll get one when I feel like it," I said, before sticking my nose in the air and rolling away from her.

"Izzy…" she whispered, sticking her head on my shoulder.

"Fuck off Leslie," I said, though my giggle at the end didn’t make it seem very challenging.

"You know what? You suck at being mean."

I rolled over, my mouth open in shock. "I do not!"

Leslie shook her head slowly, smiling as if she’d come to a conclusion. "You do! But don’t worry sis, I’ll teach you all the tricks."

I opened my mouth in fake shock and gasped dramatically. "You’d do that for me?" I asked sarcastically.

She tapped my nose, ignoring my sarcasm. "For you, my dear, anything."

I rolled my eyes and turned over, snuggling into the sheets. "Goodnight, my delusional one," I said, closing my eyes.

I felt someone snuggle into my side, followed by a content sigh. "Goodnight, my innocent one."

Groaning, I stretched my arms in the air, successfully banging them against something hard. I heard a groan of protest, and laughed manically when I saw Leslie glaring at me. Shrugging, I pulled them covers down and hopped out of bed. Glancing at the clock, I smirked when I saw the time. "Les, you do realize that Casey’s going to be here in less than an hour?" I said, glancing at her.

"Oh shit!" she exclaimed, throwing the covers off her and running from my room. Chuckling, I shook my head and proceeded to hop into the bathroom to have a shower.

Once I was done, I quickly got changed into some sweats and a singlet, then walked downstairs and into the kitchen. Leslie was currently shoveling food into her mouth at an alarming rate, while mum watched her in both surprise and disgust. When she saw me, Leslie smiled, milk dripping through her open mouth.

"Gross, shut your mouth," I groaned, and she stuck her tongue out at me in response.

"Oo saw oo don wa ca?" she said, her mouth full of cereal.

Rolling my eyes, I shook my head. "Les, I’m sure Casey wants it to just be the two of you. It is a date."

"How the heck did you understand that?" Mum asked, her eyes wide.

Looking at Leslie, we both smiled and tapped our head. "Twin power," we said completely in synch, and mum rolled her eyes.

"Anyways, as I was about to say, Casey loves you though! I’m sure he’d be fine if you came with us!"

Shaking my head, I groaned. "First of all, Casey does not love me, I’m not even sure he considers me a friend. And secondly, it’s a date! And that technically means I would be a third wheel."

Leslie merely scoffed in response, before rolling her eyes. "Fine. You’ll get away this time. But as soon as you get a boyfriend, we’re going to double date."

I groaned, burying my face in my hands. "Not the boyfriend crap again," I whined, wrapping my arms around my face. My wet hair was dripping down my arms and onto my back, making me shiver slightly.

I peeked through the gap in my arms to see Leslie glaring at me, causing me to giggle. "I mean, yeah, of course."

Leslie smiled, before getting up and placing her bowl by the sink. There was a knock on the door, and a smile lit up her face. "That’s Casey!" she squealed, running to grab her beach bag.

Meanwhile, I opened the door, smiling lightly when I saw Casey grinning at me, his hands in his pockets.

Casey was quite tall and slightly tanned, with black curly hair that swept across his eyes. He was quite thin but muscles were evident on his arms, and he had grey eyes that always showed his emotions really clearly.

"Is Leslie here?" he asked, shuffling his feet a bit. Casey wasn’t a very shy person, but Leslie had told me he was really intimidated by me.

"You could try to be a bit nicer, you know" Leslie said, glaring at me.

"What? I was! I smiled… sometimes!"

Leslie rolled her eyes, dumping her bag on the floor. "He was trying to make conversation with you, and all you did was grunt in response! He thinks you hate him!"

I rolled my eyes, sitting down on the couch and swinging my feet onto the coffee table. "Well then he’s a sook," I muttered under my breath, resting into the couch.

"What was that?" she asked, sitting next to me and glaring impatiently.

"I said I didn’t know how he got that idea! I’m like that with most people! I’m just shy," I muttered, getting quiet at the end.

Leslie placed a hand on my shoulder and smiled lightly. "I’ve told him that, but he’s still intimidated by you."

"Intimidated? By me? I’m like half his size for fucks sake!"

"Yeah, but he’s trying to be friends with you, and you won’t even talk to him! Can you please try?" she asked, smiling hopefully. "For me? He’s my boyfriend and I’d really appreciate it if you both were friends."

I smiled weakly at her, nodding my head. "I’ll try."

I noticed Casey was looking at me expectantly so I quickly nodded my head. "Yeah, she’s just getting her bag. She’ll be down in a second," I said quietly.

"Oh, ok." Casey smiled softly and hoisted his bag higher on his shoulder. "Are you coming with us today?"

I smiled softly and shook my head, looking at me feet before glancing up at him. "Not this time."

Casey nodded, looking neither pleased nor upset by this. "You’re welcome to come, but next time I guess."

I nodded, giving him a real smile, to which he smiled back brightly, looking surprised. Footsteps sounded behind me and I turned to see Leslie grinning at Casey, and when he saw her his eyes lit up. "Ready to go?" he asked, standing up straighter.

She nodded cheerfully. "Yep."

Turning to me, she wrapped me in a big hug. "See you later Izzy," she said, pulling away.

I smiled at her. "Bye, have fun."

Leslie smiled and glanced pointedly at Casey, who was standing there awkwardly. "Oh, you too Casey."

Casey grinned and nodded, taking Leslie’s hand. "Thanks Izzy."

Nodding, I turned away and walked inside, but not before I heard Casey whisper "She smiled at me!"

I was sitting in the lounge room, eating popcorn and drinking from a juice box when the phone rang. It had been three hours since Leslie left, and I was currently watching Spongebob on the T.V.

"Mum? You gonna get that?"

There was no response besides the sound of a shower running, so letting out a groan I got off my chair and sauntered into the kitchen to grab the phone.

"Hello?" I muttered, running my fingers through my hair with my spare hand.

"Hello? Is that Mrs Thompson I’m talking to?" a deep voice asked, and I frowned slightly.

"No, this is her daughter, Izzy. Can I take a message? She’s busy at the moment."

I heard a sigh, followed by the sound of someone talking to him in the background.

"Izzy, this is Chief Constable Robert from the police station. I’m afraid I have some bad news."

Frowning, my heart began pounding rapidly. "Is it about my dad? ‘Cause we haven’t seen him in years."

"No, honey, it’s not about your dad. It’s about Leslie, your sister."

My heart began to beat faster, my palms going so sweaty I almost dropped the phone. "Is she ok? Is she hurt? Which hospital is she in?" I rambled croakily, tears forming in my eyes.

"She was in a car accident with another man earlier today, who has been identified as Casey Lungham by his parents. They identified your sister as the other passenger."

The tears trickled down my face as I held the phone in my shaky hands. "Is she awake? Can I see her?"

I heard a sigh, as my heart beat so fast I thought it was going to explode. "Izzy, your sister is dead. I’m so sorry."