The Prince and the Pauper

Lyle didn’t know what to think as a psychotic woman ran after Attis. His first thought was, No wonder Attis never talks. His second: What do I do?

“What the hell are you doing?” Lyle shouted at Layla. She tore off her heel, thrusting it at Lyle, who ducked just in time to avoid being hit in the head. He turned around, mouth agape as he ran a finger over the crack she’d made in his car window.

“My window…” Lyle whispered. He turned around and ran after her, Donnie right behind him.

Lyle slowed down, without realizing, as he watched Attis climb onto the roof. Donnie flew past him.

“You’ll fall! Stop!” Lyle screamed as his nerves wrecked into each other.

“Hey bitch! Back off!” Lyle heard Donnie holler at the crazed lady and instantly felt scared for him, fearing Layla would hurt him. Again, he began to run.

Upon reaching the base of the steps, Donnie was pushed into Lyle, causing them both to fall back. Lyle jumped up quickly, helping up Donnie whose confidence was shattered and stepped on.

“What the fuck is going on?” Corey howled, stomping outside looking a hot mess. His eyes landed on Lyle.

“Get your dirty ass back in here!” he yelled at Lyle. He stared in shock, figuring he thought he was Attis.

What the hell? Who would treat a kid like that?

Corey screamed something else at Lyle, slowly creeping up to him. The extremely raunchy language bounced off of his ears. Lyle couldn’t believe what was coming out of Corey’s mouth.

But he ignored the profanities directed at him long enough to witness what could have been the last moments of Attis’ life. He watched in horror as a shoe hit Attis in the head, making him roll off the edge of the roof. Lyle screamed for him, or at least he tried. Not a single sound managed to come out of his mouth.

Lyle's eyes followed Attis’ body down the side of the building. Donnie squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to see what would happen. It was so noisy, there was too much happening at once. Then suddenly, there was a thump! and everything was dead silent.

Lyle was in tears, his eyes closed tightly. He feared what he would see when he opened them. When he heard a whimper escape into the atmosphere his eyes shot open, instantly landing on a heap near the apartment.

Sirens blared from a distance, sounding nearer with every second that passed. They wondered who’d called the police. For Donnie and Lyle were too busy freaking out about Corey shouting at them over the noise of Layla trying to kill Attis.

Slowly, Lyle inched forward, breathing in heavily. When he heard footsteps on the stairs, he panicked and sped up, knowing it had to be Layla. She was trying to get away from the scene.

On the grass before him, Lyle looked at Attis. His body was limp and tears were streaming down his face. It made Lyle cry harder. He wasn’t sure if it was because he was so thankful Attis was alive, or because it pained him to see him that way. He figured, both.

Under Attis was Corey, who was bleeding out of his head. A wave of relief went through him as he fell to his knees and cupped Attis’ face in his hands softly.

“A-Are you okay?” Lyle stuttered. He shut his eyes tight again, shaking his head and letting out a breath.

“I’m s-sorry, I forgot. D-Don’t move. You’re g-onna be okay,” Lyle struggled to get the words out of his mouth.

Attis groaned some more, crying harder and trembling. Lyle leaned down to hold Attis’ hand, intertwining their fingers. With his other hand, he brushed stray hairs out of Attis’ face. He continued to stroke his hair, the tears slowing down as Attis stopped shaking.

Lyle couldn’t believe what a mess today had turned out for him. In only a day, he’d met someone who looked just like him, grown attached to him, and almost witnessed him die at the hands of his own guardian. Today couldn’t get any worse for any of them.

Lyle felt Attis clasp his hand tighter, sending a pleasurable feeling through his upper body. He rubbed his double’s hand with his thump gently. He seized the moment to bend over and tenderly kiss Attis on the cheek, blushing and looking away afterwards. Lyle really liked Attis. He knew it was wrong since they could possibly be twins, but he couldn’t help how he feels.

Donnie watched the way Lyle comforted Attis, even taking a step further and kissing him on the cheek. There was a tug in his heart, and he knew he was jealous. He’d wanted someone to care for him the way Lyle always did. But it was different. Lyle was caring for Attis because he had feelings for him. Donnie could tell. But when Lyle would show the same compassion to him, it was because they were best friends. Nothing more.

The sight brought a smile to Donnie’s face. He was happy for Lyle, even if he hadn’t found someone of his own yet. Donnie knew his best friend deserved someone; he was the only person Donnie would trust with his life; the only person he could trust with anything; the only person who was always there for him.

The moments between the fall and the arrival of the ambulance, was agonizing. It seemed as if help would never come. When it did, men in uniforms were taking Attis away, making Lyle want to start a bawling fit again. Police had caught Layla running on their way over and was being brought into custody.

The drivers of the ambulance wouldn’t allow Lyle to ride with Attis. They understood, or rather assumed, that they were close since they looked like twins. But they simply didn’t have enough room. An anonymous caller called 911 about the yelling, saying there was a fight going on. Not knowing how many trucks to take, they only brought one.

At first, they were going to call for another and bring the victim in the worst condition first. Corey.But Lyle and Donnie insisted they took Attis, considering he was the real victim and was still too young to have his life ruined.

Donnie and Lyle watched the driver take Attis away in the ambulance, both relieved and worried at the same time.

“Do you think Attis is going to be okay?”

Lyle shook his head, not knowing how to answer Donnie.

“He has to be.”