Love Is a ***

I woke the next morning with a sickening feeling in my stomach, knowing it was guilt, because I hadn’t ended up back home after my date. I sat up in Andy’s bed, the blanket clutched to my bare chest as I tried to remember where my clothing was scattered, and then I felt light fingertips on my lower back, tracing small designs into the skin. Turning my head towards where my lover laid, I saw he was awake and I smiled softly. “Good morning.”

He smiled back and then yawned softly. “Good morning. You’re up a little early, aren’t you?” he asked, sitting up and leaning his back against his headboard.

I shrugged. “I’m feeling a little bad for not returning home last night…” I trailed off, not looking at him and crossing my arms over my drawn up knees.

“What’s wrong, baby?” he asked, moving to wrap me in his strong embrace and I leaned my head against his chest.

“I don’t know. Angel seems to be losing weight lately and his boyfriend Jayy looked upset about something when he came into the salon yesterday. I’m just worried something is wrong between them, I guess,” I explained lowly, mumbling more into his skin than anything.

He stroked my hair slowly, placing a kiss on top of my head. “I’m sure they both will be fine. Remember they never really do fight, so maybe they had a real fight and they just need a day or two to think things over,” Andy commented, and then pulled me into his naked lap and I giggled, noticing his morning wood.

I climbed off his lap after a quick wiggle on his hard cock with deep kissing, went looking for my clothing from last night. “Sorry love, but I need to go talk with my brother,” I stated, picking my clothing up as I walked down the hall, thankful he lived alone or this would be highly embarrassing.

“Anabel, wait!” I heard Andy call, but it was a little late for the warning when I made it to the lounge, holding my clothing in my arms when I noticed my mentor on the couch, just barely starting to wake after Andy yelled.

I gasped, covered myself with my clothing as his green eyes fell on me and his mouth dropped open. I turned on my heel and fled back towards Andy’s bedroom. “What the hell, Andy?” I yelled, closing his bedroom door behind me. “What is Dahvie doing here?”

“I tried to warn you,” he mumbled, looking at the floor. “Apparently he went out, had some drinks, and misplaced his keys somewhere between the parking lot and his apartment.”

I rolled my eyes. “I must have already been asleep by the time he got here,” I said as we heard the doorbell.

“Coming!” we heard Dahvie call and listened while he answered Andy’s door. “Hello security, what a fine morning we are having huh? What can I do for you?”

“We’re going door to door to find out who these belong to. They were found alongside the pool,” a deep voiced male told Dahvie as I was getting dressed, but noticed I had an article of clothing missing.

“Well I might know who those black lace panties belong to,” Dahvie said, a teasing tone in his voice and I blushed now knowing where the missing piece of clothing was. “Unfortunately, she’s already gone home.”

There was a long pause of silence and then a tenor voice said. “Well sir if you see her again, please return these, and tell her to keep all clothing together next time.”

“Yes sir, I will return them and relay the message. Have a good day, sirs,” Dahvie replied before we heard him close the door.

I stormed out of the bedroom clothed and barefoot while Andy was getting boxers and stripped sweatpants on. I stomped towards Dahvie with a growl,” Hand them over, Dahvie!”

He backed away with a grin on his full lips, my lace panties hooked on his index finger, swaying tauntingly close. “Uh uh uh,” Dahvie said. “First, explain why your panties were out by the pool, Anabel.”

Scowling, I snatched at the panties, but Dahvie jerked them out of my reach just before my fingers could grasp them. “That’s none of your business, Jesus David Torres!” I said, using his full name.

Dahvie smirked. “Okay, okay, don’t get your panties in a twist,” he laughed, then added, “Oh wait, you don’t have any on.”

I growled at him again, snatching my panties out of his grasp. “Did I just hear a full name calling? Boy, Dahvie you really made her mad,” Andy commented, coming from his room and I couldn’t help but look over his perfectly toned body.

I ran my fingers over his chest as I walked past, back to the bedroom. “No one tries to keep my panties from me,” I commented, feeling foolish enough today.

I listened to Dahvie chuckle and so did Andy as I went into the bedroom and replaced my panties under my skirt, going back out to the lounge. “Do you feel better and more secure now?” Dahvie joked, lounging on Andy’s couch.

“Yes, thank you very much,” I said stiffly as I took a seat next to Andy. I leaned my head against his chest as he threw an arm over my shoulders and snuggled me closer to him.

Dahvie made a stuck up motion and I threw a pillow at him. “Hey! What was that for?” he exclaimed, throwing it back, but hit Andy instead of me.

I grabbed the pillow once more, tossing it at his hair that seemed to never mess up no matter what he did. “For mocking me,” I stated, giving him the bird. I turned to Andy, kissing him sweetly. “It’s time to take me home.”

Andy looked into my face, his eyes betraying a mix of emotions that I couldn’t make sense of. “Can’t you just stay a little longer?” he begged, lifting my open hand to his lips and kissed my palm.

“I would if I hadn’t promised Angel we would talk after my date, plus he seemed a little distressed when I left,” I said softly, biting my lip.

Dahvie coughed suddenly and then looked to me. “You haven’t talked to you brother yet? How is he?” he asked, concern lacing his voice.

I turned a suspicious gaze on my mentor. “He’s fine. Crossroads Photography has been keeping him quite busy, and no I haven’t talked to him yet. He ushered me out once he found out I was late to meet Andy last night,” I said, my fingers twisting together.

Dahvie looked to Andy, sadness in his green eyes. “She needs to talk to Angel,” he said softly and then said as we were rising from the couch. “Be strong, Anabel.”

My gray eyes looked over his defeated position. “You know what he’s going to tell me, don’t you?” I accused him.

He shook his head, making his colorful hair move just slightly. “He’s got to be the one to tell you,” he emphasized on he’s quite a bit.

I glared at Dahvie a little and looked to Andy demandingly. “Take me home now!”

He opened the front door. “I am if you’re done arguing with dear Dahvie,” he replied softly, gesturing to the open door.

I walked out and hurried down to Andy’s truck, terror starting to take over me. With shaky fingers, I reached to open the truck door, hearing the hum and click as the doors unlocked, a result of Andy punching the unlock button on the small black remote control. I was in the truck and buckled in before he opened the driver’s side door and got behind the wheel. “Andy, please hurry,” I begged as I watched him fumble with his keys.

“I’m trying, Anabel! Would you please calm down?” he said without looking at me. After what seemed like forever, Andy cranked up the truck and jerked it into drive, stomping heavily on the gas pedal and causing me to jerk backward in my seat despite my seatbelt. I glared at him as I smoothed my hair out of my eyes. “What? You’ve been telling me to hurry, and now I’m driving too fast?” he questioned.

I looked out the window, my fingers playing with a strand of hair. “No...” I said softly to the window, my stomach in knots as Dahvie’s words kept running through my head- Be strong, Anabel.

What could be wrong with Angel? There couldn’t be anything wrong with him, right? He was the only family I had left; the world wouldn’t take that from me, would it? I thought quietly, watching scenery go by. “Ana, he’ll be fine,” Andy reassured me as if he had read my thoughts.

I bit my lip and considered the many possibilities. “Do you think he’s in some kind of trouble?” I asked.

Andy shrugged. “I hope not, but you won’t know until you talk to him,” he said gently. I let out a small breath, worried sick about my sweet brother. Andy took my hand in his, and I realized my palms were clammy. “No matter what’s going on, Anabel, I’ll be here for you,” he said, and I could hear the sound of promise in his voice.

I looked at him and smiled slightly. “Thank you, baby. You are my one and only that will always be here in health or sickness,” I giggled softly at the wedding wording I used.

Andy smiled, kissing the back of my hand. “Always,” he replied simply as we pulled up to the curb in front of Angel and my home.

I looked at the two-story, cream house with my perfect flower garden off to the side of the house, and then my eyes followed the lone silhouette from one lounge window to the next. “I can’t…” I whispered softly, my hand clenching.

Andy grabbed my hand, pressing it to his cheek. “You can do this, Ana. I’m sure there’s nothing wrong with Angel,” he stated with overwhelming confidence. “He is after all your brother.”

“But what about what Dahvie said? He never seems so sad ever,” I muttered softly, still watching my twin’s silhouette.

He looked out the windshield for a second, letting our entwined fingers rest on the center console as he thought. “Maybe he was thinking of something else when he said what he did,” he said slowly, thoughtfully.

I sighed softly, doubting that. Dahvie never seemed to be bothered by anything, unlike his friend and my brother’s boyfriend, Jayy, who seemed to wear all his feelings on his sleeves. I squeezed my eyes shut, knowing it wasn’t likely and that Andy was stretching it with such a thought. “Something’s wrong with him, I can feel it,” I said darkly, thinking of the tale that some twins have a psychic connection. “Something bad...”

“Anabel, look at me,” Andy said, catching my face between his fingers. “No matter what he tells you when you go in there, know that I will be here for you, no matter how bad or painful it is.”

I slowly started to open the truck door, sliding from the seat with a click of my high heels on pavement. “I’ll call you after I’m done talking to him,” I told him, trying to smile for his sake.

Taking a deep breath, I blew Andy a kiss and waved goodbye, knowing that no matter how badly I didn’t want to hear this news, there was no turning back now. I walked up the walkway to the door carefully, avoiding the cracks in the concrete. I was unsure whether or not this was a conscious decision I made in order to keep from falling, or my subconscious deciding that if I walked slow enough, I could avoid this confrontation. When I got to the door I opened it slowly, the door of course creaking and betraying my entrance. “Anabel, is that you?” called Angel’s sweet voice from somewhere further in the house.

I stood straight and called back. “Yes, brother, who else would be entering the house?” I asked back, a little sarcasm in my voice as I pulled my high heels off at the door, dropping them to the side. I immediately felt bad for my sarcasm, and cursed myself for such stupidity. “I’m really sorry I didn’t come home last night Angel...” I said as he appeared.

I felt sick as I took in his appearance- his eyes looked sunken, and there were dark shadows beneath them, as if he hadn’t slept well in some time. His normally snug black t-shirt hung loosely on his already small frame. I swallowed hard, his appearance sickly familiar somehow, but my mind wouldn’t place how. “How was your night out with Andy?” he asked softly, his voice lower than usually like he had been coughing for long amounts of time.

I smiled softly, moving to the living room with him, and sat on our ivory colored couch. “It was wonderful, and Jinxx made up for making me late to dinner,” I told him, turning the TV on and turning our favorite show, NCIS on. “And Andy asked me to move in with him.”

Angel cocked a perfect eyebrow. “Did he?” he smirked slightly.

“Yeah, now what did we need to talk about, dear brother?” I asked, feeling my stomach twist painfully.

“First, tell me if you accepted Andy’s invitation,” he demanded.

I looked to him with slight surprise as he dodged my question. “Yes, I did.”

Angel moved his gaze to the TV. “Then I don’t need to worry about you, dear sister,” he said softly. “As long as you are happy, that’s all that matters to me right now.”

He started to cough harshly, putting his hand to his lips, and my mind went into panic mode when he pulled his hand away from his lips as the coughing subsided and I saw blood. “Angel, what’s wrong?” I asked in terrified tones.

Angel shook his head. “It’s nothing, Annie. Ignore it, you just focus on your future and not on me,” he said slowly, wiping the blood away on a tissue. “All things happen in time.”

Something in that sentence triggered a memory of our beloved father and I shook my head. “No...” I whined softly, tears starting to well uncontrollably for no reason.

~Fleeting Memory~
“No...Annie, don’t cry sweetie,” my father said hoarsely. “Everything will be okay, I promise.”

Still, I sobbed as I stood next to Angel, holding his hand tightly and staring into my daddy’s sunken eyes and listened to his shallow breathing.

“Angel…” he began, and then collapsed in a fit of coughing. When the coughing stopped and he pulled his handkerchief away from his mouth, it was stained with blood. “Angel, take care of your sister, you hear? And Anabel, you take care of your brother. You…you two are all that’s left of our family…take care of each other. Stick together no matter what.”

“I promise, Daddy,” Angel said. “Anabel, say you promise.”

Sniffling, I wiped at my eyes and tried to be strong. “I promise,” I said, hiccupping.

Nodding, Daddy seemed satisfied. “Alright,” he said. “I love you two, more than you’ll ever know.”

The beeping of the monitor quickened as he fell into another coughing fit. Eventually, the coughing subsided, and the beeps returned to their slow, steady pace. Nurses, clad in their stiff white uniforms, rushed in and ushered us out to the waiting room.

We waited for what seemed like hours, then the nurse we called Big Nina came out and placed a hand on our shoulders. “Anabel, Angel. It’s time to tell your daddy goodbye,” she said, her big brown eyes full of sorrow. “It doesn’t look like he’s going to make it through the night.”
~End of Memory~

“You can’t leave me like daddy!” I yelled at him, clenching my fists.

Angel looked away guiltily. “Annie, I would never leave you. We are twins, we are family, and we are never truly alone,” he said slowly, his breathing steady for a moment before coughing slightly.

“Angel, tell me what is wrong with you?” I asked quietly, clasping his hand in mine tightly. “It’s not what daddy…?”

He didn’t look at me. “Yes, Annie... it’s not something I could escape. How cruel can fate be?” he asked himself, his fingers tightening around mine as we held hands like we did those many, many years ago.

“How much longer do you have left?” I whispered, ignoring the tears rolling down my cheeks.