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“We can’t,” Brandon said.
“Why?”
They glanced at each other again.
Axel leaned forward, looking me dead in the eye. “I’ll answer that if you’ll tell us why there’s a scar on your ass.”
I leaned back on my heels, crossing my arms over my chest. I tried staring him down, threatening without saying anything that I’d walk out the door if he didn’t give in.
Axel’s brown eyes flashed with a power that had me trembling where I was sitting. He challenged me right back, and every inch of my skin felt what he was trying to relay to me in silence. He meant it. He was going to rip the past out of me if I wanted to get these details from him. He’d do it right in front of everyone.
I sighed, bringing my hands up to cover my face. I couldn’t, so I had no choice but to give up my desire for answers, and settle for at least some confidence. “Just tell me who I can pin the blame to, for Wil’s sake, if something goes wrong. Tell me even if I get caught, he’ll never know I did something stupid, and he’ll be okay.”
The silence now was heavier than before. I was a stranger amid a group of friends, people who worked together for some secret organization known as the Academy. I managed to unravel this much in a few hours. I wasn’t that smart, or at least I didn’t feel like it. I had basically dropped out of high school, even though I got my GED, it was just a cop out. Everyone knew it. It wasn’t enough to secure a job good so I could pay for a decent place to live. I couldn’t figure out how to survive. What was I doing with any type of informant division? Suddenly this whole plan felt so out of my league. I’d fail. What was I doing here?
I sensed someone getting up. Arms threaded around my body, squeezing. “God damn,” Raven said. “Are you crying? Stop crying.”
I ripped my palms from my face, finding Raven close. I punched at one of the tribal tattoos on his shoulder. “I’m not crying. I’m pissed off.”
Raven released me to grab my wrist and held firmly. “Marc, get her to stop hitting me.”
“And why is Axel the boss but Marc’s the one rattling off all the plans and telling everyone what to do?” I asked.
Marc broke out into laughter. Corey joined in. Axel and Brandon merely smirked, shaking their heads.
Raven grinned. He yanked me closer and held my wrists in one hand and then wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Will someone tell her so she’ll stop crying already?”
“I’m not crying!”
To my surprise, Brandon turned. His cerulean eyes took on a deeper shimmer, dulling a bit of the sadness that hovered in the back and focused on me. “Look at me, Kayli. You have no reason to believe me over anyone else in this room, but you’re sitting around in your underwear in an apartment with five guys with your rent paid for a month. You aren’t running out the door yet. I’m going to assume, despite what you’re saying, you feel at least somewhat comfortable with us.” He took one of my hands that Raven had trapped, drawing it toward him until his lips hovered over my knuckles. “Will you please just go on this one date with me and pull a wallet? You don’t even have to be successful. You just have to try.”
I blinked at him. “What? You mean if I fail, you’ll still—”
“Everything we’ve promised,” Brandon said. His jaw tightened in the corners, a determination washing over his features. “Just promise me you’ll do what you can to help. But if we don’t get this information we need, it’s not the end of the world. We’ll still help you get a job if you want.”
“Yeah,” Corey said. “And I’ll help Wil get into that college program. I was going to do that anyway.”
“And I promise,” Marc said, “you won’t go to jail. You won’t get into trouble. Wil will never know. We won’t tell him. And if you never want to see any of us again after this, we’ll just help you with your job hunt and get Wil into college and you can be on your own from there. If that’s what you want, we’ll leave you alone.”
“She’s not going to do that,” Axel said. The smirk on his face broadening. “Look at that face. She likes us.”
I rolled my eyes. I hadn’t been able to meet new friends since high school, so I was a little out of touch, but they were starting to grow on me. “I hate you guys.”
They all laughed.
?????
Now that I was more than committed to this, Marc wanted to start getting ready.
Brandon and Corey went to change clothes. Mine were finally dry and I slipped my shorts on but kept the button up shirt. With the shorts still being very short, the shirt hem brushed my thighs. I may as well have just worn the shirt by itself.
When the twins returned, they were wearing identical outfits, both in dark slacks, white button up shirts and loafers. They were both cleanly shaven, too.
“Well,” Brandon said, motioning to himself and then his brother but looking at me. “Here’s the test. Which one of us is which.”
“Huh?” I asked.
“Who is who?” he asked. “Here, let me make it harder.”
The twins switched places a few times and then stopped and didn't say anything.
They were dressed identically, and at first glance it was kind of hard to tell. The only difference was the eyes. I pointed at Brandon. “That’s Brandon.”
The twins’ jaws dropped i
n unison. “How’d you know?”
I shrugged.
“Wait, wait,” Raven said. “It’s got to be the hair or something. Like ruffle it up.”
“Turn around, Bambi,” Marc said.
“Stop calling me that,” I said, but turned around. I waited, hearing shuffling behind me.
“Okay,” Marc said.
I turned, and the twins had changed places. Their hair was combed back with fingers close to their heads. It didn’t matter. I could still tell.
“Corey,” I said, pointing and then shifted to the other “Brandon.”
There was a chorus of groans. “How the hell can you tell the difference?” Brandon asked.
“Yeah,” Raven said. “I’ve known these guys for years. How are you able to tell them apart when I can’t even do it?”
“Their eyes are different.”
Corey looked confused, but Brandon stared at me in a strange way that made my insides squirm.
“Okay,” Marc said. “Turn back around. This time, guys, close your eyes.”
I let them rearrange themselves and when Marc gave me the signal, I turned around. Brandon and Corey had their eyes closed and this time, I really couldn’t tell. “Identical,” I said.
“Great,” Brandon said, opening his eyes. “We’ll just keep our eyes closed the whole time.”
“Were you trying to fool me and switch places at the party?”
“Corey’s going to slip in and out of the party to give back the key card,” Marc said. “I went over this during lunch. Weren’t you paying attention?”
“Kind of. There was pizza in the way. But unless someone’s really looking at their eyes, no one’s going to be able to notice.”
“What’s different about our eyes?” Corey asked. He glanced at his brother. “No one else told us that.”
I couldn’t think of a way to tell them without embarrassing Brandon. I motioned to Corey. “Your eyes are prettier.”
Corey’s cheeks tinted, but Marc huffed. “If you don’t want to tell us, you don’t have to lie.”
