6 Not Needed

Angela opened the fridge, opened the third drawer and took out an apple.

"Want one?" she asked casually to her twin sister sitting tensely on the counter seat of the kitchen island. "There's also strawberries…mmm…"

Lyra observed as her sister moved around the kitchen as if it were her own home. She knew exactly where to get the cups and knew the buttons to the coffee machine by heart. Of course she must feel at home since she's stayed here multiple times prior.

But what disconcerted Lyra was how calm and collected Angela was. How could she be like this when she had so much explaining left to do?!?

"Angela. When did you get here?" the younger sister finally opened her mouth to ask.

"After the storm ended, I took the first available boat over. Arrived this morning." Angela took a bite of her apple and laughed when her stomach grumbled. "I was worried sick!"

[Worried sick? For who?]

Lyra knew she should be glad to see her sister, but somehow she was getting really easily irritated by the carefree attitude she was displaying considering everything that had happened. So Lyra remained silent, taking slightly bigger breaths to control her temper.

"How's it?" the more extroverted twin asked. She moved her chin in the direction of the brace wrapped around Lyra's swollen ankle. "You're usually not that clumsy…" she teased sincerely.

"Why'd you come?" Lyra asked, not in the mood to stall any longer. "Why now?"

Angela's playful smile dropped slightly. Putting down her half-finished fruit, she finally turned to face girl on the other side of the counter.

"Neither you nor Kurtis answered my calls no matter how many times I dialed. I was worried sick. And then in the middle of the night, I was contacted by Kurtis's doctor saying that you sprained your ankle pretty badly and had a fever. And Kurtis, he also overstrained his leg again. And…and…" Angela covered half her face, breathed in a few times, and blinked away the waterworks. "Was I supposed to sit and wait?"

Lyra reached her arms around her sister's shoulders. "Thanks for coming, sis," she whispered.

"I'm sorry my fav twin!" Angela squeezed back. "I know I was wrong to bring you on the island and then suddenly tell you to pretend to be me and break up with my boyfriend. I don't know how grateful I am for all that you've done."

Lyra still had so many questions, but seeing her sister apologize over and over again, her heart grew soft.

"I'll handle things from here on out. I promise I'll take responsibility," the older twin assured, but found it odd when Lyra didn't look relieved. "Did Kurtis get mad at you? Did he scare my little sis? I'm gonna have a talk with him when he wakes up," Angela said while putting her hands to her hips. "He shouldn't be mad at anyone but me. Things are going to be fine, trust me," the prettier twin said as she brushed a strand of hair away from Lyra's face.

"Ms. Cades."

Both sisters' heads turned simultaneously to look at Leonard who was calling.

"Mr. Wellington has awoken," he added before heading over to pour a glass of water to bring up.

The twins stood up in sync exactly as if they were looking through a mirror. Angela produced a animated laugh before patting Lyra's arm.

"I'll talk to Kurtis and explain everything, don't worry," Angela called back.

She went quickly, but halfway across the living room leading to the stairs, Lyra blurted out, "I'll go with you."

This managed to stop Angela. There was a small pause before she turned around with a smile. "It may be better if only one of us goes."

Lyra sensed a slight defensive tone in her sister's voice, but didn't comment on it, unsure whether she was simply overthinking things.

"Stay here and rest your ankle," the twin advised as she climbed the stairs.

However, Lyra didn't sit back down. It didn't feel right to. There was still so much she didn't understand—so much she wanted to question.

But above all else, she wanted to see Kurtis.

How bad is his leg? Was it true he carried her back? Is he going to be okay? Is he still in pain?

But did she have any right to see him anymore? Now that Angela's here, who was she?

Would Kurtis even want to see her? Who was she to him?

Even though she was pretending to be someone else, she was always herself.

The deep conversations they had late at night, the happy and sad moments they shared, all the feelings and support they trusted with each other...they were still real, right?

But no matter how Lyra tried to validate it, none of that meant anything because in Kurtis's eyes, she was always Angela Cades.All those experiences were with Angela.

So now that the real one was here, she was back to being no more than the younger sister.

Trapped by her own thoughts, Lyra could only stand still in the kitchen and wait.