“Leave her alone! I’l do whatever you want me to do!”
“That would be sweet, Drei. But there are rules. You could do that after she paid her debt.”
I couldn’t believe it. She was impossible to deal with.
“What do you say, Kristine?” Anthony prodded.
But before she could continue, I stopped her. “But why don’t we ask Kris? He’s also a leader,
isn’t he?”
Kristine stared at me like I poured her a bucket of cold water.
Kris stared at me, wide-eyed. Then as if realizing this for the first time, stood up from where he
scooted beside my Mom and looked at us.
“Wel , Kris?” I encouraged him.
“I think Kristine’s right.”
There goes my last chance at this.
Kristine smiled sweetly at me. “Any more questions?”
“I’m the one you want, so don’t hurt Leah.” Anthony demanded.
“You’re just part of it, Anthony dear. Not the whole.”
I flinched at the term.
“Then what do you want?!” Anthony hol ered again.
“I want Leah here, to pay her debt.”
“I’l pay you, Kristine! Just name it!”
She laughed heartedly, as if she had a heart. “That couldn’t be possible Drei. Her life’s the
price!” She laughed hysterical y, as if this whole thing was that amusing.
Kris eyed his twin, and handed her the gun from one of the men near him.
As soon as her fit was over, she looked at me again. “Any last words?”
I didn’t notice that I was sobbing, let alone start crying. I was now trembling that my knees felt
like they were water.
My eyes never left my mom’s. She too, was crying. But there was a certain look of peace in her
eyes that I couldn’t quite explain.
“Aww. That’s so touching. Talking with their eyes.” Kristine readied the gun and aimed it at my
Mom’s head.
“MOM!”
Then the bang echoed in the house.
“MOM! NO!”
She had her eyes closed shut. My tears clouded my eyes. I couldn’t believe it. Why did I let this
happen? I could have freed myself from the grip of this stupid guy holding me but I didn’t.
I was sobbing hard while staring at her when suddenly I blinked in surprise as she opened her
eyes again. Just then I realized that there was another gun drawn. Everyone in the room was
silent.
Kris blinked, taking in what he just did. He caught his twin before she landed on the floor.
~
Epilogue
After two years, the incident still felt surreal.
Kris really did shoot his twin, but luckily Kristine survived. But their relationship would never be the same again. Since Kris was leader, he ordered that the syndicate be abolished. All the
transactions were terminated. Without further explanation, Kris just dissolved the organization.
At first, the elders were furious. But with Kristine paralyzed for life, (Kris was a step behind her when he aimed the gun and hit her spine with the shot) she could no longer make the decisions
for the syndicate. Though her legs were the only parts paralyzed, she couldn’t perform her
duties as leader, and basically Kris was keeping her away from all the fuss. When she learned
what he had done, she too was furious. But apparently, she couldn’t do anything about it.
Just last year, she was admitted to a psychiatric facility. Kris couldn’t handle her, and her
doctors advised her to be confined. Good thing the syndicate was abolished; the effects were
detrimental.
Drew was still teaching at school, and he already informed the school about our relationship. It
was relieving at the same time a bit unnerving since his fan girls flocked all over me. They kept
prodding me about his favorite everything and even asked me how he looked like in the
morning.
My mom landed a job at a local firm, since she was a CPA. She didn’t have to travel every now
and then, since the syndicate was non existent. Nanny Helena still stayed with us, but the
incident really left her shaken. But she was able to pull through though, but gun shots were a no
no for her.
Anthony graduated two years ago. Even though he was a civil engineer, he continued playing
and was lucky enough to be drafted for professional basketball. He was able to pass the board
exam while preparing for the league. Tonight was his first game as a rookie of the national
league.
Junior year has been exciting for me. Now that I was close to earning my degree in
Accountancy, it really was relieving that all the fuss was over. There were times that I miss
Kristine. Jonathan tagged along with me most of the time, and he really had a hard time getting
over what happened with Kristine.
I checked my watch and it flashed 6:45. The game was about to start in 15 mins. Gathering all
my things before heading out of the restaurant, my phone chirped from my pocket.
See you in a bit. 10 mins before the game, okay?
I smiled at Anthony’s message. I keyed in okay and hit send.
Before, I thought that eating alone was such a torture. But as time passed by, I realized that it
was even a bit nice to do it sometimes.
Exiting the restaurant, I ambled my way toward the entrance of the mall. Once inside, I headed
straight to the arena. After five minutes, I was standing in a hallway leading to the dug out.
Here by the dug out. I texted Anthony.
In no time, I heard footsteps coming out the dug out to my left and saw Anthony smiling at me.
“Prompt little Drei,” he mixed up my hair, beaming.
“Hey, stop that,” I chuckled.
He continued to smile at me, as if that was the first he ever saw me.
“What?”
“Nothing.” He said, then enveloped me in a hug.
“Ehem.”
I turned and saw Jonathan and his cousin Jazz watching us.
“I didn’t hear you coming,” I said then neared them to hug them both. Jazz was growing more
beautiful as the years passed by.
“Just thought we might give you a little surprise.” Jazz supplied for Jonathan.
“We’re heading in now. We’l save seats for you.”
I nodded and they left.
“Have you eaten?” Anthony asked me once we were alone again.
I nodded, eyeing him silently.
“What?” It was his turn to chuckle.
“Nothing.” I said then pinched his cheek.
“People are fil
