Youth ✿ Paul Lahote [1]

ii. twin-less

Airports sucked.

Usually they wouldn't for Alex. It would normally be a sign of a happy vacation she was about to take with her family. Not today though, all it meant for her today was that her twin brother was leaving and was going to be across the other side of the country.

Her mother, Camila, was wiping tears away with her sleeve. Her father, Luke, was holding his wife comfortingly. Alex, however was trying her best to keep a strong face, she vowed to herself that not one tear would be shed on her behalf. Although she was aware this was probably a terrible bet to make.

"That's my last call," Jordan said to his family regretfully after a voice came over the loud speaker. He had ignored the first two requests for passengers to board his flight, wanting to spend as much time with his family as he could but this was something he couldn't put off any longer. "I better get going."

Camila wrapped her son up in her arms, not even ashamed at the tears that poured out of her sparkling brown eyes. Alex had to look away from this, and when Luke pulled his son into his embrace as well because it was finally hitting her that this was real. And that was more frightening then she wanted to admit.

Before Alex even knew it Jordan was standing in front of his sister whom barely made it up to his shoulders in height. Alex quickly wrapped her arms around his torso, not even bothering to try to get him down to her size. Jordan's arms bound around her petite shoulders and he placed a brief kiss on the top of her hair.

"This sucks," Jordan said in a breath, pushing Alex away from him so she could look at him while he was talking.

It took that split second of looking at her twin's face for Alex's eyes to well up with tears. So much for her strong facade.

"Don't cry, hermana," Jordan spoke easily, his hands brushing her shoulders comfortingly. "You're going to be fine without me."

Hearing him say the word sister in Spanish made Alex wanting to cry harder. Jordan never spoke Spanish, no matter how much their mother tried to get him to do it. Alex was more willing, but Jordan wasn't. It must have been to sooth Alex and that small knowledge of him caring to do something for her made her the brunette's heart hurt.

"Am I really going to be? I have barely lived a day without you, how am I supposed to know what to do?"

Jordan sighed, seeing Alex like this – with tears flowing down her cheeks and her bottom lip beginning to tremble – was making leaving a lot harder than he ever thought it would be. Forks had always been a place for Alex, who liked simplicity, but not for Jordan. He was bigger than this city, his family was the only thing keeping him here. "You'll figure it out, you're the smart one out of us remember? You've got this. I know you do."

Alex forced a nod of her head, although she didn't believe a word that he was saying.

"You have to promise me something," Jordan spoke with so much love in his voice that it was foreign to Alex. "Don't just sit around while I'm gone. You need to live, experience things and have fun. I know you love home and your books, and that's fine, but I want you to really be a teenager for once. Be reckless and make stupid decisions."

"You do that enough for the both of us," Alex countered back jokingly.

Jordan shook the girl playfully. "Exactly, but I'm not going to be here to do that anymore. You need to take my place, keep Mama on her toes."

Alex genuienly smiled then, which she didn't think would be possible.

"When I come back for Thanksgiving I want to hear about all your new, cool friends in La Push and the crazy shit you all did. That's all I'm asking," Jordan reiterated.