Playing with Fire

e p i s o d e | t w e n t y - t h r e e (pt. 1)

I rush towards Anna's room, knocking rapidly on the door when I hear the sound of glass breaking. The person who answers the door is not Anna, however; instead, Rowan faces me with a dark expression locked into his eyes. Though I'd like to get angry at him for being there, I take one glance over his shoulder at Anna, who is staring at the television screen blankly, and then shove him out of the way to walk over to her. Shards of glass lie in broken fragments around her. 

I follow her gaze to the television screen and feel my heart plummet down into the ground. Kane White. I'd recognize that name anywhere.

"Anna," I say to her quietly, crouching down so that I'm face-to-face with her. "Maybe we should go home."

She doesn't respond. I take the remote control from her and turn the TV off. Her eyes remain glued to the empty screen. There's nothing I can say to her appease her emotions right now. After ten years of trying to forget everything that had happened to her, she now comes to the realization that the murderer of her parents has escaped from prison.

"Hey," Rowan says to me. My head swivels over to him. As much as I'd like to get furious at him right now for the news, Anna will only be confused by my supposed overreaction. Then, Rowan would be forced to reveal his secret. And this isn't the time. He simply says, "I dropped a cup. We should clean up the glass."

"I got it," Anna suddenly says, standing up. She vacantly starts to leave the room, but I grab her wrist.

"We'll tell housekeeping. Maybe we should go home," I repeat.

I can tell that Anna's hesitating. She's in shock, but at the same time, she doesn't want to ruin the whole mood of the trip. She collects herself with some difficulty and then finally looks me in the eye with a forced smile. "I don't think we should go," she says. "Grandma would be worried, and the rest of the people here, too."

Rowan steps up from behind me, clearly against her thought process, but I just smile and nod to her. At this point, it'd be best just to agree with whatever she wants to do.

"Okay. Just stay in your room for now, all right?" I leave the room and gesture with my head for Rowan to follow.

After having called housekeeping for Anna's room, Rowan and I sit absentmindedly in ours without saying anything. There's an understanding silence between us that momentarily replaces our mutual hatred for each other. For Anna.

"Hawthorne," I finally say, staring across the room at the wall ahead of us. "What do you want to do about this?"

He takes a moment to shrug in response. "What do I do? There's nothing comforting I can say or do because I don't believe it myself." There's another pause. "I don't even fully comprehend what's going on."

"You know that she's going to find out sooner or later," I remind him.

"Are you implying that I should drop that bomb on her right after she gets hit with this news?" He finally stares over at me with a cynical glint in his eyes. "Silver, I know you hate me and all, but this isn't even about me anymore. It's about her."

"I didn't imply anything," I retort.

Rowan is silent again. "Let's leave, first thing in the morning. There's no point in staying here any longer, with that madman on the loose. We need to make sure that we're safe back in town."

I nod, for once agreeing with him. "It's settled."

When Valentine hears about the news, she reluctantly cancels her plans to go to the nearby club and agrees to leave in the morning. Benji takes a bit more time to convince, considering that he's not fully aware of Anna's history with this criminal. Meanwhile, Rowan continues sulking on top of his bed by himself, not doing or saying anything for a long time. Does he really care about Anna that much? If so, how could he let himself get into this position?

As night falls, I feel a tingling sensation of unrest inside the now-dark room. There's no way I could sleep well today.

Benji's snoring is somewhat comforting to listen to, but it still doesn't erase the manic thoughts running through my mind. The thoughts about the first time I witnessed Anna's news on the TV screen, and the first time Grandma brought Anna into our house ... and the first time that I came across Rowan's secret –

"Silver." His voice interrupts my thoughts. "You're awake, aren't you?"

I blink at the black ceiling. "How'd you know?"

"You used to sleep-talk."

I scowl into the darkness. "We were kids back then. I've grown out of that habit." Well, I've learned to get rid of it. Ever since Anna came into our house, I had nitpicked at every habit of mine to ensure that I'd come across as the perfect older brother.

"Yeah, well, I was clearly right." Rowan pauses for a second, before saying suddenly, "You know I never slept with your sister, right?"

The question receives a smirk from me. "Which one?"

"Either."

I raise an eyebrow. "Oh, really?" I remember being in his house and seeing Val come out of his room. It was the same day that I'd discovered his secret. I guess part of me had always known that he and Valentine never really did anything together. But I needed an excuse to tell the rest of the world why I had decided to distance myself from our friendship – and instead of the secret, I used Val.

"She came into my room when you were both over, but I ignored her." He snickers a little to himself. "I know I was a piece of shit, but come on? Sleeping with my best friend's twin sister? That's not just wrong, it's ... weird. That'd be like sleeping with you as a female."

I cringe at the statement. "Can you shut up?"

"Why? Does that make you uncomfortable, Silver?"

"I'm going to slit your throat if you keep talking." When he silences, I add, "Well, whatever. You and Valentine might not have done anything, but you decided to date Anna. Does that make you any better of a person?"

He snorts. "Nope. Still the same asshole. Only this time, I actually have a reason to change."

I stay quiet for a moment. "Hawthorne, I despise you for Anna's sake, but I'm not going to try changing your relationship with her. She'll do that in her own time."

"Thanks. I really feel your support," he replies flatly.

It's the most I can say without sounding like I care. Rowan and I have had such good and bad history as friends that it's sometimes difficult to separate the two when talking to him.

"Anyhow, go to sleep. You're being annoying," Rowan says.

I feel a rush of irritation at his words as well. "Go to hell, Hawthorne."

His amusement is nearly tangible from several feet away. "Planning on it."