The Little Dove #2 ✔️

19. The Million Dollar Question

CHAPTER 19: The Million Dollar Question

Marvin and I never fought fairly. The balance was in that of survival, not equality in the way we manoeuvred our weapons to better manipulate them when necessary. Manipulation was that, even in a weapon that was thought to be a mere object. This was equivalent to reading the words on the page of a hard-covered book, but once finishing it, one may realize that the words read weren't read at all. They were skimmed over, barely refined, just accessed out of the mere curtesy of reading. The mere curtesy of a weapon...of a dagger.

There is more to it than meets the eye.

I really should have multi-tasked by focusing on both my brothers. Marvin was too busy with the daggers in his hands, attempting to stop one of mine. In my right hand, I deflect him, my arm muscles pounding in protest.

I wasn't focusing on whatever Mathias was doing, even when he said, "Lorraine is face-timing you on Skype, sis!" I slice the dagger towards Marvin's torso, and he leaps out of the way, flipping backward before he moves his feet around, distracting my predictions of where he may attack next.

"Hey, Lorraine...ah, you do know you've got a freakishly large amount of good-looking people behind you, right?" Mathias sounds confused, almost completely surprised. I grunt when Marvin forces me back I skid along the mat before twisting his arms down and up, I gasp at his strength before he kicks me in the stomach.

I screech when I fly backward. Mathias laughs, "Mom's going to kick your arse for that, Marvin!" Mathias' hollers, and perspiration wracking my locks, were evident as I flipped myself back up and twirl the daggers.

"And they say...I don't fight fair." I grunt out breathlessly. We'd been at it for four hours, I swallow, as he twirls his daggers.

"C'mon, you're losing your touch, Mel." He says to me. I narrow my eyes before moving my form, twirling once with my legs in the air, doing one leap, and then a roundhouse kick sent to his temple. He drops to the floor as I drop back to my feet with the daggers positioned like one readying for a boxing fight.

"Fuck, Melanie." He groans.

I whistle with a grin, raising my palms, "If you can't take it, little bro, don't give it." I tell him, sliding the daggers back into the belts on my thighs.

"Don't play dirty." He grunts my way, shuffling back up to a stand.

I glance at Mathias before squinting my eyes, "What are you doing?" I ask him. Marvin shoves a towel in my face, my sight obscured from the familiar set of faces in front of the camera, I chew on the towel, given my mouth was open.

The towel slips, and I quickly wipe my face, just as I catch Marvin stepping in front of the camera, "Hello, Lorraine." I hear him murmur, almost hesitantly, with a towel around his bare neck. I give him a stupefied look as we both step in behind Mathias, grinning wildly.

I lean down, one hand on the back of Mathias' chair and the other next to my laptop screen. I curse in my head, "Well, Hello...everyone." I say with a raised eyebrow. Everyone was there but Edmund.

Lorraine waves, "Hey, we just wanted to see how you were going. No one expected to see Mathias' face the second you accepted the call." She says, just as another face enters, silver eyes meet mine before they slowly move to Marvin. His eyes poise into stilts. Masked recognition filters his harsh features. Seeing him over a screen seemed very different than in person.

"You must be Marvin?" He says, hearing his voice after a week of silence fluttered along my abdomen as if I hadn't trained. Marvin squints at the screen.

"Yes, to whom am I speaking?" Marvin asks, not so kindly.

Edmund's eyes flash to mine, "You didn't tell your twin brother about me, lemon? How disappointing?" He mutters, taking a seat on the floor of the dark burgundy couch behind him. Marvin leans down and mutes the screen so they can't hear a word we're saying on our end; my brothers look at me. In comparison, confusion flutters along the faces on the screen.