“Talia, why are you kneeling in front of the bathroom?” Aunt Holly raised an eyebrow at me as she set the boxes down.
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“Are you worshipping some kind of deity behind the door?” Damian walked towards me, a lopsided grin tugging at his lips.
“No, Damian, I’m not worshipping anything.” I scowled, pushing myself off the floor.
When I glanced at Aunt Holly, I paused.
She was staring at me—too intensely. From the corner of my eye, I saw her fingers tighten around the edge of the table.
She was just… serious. Like I’d uncovered something I wasn’t supposed to.
“Aunt Holly?” I asked slowly. “Are you okay?”
Aunt Holly blinked twice, like she was waking from a trance.
“Yes, yes—I’m fine.” She forced a smile.
Her fingers began drumming against the table, faster than before.
“Just fine. Just fine…”
Her voice trailed off as she reached for the first box and started unboxing it.
I was onto something. I just needed to confirm it.
“Damian—” I turned to my brother, only to find him already standing in front of the bathroom door, arms crossed.
I walked towards him, pressing my lips into a thin line.
“Damian,” I muttered under my breath, “tell me the truth. Do you know what’s behind that door?”
I reached for that familiar thread in his mind, testing—waiting to see if he’d lie again.
Enough secrets, I need the truth.
“Save your energy,” Damian eyed the door suspiciously before walking past me to his room. “I don’t know shit this time.”
Jackpot.
*
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The rest of the day went on without a hitch, almost too quietly. Aunt Holly acted as if nothing had happened earlier, and Damian didn’t even bring up the matter to her at all. It should’ve been a normal day for us, but I couldn’t sit still.
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Finally, something I could investigate!
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I couldn’t wait for night to come; I was dying to check out the secret in the bathroom.
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“Talia!” Damian suddenly yelled in my ear. I flinched, hitting my knee beneath the table.
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“What!” I glared at him while massaging my left ear.
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He furrowed his eyebrows and said, “I’ve called you like five times. You alright?”
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“You seem a little unhinged, peanut.” Aunt Holly looked at me with worried eyes. “I think the jetlag is catching up to you. How about you head to your room to rest?”
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“I’m fine, Aunt Holly.” I laughed at her remark, all the while trying to hide my excitement for tonight. “What was it you wanted, Damian?”
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“I wanted you to pass the salt…but it’s fine. Aunt Holly’s got it.” Damian replied as he stared at me, trying to read my expression. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
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“I’m fine, stop worrying and let’s eat.” I focused on the food in front of me. Pasta with carbonara sauce, Aunt Holly-style. I’m sure it tasted amazing, but somehow every bite I took was like cardboard to me. I was so preoccupied with my thoughts that I couldn’t even focus on eating.
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“Talia, stop inhaling your food,” Damian nudged me and chuckled, “What are you, five?”
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“Shut up.” I stabbed a piece of sausage with my fork as I kicked him underneath the table.
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“Oh, for crying out loud! Both of you are five!” Aunt Holly slammed her glass of water down on the table and sighed, “You’re both in your twenties, and you’re acting like children. Honestly, I thought both of you would behave better.”
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Damian and I shifted in our seats. It wasn’t often Aunt Holly would get mad over something like this. That wasn’t like her.
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Aunt Holly glanced back and forth between us.
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Silence engulfed the room.
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For a second, Aunt Holly didn’t look like herself.
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Suddenly—
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SPLAT!
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A piece of sausage flew across the table from Aunt Holly, hitting Damian in the nose.
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“HAHAHA! Gotcha ya little peanuts!” Aunt Holly cackled as she launched another sausage at me. I dodged and began picking sausages from my plate, throwing them at her. Damian joined in soon after, starting an all-out food fight.
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As we laughed and fought, I couldn’t help but glance at the bathroom door and wonder about the secret behind it. It was unsettling—the kind of quiet that didn’t feel safe.
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Still, it’s nice to have moments like this.
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*
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“Alright, peanuts, I’m going to bed. Have a good night’s rest, and…” Aunt Holly paused and stared at me for a moment before continuing, “don’t let the bed bugs bite.”
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Damian said his good night to her, but all I could do was watch as she walked to the guest room.
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She knew. She knew that I was going to open that door.
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Why didn’t she say anything?
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“I’m off to bed too,” Damian stretched his hands above his head and stood up.
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“Damian,” I called out to him quietly. “Why didn’t you ask Aunt Holly about the bathroom?”
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His gaze was fixed upon my face while he remained deep in thought for a minute.
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Finally, he said, “I’m not exactly eager to dive into whatever’s behind that door, and I don’t think I want to.”
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He then paused for a moment and gave a small smile. “Besides, I figured you’d want to uncover the truth before I did.” After that, he headed to his room while I sat on the couch, lost for words.
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Damian could’ve gone into that bathroom head-on right after Aunt Holly shut the door. Instead, he’s letting me do it first.
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He knew I was desperate to be the first one to know this secret. He knew I was tired of being holed up, not knowing anything.
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I chuckled and reached out to him telepathically.
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Thank you, Damian.
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While he gave no reply, I knew he heard me.
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*
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Night fell, and I was tossing and turning in my bed. I didn’t charge into the bedroom immediately as I didn’t want to startle Damian and Aunt Holly. It had been a long day after all.
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When I finally felt completely restless, I jumped out of bed.
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“Time to go,” I whispered to myself.
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I changed into a three-quarter sleeve blouse with black tights—nothing baggy or too long that would restrict my movement. Arming myself with a commlink and a flashlight, I thought about the need for a weapon.
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There shouldn’t be any animals in there, right?
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I pursed my lips and turned my attention to the rectangular box. Dread filled me as I motioned towards it.
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“Maybe I don’t need it yet,” I muttered while shifting my hand back and forth on the box cover. “...Not yet.”
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As I reached for the door handle, suddenly a low hum rang in my ears. My eyes perked up, and snapped toward the bedroom door.
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If you sense a low hum that is not from you, that means someone like you is near. Be on your guard, friend or foe alike.
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I recalled Mom’s warning back in my training days. Sensing the hum was how I always found Damian during stealth training, with the idea being to sense your enemy.
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Talia.
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Damian’s voice echoed in my mind.
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“Damian, someone’s here,” I whispered in the dark.
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Stay calm. Arm yourself, and slowly head to the door quietly.
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I followed his instructions—I took out the daggers and quietly approached the door. My heart was pounding in my ears, and my mind was a complete blank.
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I took a deep breath.
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I’ve trained my entire life for this. I was not going to back down.
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Peering at the door gap below, I saw nothing.
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Then—footsteps.
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It was slow, measured, cautious.
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As the footsteps neared my room, the humming sound became louder. It became slightly unbearable to me when my ears began to hurt.
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“Damian!” I whispered urgently, clutching my ears as the humming became sharper.
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Don’t make a sound, Talia!
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I gasped in pain as the humming began to scream in my skull. I looked at the door gap once more, and fear filled my entire being.
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I could see the shadow. The person was right in front of my door.
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