--- Two days later; Wednesday: 6:44 A.M. ---
Sleepily walking downstairs, Dayne finds his brother sipping a cup of coffee.
"Didn't know you woke up this early."
Caio turns to him and smiles, his teal eyes practically shining through the half-dark room.
"You know what I say; business isn't going to complete itself, Dayne."
Using his reflection in the TV screen, he fixes his tie and Dayne crosses his arms.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
Caio smirks.
"I made breakfast. Make sure Nia eats a good amount, I need to make sure I still have something to grip on when we-
"Just answer the question."
Sighing, Caio grabs a name lanyard from the coffee table and places it over his neck.
"So you're posing as Stephen Ellison's boss? I'd like to see how this one plays out." Dayne says, rolling his eyes.
"Oh, it'll play out perfectly." Caio adds, smiling.
Dayne shrugs.
"I don't think the man is stupid enough to let some random guy pose as him."
"He was stupid enough to be put six feet under." Caio replies, slicking his hair back.
"Don't tell me you killed him."
Walking into the kitchen, Caio refills his coffee cup and Dayne follows him, leaning against the refrigerator.
"Caio, stealing someone's identity is one thing, but killing an innocent man?"
The teal-eyed twin turns to his brother, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Remember when you told me you didn't know where the last Sprite bottle was and two hours later, I found out you used it for your ice cream float? Telling that seemingly innocent lie is just as horrible as me killing that man, except society deems one to be worse than the other. And besides, that clown of a boss was trying to protect an abuser; I had no choice but to get rid of him. We can't just let Nia keep having nightmares and living in fear everyday, Danish."
Dayne groans at his nickname and watches as his brother walks out of the kitchen, hearing the front door open and close.
He walks over to the stove and picks up a waffle, taking a bite.
"Whatever."
Hearing a small yawn, he turns to his left, seeing Nia walk into the kitchen.
"Good morning, Dayne. Where's Caio?"
"He went to run an errand, but he cooked breakfast for us."
Nia smiles, leaning against the counter.
"He's a very caring friend. You are too, Dayne."
She pats his head, before letting out a small sigh.
"You know, I'm extremely thankful for you two letting me stay here, but I'd like to go back to see the others at work. I miss them so very much."
"We already reported you missing, so I don't see why you can't go back. Besides, only a few of us know about your "disappearance", not the entire public." Dayne replies, handing her a cup of coffee.
Taking it, Nia takes a sip and nods.
"I see. I should go get ready then."
Wait, breakfast first." Dayne says, pointing down at the food.
With a smile, the young woman nods and picks up a plate.
"Right."
She quickly makes herself a plate and the two sit down to eat.
"So, tell me some things about yourself." Nia says, biting off a piece of toast.
Dayne looks up and shrugs.
"What do you want to know? I don't have anything interesting going on in life."
Nia smiles.
"Everyone has something that's interesting to them, Dayne. Let's start with music. What genre of music do you like?"
"I don't listen to music, just the news and finance radio."
The young woman nervously smiles and nods.
"Oh, well, okay."
She takes a bite from a strip of bacon and looks out the window, her eyes widening in awe.
"That's a cute birdhouse. Where'd you get it?"
"I actually made it." Dayne replies, looking at a bird who was currently eating from the bird feeder.
Nia turns back to him.
"It's very pretty. What's your favorite bird?"
He shrugs.
"Don't have one. I just like helping out baby plants and animals when they're abandoned."
"That's adorable, Dayne!" the young woman says, clasping her hands together. "Please tell me a bit of stories; if it's fine with you, of course."
The tall male sighs.
"I'll tell you some on our way to work."
Nia nods and quickly finishes her breakfast, almost like a small child being told she had to finish eating before playing.
Getting up, she washes her dishes and quickly heads upstairs to get ready for work, before walking back down.
"Okay! I'm ready for work!"
Looking up from his newspaper, Dayne nods and puts it aside.
He grabs his and Nia's briefcases and walks out of the door.
"Would you like a bird story or does it not matter to you?"
Nia shakes her head and smiles, as the man starts the car.
"You can just tell me anything."
"Alright. Well, when I was 17, Caio and I were walking home from school, taking a shortcut through a narrow path, when we both stumbled across this large brown bear; dead. Anyway, Caio went on ahead and I stopped to look at it since I was curious. I walk over and hear a small growl, so I back up a few steps and suddenly, a bear cub appears from behind his dead mother. Squatting down, I hold out my hand and he slowly starts to walk over, before getting comfortable and letting me pet him. Next thing I know, I'm fathering a small cub."
Nia smiles, pushing her glasses up.
"How long did you keep him for?"
"About two months." Dayne replies. "My father made me put him back in the wild after he found out I bought a dog house and was keeping the cub in there. So I dug him a den and made sure he stayed there, caring for the small thing until I left for military school."
"Awwww, I'm sure he enjoyed your presence." the young woman says. "You may look mean on the outside, but you're really just a big softie; please don't change that. This world could use more people like you."
Dayne turns to Nia, who was currently looking out of the window.
"May I ask why didn't you leave your husband the first time he hit you?"
She turns back to Dayne.
"He apologized and I'd thought he change. He has a history of getting angry, but never to the point of knocking me into doors, belittling me at almost everything I do, and only keeping me alive for his own benefit. Obviously my stomach doesn't get butterflies like it use to when we first got married, but I do still care for him and hope he changes before his attitude causes him to get himself into harm's way."
Nia sighs.
"I should've waited for the right man to come along instead of rushing to get married. Now, I can barely talk to my own father without Stephen, my husband, getting mad."
Dayne nods.
"Another reason true love doesn't exist. Even he doesn't like you, he still shouldn't have put his hands on you."
"Dayne, true love does exist. Most people, like me, didn't wait long enough and just settled. However, if I can, once I get a divorce, I told myself that I'll wait for the perfect man to come along so we both can start a family together. Don't worry, you just haven't met the perfect person yet; your time is coming, Dayne."
She smiles and pats his head, causing the man to shrug.
"I guess it's kinda hard for me to see that when my parents didn't even love each other and got divorced early in my childhood. It's a good thing you're waiting for an actual lover to have kids with, Nia. A relationship between two adults has a large effect on their children."
He parks the car and steps out, opening the passenger door for the young woman.
"So, how's this job treating you so far? I heard several women complaining about lack of equality."
"I actually like it." Nia replies, with a smile. "It's like my escape from hell and working alongside Caio has got to be the best thing ever! He can be a bit silly at times, but he's a great friend to have in tough situations."
"Sounds like him. Anyway, here's your stuff. You can go on ahead, I have to fix a loose button on my driver's seat." Dayne replies, handing the young woman her briefcase.
"Are you sure you wouldn't like me to wait for you?" Nia asks, taking her briefcase from the younger twin.
"No, you'll be late. I'll be fine."
She shrugs and Dayne sighs, watching as she walks ahead.
"Guess some people have it easy at finding love, huh?"
--- 1:38 P.M. ---
"And so the little girl walked back to her house, placing the flowers near her brother's bed. She kissed his pillow and smiled, saying "You've been cured from your illness. Have a good eternal sleep, my baby brother."
Laurenté La'rine closes the book, watching as his students wiped tears from their eyes.
"And that is our final emotion; sadness."
"Mr. La'rine, why did it have to be that sad?!" a little girl asks, wiping a tear with her sleeve.
"Well, that's because you perceive it as sad. As you get older, you'll realize it's fictional and probably won't cry as much as if it happened in real life."
The girl quickly shakes her head.
"No I won't because I'm staying a kid forever and you'll always be here to protect me, won't you Mr. La'rine?!"
*KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!*
Laurenté chuckles as he slides off his chair to answer the door.
"I'll try my best."
He opens the door, coming face to face with two law enforcement officials.
"Good afternoon, sir. Is this Khristina-Bella La'rine's class?"
Laurenté raises a brow and nods.
"Yes. Might I ask why you're asking for her?"
One of the men takes out his identification, showing the confused teacher his law enforcement badge.
"We're detectives from the Claiza City Police Department. Don't worry, we just need to question her on a few things about the murder of Roger Brookstone, since her brother was reported to have been seen with him."
Laurenté nods.
"Khristina, please come here."
The young girl happily jumps from out of her chair and runs over to her cousin.
"These two detectives are going to question you about Roger Brookstone. Don't worry, you get to come back to class afterwards.
She frowns, before smiling again.
"Okay!"