To my room, all I could think about was what Dad had said in his study earlier. Suddenly the words lined up neatly, buzzing and imprinted in my head like a petition initiated by a high-ranking royal.
Be free like a dove that still knows where to go and the way home.
The words are scattered and entrenched in rhythm. Like the line of melodies I once played with a violin or cello. So beautiful has perfect harmony, and can't be lost like footprints erased by rain.
Am I doing this too much?
My eyeballs moved to catch the silhouette of Cleopatra in her room. She paced around with her cell phone to his left ear, laughing softly, blushing with embarrassment, like someone who has been falling in love. Don't tell me Jace managed to seduce her.
Without knocking on the door or excuse me, I walked into Cleo's room until my non-identical twin sister gasped in surprise as she cupped her hands in front of her chest.
"Elsie!" she scolded. Before nagging me, Cleo ended the conversation with the person on the phone. "Sorry, Jace. I have a business. Okay, bye."
Right. Incubus, it turns out.
"Don't startle me like that," she continued, throwing the phone to her side. The tiny phone fell with a gentle motion and bounced on the bed.
"I want you to stay away from Jace," I said matter-of-factly. "He's no good for you."
Cleo's response was eyebrows furrowed in surprise. Her eyes blinked at the command I issued regardless of her reaction or the side of her condition. Cleo got up from the bed and approached me. Even in her room, she was dressed modestly; a cardigan lined t-shirt and long khakis.
"You came here just saying that?" she asked. Her eyes met mine as if trying to enter my mind and tell her that what I just said didn't matter to her.
"Watch out," I replied. "He killed someone once..."
"Good grief, Elsie." Instead of listening to my sentence to the end, she rolled her eyes in disgust. "Must be what Hayley the gossip girl said, huh? After all…" She blinked once. "I already knew that he had a criminal record. For me, it doesn't matter. He is now not who he used to be. Jace is very sweet, polite, and handsome. What girl wouldn't be captivated by him?"
Talking to innocent Cleopatra is like talking to a junk robot. She is the most anti-judging person with one eye. Also do not want to bring up the past of people who have been missed.
"I just don't want anything bad to happen to you," I said still adamantly.
"Even when I said that you paid no heed to what I said, Elsie." She reversed my words, which immediately pierced my heart so deeply. "Many times I warned you to stop because I didn't want anything to happen to you, but you ignored me."
Suddenly the palpable atmosphere turned even tenser sarcastic tone and the expression on Cleopatra's face looked different than usual when she spoke to me. So pushy, caring, embarrassed, and annoyed.
"I'm talking about you. Why did you turn your back on me?" I replied cynically.
"This is no longer my problem. Because talking about my problems should be comparable to talking about your problems." For the first time in my life, I saw Cleopatra let out a short, cynical laugh. "There is no ego anymore between us. We are adults and can determine our lems. If you want to dive into my world, like it or not, I have to plunge into yours. How about it, Elsie?"