"Wake up"a voice said from above me. I rubbed the sleep from eyes and shifted away from the foot poking my back. "Come on, wake up, I'm missing my show right now" the voice moaned. I looked up and stared into the extremely identical face of my younger twin sister, Emilia.
" I'm up" I whispered " How long has it been?" I asked as I bent over from the cramping in my stomach, it felt like my stomach was eating itself, no matter how many times I went through this, I never got used to the hunger pangs
"A day, pretty lenient if you ask me" She hopped on my bed and started scrolling through her phone.
" What the heck is that supposed to mean?" I asked offended, I was used to Emilia making mean jokes but I wasn't in the mood for her particular brand of humour right now.
"It was a joke" She said and burst out laughing" you should have seen the look on your face"
"That wasn't funny Emmy" I told her through gritted teeth.
" Jeez Ray, it was just a joke, learn to lighten up a little bit" She said exasperatedly and rolled her eyes at me then went back to scrolling on her phone.
"Sorry" I shrugged feeling guilty, it wasn't her fault I couldn't understand her humour.
She rolled her eyes again and walked to the door "Mother wants you to get ready for breakfast. See ya later" She blew me a kiss and waved as she left. I laid down on my bed and stared at the image of a regency era ball painted on the ceiling and as always, my eyes immediately went to the lone figure in the corner in a dress that almost blended in with the wall behind her. No one looked her way and no one asked her to dance, she was left on her own, an outcast in a room full of people who belonged, sometimes she reminded me of myself. I pulled myself to my feet and made my way to the bathroom where I took extra care to make sure there was nothing wrong with the way I looked and nothing for my mother to nitpick about. I heard their voices even before I turned the corner, my father and sister were playing a video game and trying to distract the other and Liam cheered them on while my Mother watched from the sofa with one of her rare soft looks on her face. They looked like the perfect family, staring at this scene, I was reminded of the lone girl on my bedroom ceiling.
A few minutes later, my sister won and they made their way to the dining room where breakfast would most likely be waiting for them. Looking at them like this, laughing and joking together, reminded me of how I constantly felt left out growing up. It wasn't like they did it on purpose, my sister needed more care and attention with how weak she was as a child, my brother was born in their later years when they had more time on their hands and Aaron---- I immediately stopped that line of though, Mother had made sure Aaron was completely forgotten about, speaking about him was forbidden and so was even thinking about him or remembering him , I wiped away the lone tear I felt trickling down my cheek and joined the rest of my family at the table.
" Finally, took you long enough" Emilia moaned
" Elly" Liam yelled, his chubby cheeks and fingers covered in sauce.
I ruffled his hair and sat next to Emilia, who was currently complaining about how the food would make her fat.
" Rachel" my father said smiling "you haven't been home in so long, I thought you'd forgotten about us. Your mother told me about your migraine, are you feeling better now?"
I nodded my head with a tight smile and focused on not shoving as much food as I possibly could into my mouth at once, especially since I knew that would land me another punishment.
" How's school going? Tell me about your classes"
"Great. I recently had a professor who made us...." I started saying excitedly before I was cut off by my mother's voice.
" Dear, I think that's quite enough for now, we're at the table right now and I personally do not want to hear about the history of one thing or the other while trying to digest my food"
" Of course love, whatever you wish for" my father smiled back at her and I stabbed my eggs with my fork as Emilia started prattling about one of her colleagues and the newest movie she was working on. I slowly let out a deep breath, it wasn't Emilia's fault no one wanted to hear about pharmacology or molecular biology, so it wasn't right for me to be mad at her.
" Rachel" my mother's voice called me back from where I was zoning out, I'd zoned out at some point in Emilia's story, "you'll be having a date tomorrow with Adrian, we need the press to see both of you as the perfect couple, there'll be reporters at the restaurant, I expect you to be on your best behaviour"
"Absolutely not" I yelled at her " there is no way in hell I am going on a date with Adrian Kingsley" I said vehemently.
" It's not exactly your choice now is it" my mother replied.
" Dad, please you have to help me out here, I don't want to get married to Adrian Kingsley, I don't even know him and I already have a boyfriend I love"
" Now Rachel, I'm sure your mother knows what's best for you, she loves you very much after all"
"But Dad" I stressed" I already have a boyfriend and I can't marry someone I don't love"
" I'm sure you'll learn to love Adrian with time" my father pet my hand " now if you'll excuse me, I have a prior engagement with some investors"
"But its Saturday" I said" shouldn't we spend some time together"
"Do we look like a common family. Upper class people like us don't have the time for such things. We're above them darling" my mother scoffed crossing her arms.
" A businessman never has an off day" my father said pulling away from the table and with that he left me sitting at the table staring after him.
My mother smirked at me and came around the table to whisper in my ear " just like I said, your father can never go against my decisions" and with another cruel smile and a swish of her skirts, she was gone, Emilia left after her with a sleepy Liam in her arms and gave me a little smile and a sorry sis. And once more I was left alone, just like always.