Chicago, April 2013.
A girl with bleached platinum blonde hair stands outside her twin's house, glancing at the time on her phone. She sees a mass of missed calls from Jin and her mother. She has no intention of talking to them.
She's fed up with the woman, she's exhausting her mentally, and she's had such a sharp argument with Jin that she's sure not to speak to him for the next few days. It came to their relationship when they were finally caught in the act by their parents.
That day she wanted to run away with him, but he said she was not serious. He called her a stupid kid who has no brains. Jin wanted to ask his parents to forgo the wedding and let them be with each other since they love each other so much.
Their differing opinions led to an argument.
Danielle packed her things and, with the help of an older schoolmate, went to Chicago to meet the twin she had heard a lot about from the phantom. It was the ghost who led her to this place. She didn't have to search, she didn't have to find out anything thanks to her right hand.
What was her surprise the first time she saw the naive ninny, who was her complete opposite.
Even then, she knew that gaining her trust was a suitable option to break free from the life she had led so far.
She forces a smile and nods her twin's greeting as she walks out of the house dressed in a pink knee-length dress. She looks like a sweet little girl who was an angel in her previous life.
— I'm so happy to see you again — she announces, grabbing her hands.
Danielle feels like snorting under her breath, but refrains at the last moment.
— I'm excited to see you, too. Should we take a walk and get to know each other better?
Hannah nods and, putting her sister's arm around her shoulders, leads her to the park where she often spends time.
The blonde is irritated when her phone starts ringing again. She mutes it and puts it back in her pants pocket.
— Aren't you going to answer it? — Hannah looks puzzled.
— It's my boyfriend. I had a fight with him, and I'm not going to listen to his lament.
— Do you have a boyfriend? — The brunette looks delighted with the news. — What is his name? Have you been together long?
— Jin, and to be honest, our relationship has been tumultuous from the very beginning. I think it's because we both have strong characters. — The blonde scratches his head. — I've been courting him for a long time, so it will be about a year since we've been together.
— I've heard that a couple should have different characters to get along well.
Danielle shrugs her shoulders.
— Our parents are getting married in July, so I doubt if our relationship will last....
Hannah is shocked by her confession.
— You are in a relationship with your stepbrother!
— I like everything forbidden — she replies, looking amused. — Do you want to hear the whole story? — The brunette nods her head. — Then get ready because it's going to be a long story.
*
Chicago, May 2013.
Hannah crouches on a concrete wall, hands hugging her knees. With a smile on her face, she looks at the landscape in front of her. Accompanying her is her sister, who all the while ignores calls from her boyfriend. She is angry with him, they had a fight before she left, and she is not going to forgive him so quickly. Danielle has a tough character and is difficult to get along with. She can be very selfish, and her ideas are usually crazy. She doesn't realize how much she hurts people. Despite this, Hannah is enamored of her and recently has started to become more like her. She even came up with the idea of bleaching her hair and thus became blonde like her sister.
— I still can't believe you found me. I had no idea you existed. — Hannah's eyes begin to sparkle as she recalls the day Danielle stood on the doorstep.
— I had been looking for you for a long time, as soon as I heard from my mother that we had been separated. You were the first to be taken from the orphanage. Apparently, your mother considered for a long time whether to adopt us both, but your father was against it — lies. Telling tales comes with unimaginable ease to her when she sees that Hannah is swallowing everything.
— How did you know that?
— The caretaker at the orphanage was a terrible gossip.
Both girls laugh out loud.
— Does your family know you're in Chicago?
Danielle nods her head.
— My mother knows everything. I asked her to keep it to herself for now and not to tell her partner anything. I don't trust this guy, and I know he doesn't like me.
— What do you have in mind?
— I plan to get away from them and move to Chicago to be close to you. I have a friend who will help me do that.
— Are you serious about this?
— Yes, I will do it after I graduate in June. Since my mother is happy with him, let them get married. I will separate myself from them, and most of all from Jin.
— Are you going to break up with Jin? — She raises her eyebrows as her sister shrugs her shoulders.
— I'm sixteen years old. At this age, it's not some great love.
— But you told me so much about him.... So much that I know literally everything about him. After these stories, I'm convinced that he loves you very much, and you're just going to dump him like that? Do you even care about him?
— Of course I do. I feel something for him there, but he guesses that I'm the playing type. I enjoy playing.
Lies come so easily to her that she can't believe it herself. She is amused by her sister's gullibility. She believes every word she says.
— And are you really going to run away from home to be closer to me?
— Currently, I care about you the most. Before I met you.... I was so excited when I learned of your existence. So much so that when I learned your name, it made me want to lend it.
Danielle feels like laughing, seeing her confused face.
— Why?
She shrugs her shoulders in response.
— It made me feel like I was closer to you. — The blonde has a good laugh about it, although her sister thinks she's crazy. — Now you think I'm weird, don't you? — She laughs, putting her hand to her mouth — What if we both inherited it in our genes? How can we know what family we come from?
Hannah rubs her hands on her knees.
— Stop. You are healthy. The fact that you coveted my name doesn't prove anything yet. I, too, would like to be called something else. For example, Rosalie.
Danielle croaks at this name.
— A horror! I associate it with the maggot I oppressed at school.
— Hey! That's what you didn't tell me about. What do you mean, you oppress other girls?
— I'm a queen — claims Danielle, tossing her hair over her shoulder. — I like to rule myself and watch others lie at my feet. It's exciting in a way.
— What's your dream? — Asks Hannah unexpectedly, out of the corner of her eye, looking at her sister. Danielle thinks for a moment. — Do you know what mine is? — The twin plunges her curious eyes into it. — To get into the best school in New York. The smartest students attend there. It would be an honor for me, that's why I decided to submit my papers there in June. I'm an exemplary student, learning comes easily to me, so I can try, right?
Danielle croaks.
— Don't tell me you dream of Horace Mann boarding school? I hate that place. Everyone is stupidly smart there. They think they are geniuses. — She snorts with disdain.
— And you? Where do you want to go to school?
The blonde prefers to keep silent on the subject. She is sure that she will not pass this year, so absence from school makes no difference to her.
— Anywhere — she replies with indifference in her voice.
She pulls her phone out of her pants pocket, seeing that her mother is starting to threaten her in text messages. Eventually, she decides to write her back to give her peace of mind.
"Report me missing if you have nothing to do out of boredom. I'm just having a great time taking a break from you, mommy. I'll be back soon."
*
New York, May 2013.
When Danielle returns home after a two-week getaway, she gets a slap in the face from her mother as a greeting. The woman jerks her around, shaking hysterically that because of her behavior she will one day have a heart attack. She tries to get the truth out of her where she's been, but the 16-year-old isn't about to confess it to her.
She goes up the stairs to the second floor, but there she is grabbed by Jin and dragged to his room.
— Are you proud of yourself? — She asks, looking nervous.
The woman slams her hand on the door, ordering her to leave the boy's room.
— I'm not leaving! — pouts Danielle, fed up with her mother. — Go away, unless I have to run away again! This time I'll do it with Jin!
The 18-year-old looks at her with furious eyes.
— What are you trying to achieve with this behavior?
— Do you think they will let us be together! Wake up! — she shouts at him, slapping his chest with her hands. — If you do not run away with me, they will get married, and we can never be together again!
— Danielle, as far as this is concerned, we can still talk to them about it. I believe that my father will understand this and want to live with your mother without marriage.
— Do you think she will allow it? — The 16-year-old bursts into hysterical laughter. — Are you stupid, Jin? After all, she clearly flies to your father's estate! That's the only reason she wants to marry him!
— Let's talk to them first....
— No! — The girl is not going to let him get a word in edgewise. — If you don't run away with me, I'll do it again myself! Do you want our relationship to end like this? This woman will never let me live happily!
— Danielle, get a grip on yourself! — Jin tries to calm her down. — She's your mother and stop making her a monster! She may have harsh ways of raising you, but she is distressed about you. You didn't see her when you disappeared.
The blonde is so furious that she looks as if something has possessed her. She will not be persuaded.
— No, Jin! She's faking it! She's a wonderful actress who can shed tears on cue. She plays in front of your father, lamenting how poor she is having to raise a terrible, ungrateful daughter!
The boy captures her face in his hands and looks deeply into her eyes.
— Promise me you won't run away again.
Danielle is humbled by his gaze. He always has that effect on her.
— Then do it with me, please.
— This is not a solution. I can't leave my father, disappear from his life.
The 16-year-old looks at him with tears in her eyes.
— I can't imagine life without you, Jin.
The 18-year-old takes her in his arms and rests his cheek on her head. She snuggles into him tightly, not intending to let him go.
— We will get through this. We'll get through it.
*
This rainy night is good for reflection. Danielle reflects on her sister, whom she had instilled lies all along: regarding Jin, her mother, her whole life.... Hannah believed everything.
She is naive, she thinks, smiling under her breath.
The 16-year-old twists to the side and looks at the photo, in which she poses smiling at Jin's side.
— What can I do to convince you to run away? — she whispers.
She takes the phone in her hand when she notices that she has again received a message sent from the computer.
"Ticktock. Ticktock. The clock is counting down."
She rises to a sitting position, looking at the text message with frightened eyes. This is not the first time. She's been getting similar messages for several weeks, but until now, she thought someone was playing a prank.
Now she stops believing it.
Each, successive text message sounds more and more disturbing. At first, they were content referring to the past, to the girl who committed suicide in Horace Mann.
Now they sound as if someone is warning her, as if counting down to something....
The 16-year-old puts the phone down on the nightstand and gets out of bed. It's the middle of the night, but this isn't the first time she's crept into Jin's room. She lies down next to him on the bed, noticing that the boy can't fall asleep either.
The rain is getting heavier, and the drops are hitting the windows with intensity.
— So far, I have lived a carefree life from day to day, but now I am beginning to worry about the future. I'm panicking that I won't be able to spend it with you.
The 18-year-old who is lying on his side looks at her face.
— After all, I made it clear to you that I will not give up on you. I will not allow our parents to marry. — He strokes her cheek with his hand, trying to calm her down. — When you were younger, you kept telling me that you would not let our parents get married. What then has changed?
— I just know that my mother will not let go. — She presses her face into his chest and closes her eyelids. He strokes her hair, gazing out the window. — I really want to get away from her. I hate her.
Jin sighs, no longer knowing how he should explain to her that running away is not a good idea.
— Where do you want to escape to? What do you want to live for? You haven't finished school yet, you don't have any resources.
— Nevertheless, I will manage.
— I have no doubt about that. You've been hiding somewhere for two weeks and don't even want to confess the truth to me. I am sorry that you have secrets from me.
Danielle lifts her face and looks at him with docile eyes.
— Are you still angry with me for not giving you a sign of life?
— I was going out of my mind, Danielle! — he shouts in a whisper, and she leans over him and kisses him on the lips. — Don't cozy up to me.
— I didn't answer, I didn't write you back because I was angry with you. You pissed me off by saying you would rather not run away with me.
— Because you acted like an irresponsible shit.
Kissing him, she laughs at him.
— Are you sure you would rather not run away from this house permanently? Rebellious life is much more interesting....
Jin embraces her around the waist and twists, so that now she is the one lying under him.
— Don't provoke me.
— I don't provoke. I just act this way on you.
Their kisses become more intense and the atmosphere is much hotter. They don't care that their parents are sleeping on the same floor.
At this point, all that matters is them and how they feel about each other.