Page 53 of Twice as Twisted

“I should check on her,” I say, shoving back from the desk. I slip my glasses back on and push past Duke. “Jane! Set the table.”

I start for the basement—one of the only requirements I had for our inconspicuous rental cottage. But before I reach the set of stairs down to the lower level, I find her curled on the couch in the common area. Duke said he hadn’t messed with her, but he must have moved her, since I left her chained to one ofthe supports in the dank, cement-floored room that smells like mildew and houses the washer and dryer, water heater, and an assortment of cheap beach gear renters can use. Her eyes are blank and staring at the TV, but she slowly drags herself to her feet when I walk in. She stands for a second, sways, and then tumbles onto the floor.

“Shit,” Duke says behind me. “You think she kicked the bucket?”

“She just fainted,” I say, strolling over and poking her with my toe. “We’ll see if she’s hungry enough to crawl to the table when she wakes up.”

I follow Duke to the kitchen, where he takes three big lobsters out of a paper bag, along with a giant tub of boiled corn and red potatoes. I find some plates in a cabinet, set them on the table, and sit. Jane groans from the other room, so I call to her.

“Better get to the table before the food’s gone.”

She staggers in like a zombie, but she manages to wash her hands and serve us before collapsing into her chair.

“Eat,” I say, gesturing to her plate.

“I wasn’t sure if you were allowed to eat,” Duke says to her. “But I figured I could polish off two lobsters if you weren’t.”

“I usually don’t feed her so well,” I say. “You can have the lobster. She’ll be fine with just corn and potatoes.”

“Nah, go ahead,” Duke says to her, offering a small smile. “Bet you’ve never had lobster before.”

She shakes her buzzed head, staring down at the red-shelled creature on her plate.

“Here, you crack the claw like this,” Duke says, scooting over next to her and showing her how. “I’ll be honest with you, I’ve never done this either. Mom always had someone there to open them and get the meat for us. She said it was undignified to get your hands so dirty. But I watched them do it enough to figure it out.”

He holds his hand over hers when she can’t summon the strength to break the tough shell. When it finally cracks, he holds up his hand for a high five. She lifts her hand as if it’s almost too much effort, and he slaps her palm. A hint of a smile ghosts over her lips as she pulls out the meat.

“Give that to me,” I say. “The claw is the best part. It’s too good for you. You can suck out the legs.”

“Dude, the tail is the best part,” Duke says, watching her pass over her hard-earned prize.

He cracks his claw and sucks it down while she works on her second one. I take that from her, as well as the tail when she gets that open. Then I pass her mine and let her get the good parts for me too. By the time she’s done, she’s moving so slowly I’m curious to see if she can summon the energy to feed herself from what’s left of the two shells in front of her. She sucks on the legs while I eat two tails and two claws before giving Duke the other two claws.

He glances at her like he’s thinking about sneaking her some, but she’s busy shoveling potatoes into her mouth like a goblin now. Apparently she’s not too out of it to notice that we’re almost done, and she doesn’t want to miss out on a chance to fill her stomach. She knows when I’m finished, she’ll have to clean the table, and then it’ll be too late to eat, though she’s not above licking the plates like a fucking dog while scraping them.

Disgusted, I excuse myself from the table so I can get back to my research. As I walk out, I hear Duke showing Jane the eggs he found in her lobster. I don’t know how we ended up so different, but I’m grateful for his abilities. He’ll be useful in gaining Mabel’s trust back and nurturing our future hurts to bring us closer. Neither she nor I have any semblance of that in our nature. And in a way, his kindness is more a testament to his strength than his cruelty. Not many men could grow up the way we did with any remnant of softness remaining.

I wonder again about his evasiveness when I asked about his duties for Dad, but that curiosity is quickly eclipsed by that about the two subjects of my latest search. I’m so fixated I don’t even stop to log Jane’s food intake, and I haven’t weighed her for days. I lose myself in my search, combing over the information on Mabel in case I’ve missed anything—of course I haven’t—and her new friend, and the latest victim of the Black Widow Killer.

“Hey.”

I look up to find Duke standing in the doorway. Hours have passed without my notice.

“I’m going to bed,” he says, yawning widely. “You should too. You’re going to fuck yourself up staring at those screens all day and night.”

“Okay, Ma.”

“You can stop working long enough to sleep,” he says. “You don’t have to be Superman.”

“No, I’m Batman,” I say, stretching my arms over my head. My shoulders pop, and I think maybe he’s right about me sitting here too long. I grin at him. “Remember?”

“Course I remember,” he says, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket.

“Don’t smoke in here.”

He sighs. “Whatever,Ma.I’ll go to the deck.”

He stomps out. After a minute, I hoist myself out of my chair and stretch my back before following. Despite the long hours I’ve been pulling, my body is churning with unspent energy. I need a workout after all that sitting. I find Duke perched on the railing of the back deck, facing out towards the beach, though the fog off the ocean tonight obscures the view. On a clear night, we’d be able to see white caps or the reflection of the moon on the water. Mabel will get a nice view when we hang her over the railing and rape her.

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