Page 67 of Twice as Twisted

I watch her for a moment, in awe of the simplicity of her wondrous mind. She’s the brain I should be dissecting. “Not even your family?”

She scowls. “No.”

“Colt?”

“No.”

“Interesting,” I say, turning back to Jane. “Even I’ve said that. And not just once. Probably to every member of my family. I meant it too.”

“That doesn’t make it true,” she points out.

“But it is,” I say. “I do love everyone in my family. Probably even Crystal. Do you love your family?”

“I don’t think so.”

“You don’t know?”

She shrugs. “How do you know?”

“How do I know I love my own family?”

“Yes,” she says. “It’s intangible, impossible to measure. How do you know if any emotion is strong enough to be labeled the way it is?”

“I admitted my feelings,” I say, bringing us back to the negotiation. It was always this way with Mabel. She likes the rules spelled out. That’s why she lost her mind when we didn’t play by them. “If you want me to prove it, I will. But not before you admit it too.”

“How do I know?” she asks. “And for that matter, how do you know I’m telling the truth?”

“Because you don’t lie,” I say smugly. “You either love us or not. It’s not that complicated.”

“If I say I love you, will you get rid of her?” She gestures vaguely to Jane, then looks away, at the corner of the ceiling.

“That seems fair.”

“Okay,” she says. “I love you.”

“And my brother?”

“Yes.”

“You’ll need to tell him that.”

“Fine.”

“And if we get rid of her, as long as we don’t have any other girls, we’ll have you.”

“Agreed.”

“You won’t run away again. Ever.”

She hesitates a moment, then gives a curt nod.

“If you do, there will be consequences,” I warn.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

“Anything else?”

“One more thing.”

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