“What did you say, mom?”
Nicole asked, getting off her seat, this was so not the conversation she thought they were going to have, it didn’t even cross her mind, but her mom just said it.
“I said, don’t you think it will be good to give full ownership of the properties your grandma left for you guys to your sister? It will be a perfect wedding gift, your dad and I thought about it and decided to get the papers all you need to do is to sign, it’s not that hard to understand,”
Her mother said. Nicole couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“So that’s it? That’s the reason you were being so nice to me all these days? I should have known you have a motive, why was I stupid enough to believe that you actually started caring for me?”
Nicole yelled at her mom, she couldn’t believe her mom, she turned to her dad.
“And you are in on this too? I should sign off ownership of an inheritance Natalie and I both have just to please you? You must be fucking kidding,”
“Mind your Language young lady,”
“No, mom, you mind your fucking language, I am my own woman and I can talk how I fucking want to talk don’t tell me what to do okay,”
She yelled, she turned to Natalie who had been silent all along.
“You knew about this too? Did you agree with our parents? You want me to sign off ownership of something that grandma left for the both of us?”
She asked her twin, she couldn’t believe Natalie could do such a thing to her, just how well did she even know her family members?
“I wasn’t aware, I never knew this was what they planned, why will I know and not tell you? I don’t keep things away from you and until today I have never even thought of the inheritance, it barely comes to my mind, how could you think so little of me? We are supposed to be a team,”
Natalie yelled and Nicole felt bad immediately for thinking her twin had a hand in it.
“I am sorry Natalie, I just… I don’t have an excuse, I am sorry”
“Keep your sorry to yourself. I don’t need it, and also for the both of you, please stop meddling with my life. I didn’t ask for you to do this. Why would you do something that can hurt us both? How could you not think of discussing it with me before going ahead to saying it out loud, you know I won’t have agreed, what? A wedding gift? Y’all attending my wedding would be enough, you being my parents would be enough but no, you want to throw in gifts like you always do and probably miss my wedding,”
“We are not going anywhere, we will definitely be in attendance we just wanted you to have something and we thought Nicole would understand,”
“Oh please stop it, mom, stop talking, you are spitting rubbish, how could you think that handing ownership of a property we both own to one person will go well with the other? You want to cause a fight between us, did you see how she reacted, how she thought I had a hand in it?”
Her sister yelled crying, Nicole closed her eyes in shame, she shouldn’t have said those words to Natalie.
“I am sorry Natalie,”
“Don’t fucking talk to me, I thought you knew me best, I thought you trusted me but in seconds all you could think of was I had a hand in it? I can’t stand y’all right now, I am out of here”
She said wiping her eyes, picked up her phone, and left the palm house Nicole didn’t even know what to say to her parents, because of them she has just fought with her twin, she couldn’t remember the last time they argued, not since they became adults now because of their parents, she turned to her mom in anger.
“Is this what you wanted? Is this what you wanted to happen? Why the fuck? There are numerous other things to give your child as a wedding gift but you choose one you know I can’t part with and because of you I accused Natalie falsely and now she might not talk to me again, well-done mom, and dad you are even worse,”
She said pointing at her dad.
“You are always silent but you are worst, of all the things to come up with, you let mom push you into this, you guys even got court papers on our behalf, nice going,”
She yelled but like always her dad was silent again, she hated his silence, hated him and her mom, she couldn’t stand her parents.
“If you don’t give up that property to your sister, then count yourself out of any inheritance that has your father’s name in it,”
Her mother replied, the woman was bent on getting what she wanted, Nicole let out a sad laugh.
“Do I expect anything from you? You think I need those things?”
“If you don’t why don’t you hand over ownership to your sister solely? is that so much to ask for, give your sister something,”
“My sister doesn’t want it, she made it clear, we both own it and you have no say in it, I think you have other motives of wanting me to sign off ownership, you know you can easily talk Natalie into giving you the property and don’t think I haven’t heard of how you have been trying to sell it off,”
Nicole yelled at her mom.
“Is that true mom? Were you guys planning on doing that? And Nicole, you never told me?”
Natalie asked, Nicole hadn’t seen her walk back or maybe she never left and had been listening to what she and her parents have been saying, God, this just got even worse.
“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to make it an issue,”
“What? It’s mine too, I deserve to know, I deserve to know what’s going on because I am part of this family too, I tell you everything about me Nicole but you don’t do the same? Do I even really know you? Yes, we are twins and yes we look alike but do I know anything about you, or have I been deluding myself? What else are you keeping away from me Nicole?”
She asked, crying. Nicole thought of the kiss that she still hasn’t been able to tell Natalie about, she couldn’t tell her now.
“Nothing Natalie,”
She lied hating herself for not being bold enough to tell Natalie.
“I don’t believe you,”
She replied, turning to her parents.
“Mom, Dad, I never thought it will come to this but right now you guys just proved that you don’t really care about how we feel, you just want more money to show off, you are only giving me attention now because I brought a rich man home, you can tell your rich friends about it and show off to the media how influential you are, that’s all this is about, you don’t even care about my happiness, you don’t even know your kids, if Nicole and I go inside and dress alike you can’t even tell who is who, parents are supposed to know their kids no matter how similar they are but you don’t even with all the difference Nicole and I have yet you decided you don’t like our bond, well you just did it and to be clear, I don’t need to own that property alone, grandma left it for Nicole and I and that’s how it will remain until we both decide what to do with it, I am out of here,”
She said and left, Nicole looked at her parents and followed her twin, she needed to apologize she couldn’t stand it if Natalie hated her, before she could get to her twin’s door, she already locked herself in.
“Natalie? I am sorry,”
Nicole apologized banging on Natalie’s door, but her twin didn’t reply.
“Natalie, please let’s talk about this, I am sorry, Natalie?”
“Leave me alone Nicole I don’t want to talk to you, I don’t like you right now don’t force me,”
Natalie yelled coming out of her room bearing the bag that she had brought for the trip, she had tears in her eyes and Nicole felt ashamed and horrible for being a part of it.
“I can’t stand y’all right now so I am just going to leave first, don’t talk to me please,”
She warned as she left Nicole standing by her door, her own tears coming out, she watched her sister leave the house and ran back to her room, it was their fault, it was all her parent’s fault and she let them, she should have thought about it before blaming Natalie maybe then she wouldn’t have felt betrayed and left.
Nicole spent the rest of the day in her room, she couldn’t even bring herself to do anything, not even eat or draw or anything she just laid in bed thinking of how happy she had been when their parents had said they were going on this trip, it never occurred to her than they may have other motives, this vacation house just got even bad for her, she only had bad memories here and she wasn’t going to ever come here again once she leaves.
She tried calling Natalie later that evening to make sure she got back to the city safely but she didn’t take her calls and she couldn’t blame her, she texted her saying how sorry she was and like she expected Natalie didn’t respond, She decided she would leave the vacation home the next morning before her parents got off from bed, she wasn’t going to talk to them and once she gets back to the city she was going to go check out the houses she had seen, she needed to put in more effort into leaving her parents house, Natalie’s wedding is just less than two months away, she would leave the day after the wedding, her parents didn’t care about her happiness or that of her twin, all they cared about is themselves, they even got court papers, without either her or Natalie’s consent, the court papers has been the reason she had thought Natalie knew, still doesn’t excuse her for thinking Natalie could do that to her, she planned on apologizing again to Natalie when she gets back home, she just hopes her twin would forgive her, and also she was going to tell her about the kiss, that was another thing that has been eating her up since Natalie asked her what other secrets she kept from her.
“No more secrets,”
She whispered to herself…