𝐗𝐗𝐈

                                    

                                          
'Don't act on it. Don't act on it...' 
   She paced around her room, the voices from last night's argument replayed in her head.
   "That's the past, Hermano. Leave."
   "I'll see you... tomorrow I guess." 
   "Bye."
   Her brother's cold tone juxtaposed with the other twin's soft and tender voice. 
   Dolores was listening to arguments ever since she got her gift. She was taught to never act, don't get involved. It's not her problem. 
   Is that the case, though? 
   Surely this isn't not her problem. This is her family. Knowing the twins, they wouldn't sit down and talk about it. Carlos is too stubborn, and so is Camilo. 
   "Just listen, never act." She told herself out loud. She stood still and held her own hand, her body trembled with every breath she took. "Just listen, never act. Just listen, never..."
   "Carlos, what happened?" 
   "What do you mean?" 
   "To us?" 
     "Again, what the hell do you mean? You need to say more than that. I don't speak dumbass, elaborate more."
   "When we were kids! What happened to us?" 
   Dolores let out a choked sob, collapsing on her bed and hugging a pillow to her chest. Every day she watched as her younger brothers grew distant. The first visible sign was at the dinner table. 
   Camilo and Carlos went from being the last ones to finish dinner because of how much they talk to each other, to only speaking when one needed food from across the table. Then it came to a point where Carlos was the first to leave. 
   Almost as if he didn't want to be there. 
   Carlos never spoke, didn't even say a word, more or less giving Camilo a glance. Maybe it would've gone unnoticed if Dolores didn't know what was happening behind the scenes. 
   "Stop..." she whispered, covering her ears in an attempt to drown out the sounds of whispers and shouts, endless conversations that she didn't want to hear. 
   Everything is way too loud. 
   "Dolores! Set the table for breakfast!" 
   She snapped out of her agonizing trance, gasping as she stopped focusing on the voices. She once learned to block them out, but it was getting hard and harder as her stress piled up. The more she thought about it, the louder the voices got. 
   "Stop." She thought out loud sharply, taking a deep breath and grounding herself. She shivered before walking out of the room. 
   New expression: resting smile, rested shoulders, unbothered aura. 
   Unbothered. 
   Exactly how she should be. 
   She went to the dining room, but the lack of people told her that they'd be eating outside. She looked at the sky, taking in the bright sunshine and thin clouds. 
   She went to the kitchen and grabbed the plates and the many glasses and cups, carefully making her way down the stairs and outside. 
   Dolores placed each plate on the table, giving everyone their assigned seats for today. Sooner or later, the table was filled with the family. 
   Pepa took a seat beside her husband. "Where's Carlos?" 
   The sound of glass shattering lingered in Dolores's ears. She tried to block out everything to focus on what had just happened, closing her eyes. 
   "Stupid! Stupid! Fuck!" 
   Her brother's voice was as clear as day. It seemed strained, hoarse and tired. 
   "Camilo you spoiled brat!" 
   She reopened her eyes, looking at the spot beside Camilo. 
   Carlos's plate. Rimmed with red, yellow accents and his name neatly written. 
   "Shut up! It's not his fault it.. you... fuck! You're so fucking stupid!" 
   Crash! 
   Carlos punched the mirror that stood in front of him, trembling as his knuckles began to bleed. "Camilo is effortlessly perfect.." he a sob escaped his lips, grabbing the frame of the mirror and throwing it onto the floor. 
   His room was a mess. 
   He was a mess. 
   "Why is he so special?!" Carlos stepped on the glass shards, taking in the satisfying sound of the crunching under his slippers. "I don't understand what Camilo has that I don't.." his voice went from a shout to a growl, kicking the shards of glass around the room. 
   The shapeshifter approached another one of his many mirrors. He grasped onto the frame and glared at his reflection. "My vanity is for sale, isn't it?" He emitted a low and dark laugh. "Nothing is mine anymore, is that how it is?" 
   His gaze lingered upon himself. "Everyone knows you're a little twisted, right?" He spoke to his reflection; to himself, "don't do stupid things like love." He spoke as if he experienced some sort of heartbreak. "It's stupid. I'm only after success." His lips curled into a smirk.
   He snapped out of his daze as someone knocked on his door. "Carlos!" 
   He flinched at his mother's voice, creaking the door open partially. "It's time for breakfast. Come on!"
   "Sorry," he said sarcastically, followed by a roll of his eyes. He hid his hand behind his back, clenching his fist, bearing the pain of the glass shards that moved along his open wound. 
   "Who taught you to speak like that?" Pepa took a hold of his wrist, pulling him out of his room and down the stairs. "We've been calling you for so long. You should know that we eat at this time."
   Carlos snarled, parting his lips, "sorry." He forced that one empty word passed his teeth, yanking his wrist out of her grip and taking a seat in between his sister and twin brother. 
   Dolores was subtle with her eyes. She glanced over at him for a split second, understanding his body language and facial expression within that small moment in time. 
   Carlos slumped down onto his chair, taking some food from the pile in the middle. He plated two arepas. 
   That's it. 
   "You're not hungry?" Dolores turned to face him, noticing his plate. 
   "Not really." He said, using his non-bloodied hand to eat. Instantly, his other hand healed. That's all he wanted. "I ate too much dinner last night." 
   "Sure you did." Dolores played it off as a playful insult, but her worry for him grew. She seemed to stare at him. 
   For far longer than she should've. 
   "Sis?" Carlos rose an eyebrow, looking at her. 
   She shook her head, taking a bite from her food. "Sorry. My mind was elsewhere. Did I make you uncomfortable?" 
   Carlos shook his head, suspicion rising. He kept his eye on her, watching as she focused on her plated food. 
   Something was off.
   Then he realized...
   'How much does she know?'