Tracy opened the front door quietly and stepped out onto the porch. “Hallie?” she called in a hoarse whisper. “Hallie?”
There was a slight point of movement from behind a pine tree in the front yard. A moment later, Ally Field was at the porch, tote bag in hand. She looked up at Tracy. “Yeah?”
Tracy cleared her throat. “They’re all asleep. I figured that maybe now -”
Ally didn’t give her a chance to finish. “Great. Lemme in.”
Slowly, Tracy and her “sister” made their way into the house. Ally looked around the living room, her eyes finally landing on the sleeping figures of Isaac, Taylor, and Zac Hanson. She gave a smile. “Perfect,” she whispered.
She set the tote bag on the floor and began rummaging through it. After a moment, she held a pair of scissors in her hand victoriously. Slowly, she advanced on the nearest brother - Zac.
As soon as Ally had stepped away from the bag, Tracy went to it and carefully dug through it. After a moment, she found what she was looking for: a length of rope. She reached into the bag and grabbed hold of it. Giving a small tug, she attempted to pull it out. It didn’t come. She tugged harder and again felt the resistance. It was caught on something.
Quickly, Tracy glanced upward. Ally was still closing the distance between herself and Zac. She immediately turned her attention back to the bag, thrusting both hands into it in an attempt to get the rope free.
Ally was still closing on Zac. At last, she reached his side and paused. With a smile, she picked up a handful of his hair and brought the scissors toward it. Tracy still fought with the rope, watching helplessly as the scene before her unfolded.
Zac opened his eyes and knocked Ally’s hand away from his hair. Ally gaped at him momentarily, but quickly regained sight of her objective. Roughly, she grabbed a chunk of his hair and struggled to bring the scissors back toward it.
“Help!” Zac yelped, fighting into a sitting position.
Isaac and Taylor sat up immediately and lunged at Ally. Somehow, she managed to pull Zac off the couch just before Ike and Tay piled on top of her.
Tracy quickly pulled the rope from the bag, finally having gotten it free. She smiled for a moment, secure that this nightmare was over.
But then it continued.
Slowly, Isaac and Taylor stood up and backed away from Ally and their younger brother. Once they had joined Tracy back at the bag, Ally stood up, arm closed around Zac’s neck, scissors blade against his jugular.
“Oh, god,” Tracy whispered. “What are you doing?” she cried.
“Traitor,” Ally hissed. “You set this up, didn’t you? You goddamn traitor.”
Taylor took a small step forward. “Is that any better than being a liar?” he asked quietly.
Ally glared at him. “Shut up. You don’t know what you’re talking about. This is between me and my sister -”
“She’s not your sister,” Taylor said, still quiet. “I’m sure she’s related to you somehow, but she’s not your sister.”
Ally repositioned the scissors blade at Zac’s neck. “One more word and your band’s short a drummer,” she warned.
“Dammit, Ally!” Tay said, losing patience.
She glared at him. “What did you call me?” she demanded.
He narrowed his eyes. “Ally,” he repeated. “Ally Field. Spitfire.”
Ally opened her mouth helplessly but Taylor cut her off.
“That’s right,” he said. “I know who you really are, Ally. And you know me too. RedJellybean. TJ.”
Ally shook her head slowly. “No, you’re not . . . You’re not -” She broke off. Her arm slipped from it’s grip of Zac’s neck and dangled lifelessly at her side. She dropped the scissors.
Zac bent down and grabbed the scissors and then made a quick dash for his brothers. Tracy took his arm protectively and immediately looked at his neck. There was a slight indentation where Ally had held the blade, but nothing more. “Are you okay?” she demanded. Zac nodded.
Tracy looked toward Ally. She had slid to the floor and was now sitting there, staring numbly into a corner. Tracy narrowed her eyes. “Why me?” she asked quietly.
Ally looked up at her. After a moment, she replied, “Tracy, we are identical twins. We’re just not identical twin sisters.” She stood.
“What?” Tracy demanded.
“We’re cousins,” Ally said quietly. “Identical cousins. But, we never knew about it. See, before we were born, your dad and my mom had a big fight. I mean, they’re brother and sister, so it’s not that unusual. But this fight was so big that they haven’t spoken since. But, see, your mom was still friends with my dad. They sent each other pictures of us, you see. They just never told us about each other because they knew we’d want to meet, and your dad and my mom wouldn’t like that at all. So, they kept it a secret. But then, one day, I found out.
“I saw a picture of you that my dad had hidden and realized I had to meet you. Tracy, we’re so much alike -” She advanced on Tracy.
“We are nothing alike,” Tracy growled, standing her ground. She took the scissors from Zac and held them out like a knife. “Stay back,” she warned. Then, taking in a deep breath and let it out slowly, she repeated, “We’re nothing alike.”
“Yes, we are,” Ally insisted, not backing away nor advancing further. “We look just alike. There’s something connecting us - something that’s connected us since I was born. Didn’t you ever feel it, Trace? Didn’t you feel it? We’re part of each other.” She tapped her temple. “Inside.” She tapped a spot just left of the center of her chest. “Inside.”
Tracy looked at Ally. With her hair wet, she looked exactly like Tracy did. Then, she looked at Isaac. His chest was heaving with each breath, adrenaline apparently still pumping through his veins. She looked at Zac. Though he was almost as tall as she was, he looked small, lips parted and almost trembling. She looked at Taylor. He looked back at her. She looked back at Ally. “We’re nothing alike,” she repeated.
Ally’s strange-neat green eyes widened. “But, Tracy -”
Light swept through the living room.
