Silence was reigning outside the operating room until a woman who was being held by a man barged in at exactly the time the doctors retired from their work on the patient. The woman who was probably in her fifties stared at him with tears growing from her eyes. "How's my son? How's Donald?" She gripped the doctor's coat.
"Your..." The man glanced at her husband who looked worried and frustrated too. "Your..." The doctor signalled to the husband to control his wife so the man pulled his crying wife into his arms.
"Let's hear what he has to say, honey," he convinced.
"What if...you know he's the only..."
"Your son is fine ma'am, you'll be able to see him soon," and the doctor explained more about the injury their son sustained.
Meanwhile, in his room, he stared at the ceiling thinking about what happened earlier today. How he had watched his target since in the morning and it was a good thing he left work so late.
The hidden detail about him was that he had a twin brother. Howbeit, the man on the bed wasn't Donald but his twin brother, Corey.
Staring at the ceiling, feeling a bit uncomfortable and unsettled. He couldn't put into words how he felt. Whether to be happy or sad about his achievement earlier.
Corey sat up due to his discomfort and his head hurt causing him to recall his years as a teenager, he was trained frankly that the pain he felt right now wasn't as effective as it was supposed to be.
He had monitored his brother Donald the whole day and when it was time for his brother to leave, he tricked his brother's driver into believing that he was Donald. He sent the man away.
Donald entered the car with the thought that it was his driver.
As planned, Corey showed himself to his brother, he saw his lookalike through the rearview mirror and this feeling flushed through him. Not just Corey but Donald felt this strange feeling of excitement to see his brother everyone had presumed dead. He had noticed that the suit he had on wasn't his driver's uniform but didn't pay attention to it as he was getting married to a girl he never adored. It had been disturbing but proving himself worthy was his aim and he had to.
Corey ignored that feeling as he recalled how close he was to his brother, how they plot tricks on their parents and go for sleepovers to have fun. Every bit of fun he had with his brother had always been flashing in his mind even though he was far away.
But now, he was angry as that image of his brother betraying him came to his mind, he trashed every other feeling as he savoured his grudges.
The conversation he had with his brother wasn't friendly until he took him to a cliff, he had deliberately chosen that spot and that area.
Corey recalled climbing out of the car and watching his brother being dragged out with a confused face. "What's going on Corey?" Donald had asked him but as much as Corey wanted to spare him and hide his brother instead, he just couldn't.
He had to do it. "I remember that night in the building," Corey went closer to him. "You saw the bomb was about to take off, I told you to come to help me, I cried for you to help me but what did you do?!!" Corey expressed his hurt and the more he recalled that night, the angrier he got and the mixed feeling suddenly made him sick.
However, Donald's face was still expressing his confusion. How come his brother didn't die? And who was the body they found at the site? He had questions but the question he needed an immediate answer to was why Corey thought he didn't try to save him that night.
"You took everything away from me? You wanted it all, you always say it to me but I never took it seriously because..." Corey couldn't let out those words. "I was the fool, I was naive, I should I've noticed how much our parents loved you. Because they blame everything on me, if anything goes wrong I get blamed. If I'm sick they tended to me less but you!! You had all their attention, you had everything and I endured the pain, I endured being left out. Even in school..." Corey now bit his lower lip and looked away.
"I really want to punch your face so hard and make you cry like I usually do when I get hurt!!"
And all Donald could do was listen and try to recall if everything Corey was saying was true. His body was still being captured in the hands of those thugs.
The night was cool but sent a chilling sensation of danger to Donald while Corey was rewarded with nauseousness. He was feeling sick as he had been practising hard for this moment and now he doubted that he could do it.
"Listen to me, Corey. You got it all wrong. You never knew how much Dad and Mom cared for you. Whenever you are sick, you sleep more often and you didn't have the chance to witness how they watch you..."
Corey cut him off and wore a strong face. He could see the look those men were throwing his way as if saying there was no time.
He hated his brother, for everything and he really wanted him to pay dearly but the guts to kill his only childhood friend was so difficult.
Corey went closer to Donald who had been held by those men close to the cliff. He was tired of the explanation. "Why didn't you save me and went away?" Corey asked calmly but wickedly and huskily. Being an identical twins wasn't the reason for them to have the same voice, it was just weird for them to sound the same. Corey looked into his brother's eyes and his eyes spoke nothing but intentions and hatred.
The moment Donald saw him collect a knife from the men holding him, he began to quake and stammer. He was scared of death and he didn't want the pain. Every part of him was alarmed about the danger that he lost the strength in his knee but Donald could still stand because of the men surrounding him firmly.
"Listen to me, Corey...it was a misunderstanding believe me. Do you really think I'd free myself only for me to run without helping you? He said he would save you and told me to run, he said I shouldn't look back but when I did..."
"That's a lie, Donald...I saw everything, you release yourself and ran away smiling because you knew I'd die. You hated me from the start and when you got the opportunity, you embraced it. Why would you?" Corey suddenly became emotional. The feeling of being this close to his brother but wasn't able to embrace him swallowed him up. He knew how much he wanted to tell his brother how he hated him and wished he had a better explanation but no. His uncle had told him never to stay weak for anyone be it his closest friend which was his brother.
"Corey," Donald suddenly had tears in his eyes when he saw the hurt in his brother's eyes and then he lowered his head to his hand. "What if I apologize for everything? I'm really sorry for abandoning you. It haunts me you know, I wished I never left because I love you just as you love me, Corey," and Corey couldn't contain it.
Lifting his hand to stab his brother was so difficult, he looked away to let out his own tears, their relationship was too strong even though they'd been apart for fifteen years. When they were twelve, they got kidnapped and that was what caused the incident.
"Corey!" He suddenly heard his name from a different voice and turned to see his men. He lifted his tired eyes at Donald who believed in his brother.
"I hate you, Donald. Your apology is too late," he pushed closer to him and wrapped his neck with his arm only to whisper a few words to him. "I'm not the Corey you know any more, I'll take your place and privilege everything that was mine from the start."
And audaciously, with a shaky hand, he swung his weak hand into space but at a short distance and the sound of the knife piercing into his brother's skin was heard.
"Corey," Donald looked at his brother and wept. Corey withdrew his hand and looked away only to stab him again and this time, Donald lost his strength and everything.
When Corey pushed the knife inside him, it stung him a lot but looking into his brother's eyes, he saw the hatred and smiled at him. No matter how angry they were with each other, they always settle it but this time, it was a different situation.