Two Sisters

by Leen Elle

  "A little differently? Jasmine ran to her sister like a little bitch. If she would have stayed put where I had her little ass, nothing like this would have ever happened." He growled.

  I've met many ungrateful people in my life, but I always found a way to live with their stupidities. Even though Jennifer pushed me to the limit, I always did calm down enough to think clearly and not push her out of a moving car. No matter how betrayed and hurt I felt, with what he was saying, he was willing to put all the blame on Jasmine; I didn't like that.

  "Jennifer wasn't a saint herself. She obviously hated you enough to steal everything from you, especially after what you did to her sister. She clearly showed how much she can't stand you, using you and all." I shot back. Aaron flinched and I felt a little satisfied. Then again, Jasmine used me as well, and I couldn't stand it. I hated her, but I loved her all the same. God, what the hell is happening with my life!

  "So, you must have made a great impression on Jennifer to have her fall in love with you and become your wife." He said miserably.

  I chuckled humorlessly. "She cleverly trapped me with her charm and married me for my parents' money." Aaron looked up in mild surprise.

  "She used you too, huh? How many times did she enchant you with the sheets of her bed?" He asked. I immediately knew what he was talking about.

  "Two times, one on our honeymoon and one a few days after we got back, but by then, things were already rocky. She got pregnant and Jaime was born, but that's when she rejected him. Why am I telling you this? Of all people?" I asked, Aaron shrugged.

  "Maybe talking to me comes easy."

  "I'm going to go ahead an disagree with you on that one." I sighed.

  "So, you felt pretty stupid when Jasmine came around, am I right? I bet you didn't think you would be done in twice." He said.

  My heart throbbed painfully. "Jasmine seemed pleasant to be around with." I said lamely.

  "Pleasant? Don't tell me she satisfied you. I should have known by how easy she was to have sex with that it wasn't going to be any good. Hey, she had a pretty face, so, what the hell? I made her mine. She was so scared, though, major turn off." Aaron said, shaking his head. I couldn't help but feel jealous and angry at the same time. I was jealous that he had her first, angry that he violated her in every inhuman way; and to top things off, he said she wasn't good enough. Jasmine has a heart of gold, she doesn't need to prove herself worthy; it's mongrels like us who need to prove ourselves, and like an idiot, I let her go. It makes me no better than Aaron.

  But she lied to me. Why did she do that? She didn't have to. Jasmine and Jennifer could have told me what was happening; I could have helped. I could have fallen in love with Jasmine either way.

  "It doesn't matter, it's over…" I said. How am I going to explain this to Jaime? As I was brooding over my problems and Aaron drinking so much I wanted to snatch the whiskey away from him, a man sat on a chair beside me at the door.

  "The usual, Tony." The man said, his limbs were shaking terribly, and his face was a sickly pale. He looked frightened, like he just woke up from a nightmare. I couldn't help but listen in to his conversation with the bartender.

  "You look pale, Adam, what happened?" Tony asked, handing him his drink. I snatched Aaron's glass from him and dumped the contents in a nearby plant. He glared at me and pushed me roughly, but I caught myself and forced his head down onto the counter where he soon stopped struggling and just kept his head down.

  "There was a wreck right in front of John's place, I was heading this way when it happened." Adam explained. What an excellent day for a wreck.

  "Any one we know?" Tony asked. Adam shook his head.

  "A pair of young ladies. They weren't wearing their seatbelts, can you believe that? Now it will cost one of them their life." Adam said. Tony shook his head.

  "Those things are life savers."

  "Well, I don't think one of the girls will make it. She went right through the wind shield, the other one was found in the back seat. I thought the girl who went through the wind shield snapped in half when she hit the pavement." Adam said. I winced as a ghastly image filled my head.

  "That's a real shame…" Tony sighed.

  "They were very young to begin with. They were the most beautiful pair of sisters you could lay your eyes on. Their hair were as red as fire, it hurt to watch, being torn away from each other like that." He added sadly.

  I felt something in my stomach churn, and Aaron shifted, looking up at Adam through a gap in his arms.

  "What do you mean by pair?" Tony asked as he began to clean some glasses.

  "Twins, Tony, they were twins, and very identical." Adam replied.

  I felt my heart stop dead and my blood run cold. I lost the feeling in my body as I thought of Jasmine being in a wreck. It couldn't be her, it couldn't…but if it was? I couldn't stand to think about it. Aaron flew from his chair and grabbed Adam by the collar of his shirt. A lot of people turned in surprise and Adam looked at Aaron with disbelief.

  "Is this another one of her tricks? How much did she pay you? Why the hell are you lying for her!" He yelled. Now I realized that Aaron was starting to be incoherent due to the damn alcohol, but I also knew it was his way of disguising his panic.

  "Aaron!" I grabbed him by the back of his shirt and pulled him back forcibly. Aaron fell back into some chairs and he struggled to get up. I quickly turned to Adam. "Please, sir, tell me where the accident was."

  Adam looked bewildered. "Huh? O-Oh y-yeah, it happened in front of John's Meat Market, right down on-"

  "Thank you, I know where it is." I cut him off. I grabbed Aaron and pulled him to his feet and steered him out the door. "Let's go." We raced to my car, my heart beating wildly in my chest. The fear gripped my heart tightly, creating a painful feeling in my chest. I looked up to see Aaron struggling with the car door and I grew agitated.

  "Damn it, Aaron, come on!" I shouted.

  "What do you think I'm fucking trying to do!" He yelled. When he was finally able to put his seatbelt on, I raced down the street towards John's Meat Market. I immediately saw the many lights of the police cars surrounding the area. I didn't take long for me to catch a glimpse of the black car smashed against the tree, totaled. It was Jennifer's car, and Jasmine was in their. I felt sick to my stomach just thinking about it. But who went through the wind shield.

  "I should have taken Jennifer home with me, made love to her, gone to Hawaii maybe." Aaron said.

  I slammed my fists into the steering wheel, I was so frustrated. "What the hell are you talking about!"

  "I can't think, okay! Half of my head is filled with alcohol that I can't even keep up with what my mind is thinking! All I understand right now, is that Jennifer could have been the one who ended up on that pavement!" He yelled. I threw open the car door and approached a police car. I was suddenly stopped by some police officers.

  "Sir, we're going to have to ask you to clear the area." An officer said.

  "Listen, officer, I know them, they're our wives. We have to know what happened, we could be of help." As I was talking, I saw the blood smeared on the pavement and I felt my knees go weak, Aaron didn't look too well himself.

  "Wait here." The officer said. Those few minutes felt like eternity until the officer returned. "We found some belongings as well as some identification. Jennifer Miles and Jasmine Hale, however, we still don't know who's who." The officer said. He handed us their licenses from their purses that they had found.

  "It's them…" I said weakly, staring at Jasmine's picture. My fingers shook as I touched her face.

  "They were sent to Oak Bend Hospital, I'll have someone escort you." The officer said, staring warily at Aaron's buzzed form.

  When we reached the hospital, the first thing I did was buy Aaron some coffee, I didn't want any of the medical staff to not let us through due to Aaron's state. He must have read my mind because Aaron took the cup of coffee without objection.

  * * *

  "Dying?" I choked as
Aaron and I stood before the doctor.

  "I'm afraid so, unless she receives a blood transfusion." He explained. Aaron ran his fingers through his hair and punched the nearest wall. The doctor wasn't at all amused.

  "Control yourself, sir, we are in hospital."

  "Who is it, who's dying, Jennifer or Jasmine?" Aaron asked, ignoring the doctor's comment.

  "I don't know how to tell you, without the proper identification. One of them was found in the back seat with a piece of glass lodged in between her ribs, it nearly collapsed a lung. She's in stable condition now, but, the young lady in the emergency room lost too much blood from multiple wounds, as well as a fractured spine. We can't proceed without your permission, but in order for that permission to be granted, we need to know who they are." The doctor said.

  "Let us see them, maybe we can recognize something that will help us identify them." I said, trying desperately to convince him to let us see them. I had to make sure if it was Jasmine or not.

  Aaron

  It was still hard trying to concentrate, so I let James sweet talk the doctor into letting us see Jennifer and Jasmine. I took another drink from my coffee and felt the blistering heat hit my throat; that's the wake up call I needed.

  "That doesn't seem like a good idea-"

  "By the time we know who's my wife or his, she'll be dead!" James cried. The doctor hesitated for a moment, then he relented.

  "Follow me."

  We followed him past many rooms until we reached a restricted area. He stopped us before two double doors. "For her health, we are going to have to ask you to wear the appropriate attire." He explained, handing us rubber gloves and everything else we needed.

  What if it was Jennifer? All the things I said to her, those could be the last words she would depart with. She can't die. She was always strong willed, invincible, nothing could stop her, but here she was, in this hospital. I didn't give her a chance to explain herself, but what could she explain? She stole everything from me, she used me, but here I was, praying that it isn't her dying in there. God, I loved her…I've never been in love before, and now she was going to be torn away from me? Was life punishing me? I wouldn't be surprised.

  "Careful, please." The doctor said. We slowly entered the room, and the odorless, clean air hit us. There were many machines beeping, tubes attached everywhere, and many fluids were all entering a still form on a medical table. My legs shook as I approached the broken form of either Jasmine or Jennifer. Her beautiful face was bruised, and her whole body was oddly shaped. I looked up at the doctor in confusion.

  "She has many bone fractures, she might not be able to walk, if she survives that is." He explained. I looked back at her, she was breathing feebly, her heart beat was slowly fading. That could be Jennifer…

  My heart twisted painfully.

  "Who do you think it is?" James asked. I looked at the dying woman before me, and I saw images of Jennifer flash through my head. I saw her beautiful face, her fiery determination, her rare smiles, her passionate kisses, and her stern olive colored eyes that twinkled with amusement when she saw me, that same look I noticed a couple of days before all of this mess happened. Could she have started to feel something for me?

  "I don't know, but to be completely honest with you," I looked at James straight in the eye. "I hope it's Jasmine."

  The next thing happened in a flash; James punched me square in the jaw.

  Chapter 15: Good-bye

  James

  Aaron fell back and knocked over a table full of operating tools. He didn't bother to fight back as I grabbed the bastard by the collar of his shirt and threw him out the double doors. The doctor was yelling something, but the hot angry blood pounding in my ears prevented me from hearing him. All I knew is that Aaron stepped over the line, and wishing that Jasmine was dead instead of Jennifer threw me into a rage.

  "Who the hell do you think you are!" I yelled. I slammed him against the wall. "You're a sick bastard who doesn't know when something good is staring at you right in the face! Stop trying to victimize yourself, stop trying to blame people for all the wrong things that ever happened to you!"

  "Stop it or I will be forced to call security!" The doctor cried in vain.

  "You think that people were made to be stepped on by you! You think you're better than the rest of us just because you wear nice Italian shoes! People like Jasmine are a rarity is this good for nothing world, and it pisses me off that idiots like you don't know how to treasure something like that when it easily comes knocking at your door!" I shouted. Aaron didn't even bother to look me directly in the face.

  "You don't deserve her! The only thing you deserve is everything Jennifer ever did to you! Taking everything from you is the least you deserve! You deserve to be alone, to die alone because you don't know how to accept people around you, how to trust them! Why is that Aaron! Tell me why!" I yelled.

  Aaron tried to pull away from me this time, but I held him in a death grip. "Why do you and Jennifer always have to push people away!" Aaron shook his head. "Why? Why, Aaron? Why?"

  "I don't know! It's in my nature!" He finally yelled. He was breathing heavily, and he looked so tired. "I can't help it…"

  "That's a rotten excuse." I said in disgust as I flung him away from me. We were all silent for several seconds and I could hear the beeping of the monitors from the room. I had a tremendous headache by the time I was able to calm myself down. I sighed as the whole weight of the world rested itself on my shoulders and I didn't know what to do.

  "Doctor Lawrence you said…you said the other sister is in stable condition, right?" I asked hoarsely. Dr. Lawrence nodded mutely. "Well, can we go see her?"

  Doctor Lawrence studied my face then he flickered his gaze to Aaron who was already holding his head between his arms. He sighed. "If you promise me that something like this won't happen again."

  "I apologize, I promise it won't." I said. He wordlessly guided us up to another floor. When we were in the elevator, I glanced at Aaron and saw the bruise forming on the side of his face. I didn't take pride in hitting him, but it sure felt good that I did.

  "This way, please." Doctor Lawrence said, he too seemed weary.

  We entered a quiet room that sent a small sense of relief. It didn't stop the anxiety, but it beat being down in one of the emergency rooms. The soft beeping of the heart monitor was the only source of sound in the room. My eyes landed on a sleeping form on one side of the room. She was sleeping soundly, obviously she was given something to sleep through the pain, and I've never seen someone so peaceful.

  "She won't wake up for another few days, but-"

  "Wake her up." Aaron suddenly said. Doctor Lawrence and I looked at him as if he were insane. Aaron ignored us, however.

  "Didn't you hear me? Wake her up, maybe she will be able to tell us who she is." Aaron said.

  Doctor Lawrence shook his head. "No, if I wake her up she will be in tremendous amount of pain and she probably won't be able to tell us anything. It will take her a while to understand where she is. I can't allow that."

  "Look, Doc, on the floor below us, one of our wives is dying, and this could be the only way that we can save her. If we know who she is, you can quickly start on giving her that blood transfusion. I've made a shit load of mistakes in my life, and this isn't going to be another one, so hurry up." Aaron told him. I turned to the Doctor Lawrence expectedly and he ran his fingers through his hair.

  "Five minutes, if she doesn't say anything by then, I'm putting her back to sleep." He said. We watched with anticipation as Doctor Lawrence injected something into one of her tubes. We waited several seconds, and just when I thought she wasn't going to wake up, her eye lids fluttered. I held my breath as her eyes stared up at nothing and she blink furiously.

  Almost immediately her face contorted into pain, and whatever little color she had in her face vanished, leaving it a sick pale. Her hands immediately went to her injured side as she gasped loudly, tears forming in her eyes due to the unbearable
pain.

  "Hey, hey, listen to me." Aaron said, instantly at her side. "Listen, you were in an accident, do remember the accident?" He asked.

  A single tear ran down her cheek as she gazed up at Aaron, her hands shook, her whole body shook in trembling waves. "I r-remember…" She said softly. She let out a sob as she clenched the bed sheet tightly, her knuckles a ghostly white.

  "Hurry, she can't stand that amount of pain." Doctor Lawrence said in a worried tone. Her heart monitor was going wild.

  "Tell us, tell us who you are, we can't tell you apart." I said, holding her hand. She turned her head to me, her eyes wide with pain and fear, she looked so vulnerable. I placed my fingers against her cheek which was covered in a cold sweat.

  "It happened so fast…I didn't…" She gasped again.