by Emmy Ellis
“You three have earned that,” he’d said and counted it out, sharing it equally between Martin, Teddy, and Lavender.
It wouldn’t bring their previous lives back, the ones before Robins had ruined them, but it’d go some way to giving them satisfaction. Spending Robins’ cash wouldn’t be difficult.
The twins sat on the sofa in Martin’s flat. They had something to say to him, so George had said, and Martin had his answer ready. If they were going to ask him to get involved in killing people again, it would be a no. The nightmares he’d had since that terrible time still poked at him while he slept, although they weren’t as frequent as they had been. The memories struck him when he least expected them, throwing him into a state of confusion, questions forming: Did I really stand there and listen to that? Did Lavender cut his arm? Did Teddy shoot them in their heads?
“So,” George said. “What do you think?”
Martin blinked. He hadn’t heard a word. That was something that kept happening, too, him drifting off, existing in some secret world only he had the key to. “Pardon?”
“Your mum and dad.” George raised his eyebrows.
“What about them?”
“They need sorting, don’t they?”
Martin blinked again. He’d soon gathered what ‘sorting’ meant. “You what?”
“Want us to give them a good hiding?” Greg queried.
Did he? Martin imagined his parents being kicked about, punched, the visuals paired with the noises that had come from Robins and Black. He winced, sickened by the idea. While his parents had been shit, no, he couldn’t stomach knowing they’d suffered.
“I appreciate your offer, but… I can’t…I can’t bring myself to…”
“Not a problem,” George said, “but the minute you change your mind…”
Relief pinged through Martin, and he picked up his tea for a sip.
The Brothers’ work phone blipped with a message, and Greg swiped it off the coffee table. He glanced at the screen. “It’s one of Debbie’s parlour girls.”
George rubbed his temple and sighed. “Fuck it. Which one?”
“Rosie.” Greg grimaced.
“Go on then, what did she say?”
Martin held his breath. George leant forward. Tension laced the air.
Greg stared his twin in the eye. “She’s only gone and killed her neighbour.”
