I retrieved my hand, crying softly as I blew on my throbbing fingers. I raised my eyes to the figure before me—one of the twins, wearing pajamas and a dangerous scowl.
"Thief," he spat out at me, and I realized it was Kade. "You're trying to take something that doesn't belong to you."
"No," I hissed. "I'm trying to save the butterfly."
He glared at me with angry eyes. Then a smile pulled at his lips. He knelt on the floor where I was still nursing my injured hand. He blew on my fingers, asking if they hurt. I nodded. I didn’t understand how he could switch from being so cruel to so very kind.
Carefully, he retrieved the butterfly and held it up for me to admire. It was beautiful despite being so weak. Its wings were nearly translucent, and it was slowly recovering from the ordeal the twins had put it through. That is, until Kade crushed it in his fist.
I screamed again, the sound echoing in the night.
I watched as Kade opened his palm, and the crushed body of the insect fluttered to the floor. I gathered the broken butterfly in my palms and watched a tear fall from my eyes to its unmoving body.
"You killed it," I whispered, looking up at Kade. "How could you?"
He hesitated before finally muttering the answer. "You loved it. I don't want you looking at anything or anyone like that."
"What do you mean? Are you crazy?" My bottom lip wobbled.
He didn't answer. Instead, he took me by the hand. He helped me bury the butterfly underneath the oak tree. Wordlessly, he walked me back to my bedroom, tucked me in, and turned on my night-light, as if he knew I always turned it back on when I woke up in the middle of the night.
That night, I had no nightmares.
I was still afraid of the darkness then... but the twins would teach me to embrace it.
"Good night, Junebug," Kade had whispered.
The nickname was sweet, adorable, but I hadn’t answered. The way he killed that butterfly was still playing in my head—cruel, vicious, and unnecessary.
And that was how my obsession deepened... Because as frightening as the darkness was, it was more interesting than its light counterpart.
2
Kade
“Well, well, well, would you look at what the cat dragged in.” Parker smirks as I make it into the kitchen, rubbing my bleary eyes and grumbling something in response. He’s standing at the kitchen counter, wearing an apron that says Fuck the cook. Classy.
“Fun night?” Parker asks, imitating jerking off a cock with his hand while waggling his brows.
Oh, the joys of living with your identical twin brother when you’re twenty-five years old.
“It was… eventful.” I look over my brother’s shoulder to discover what meal he’s destroying today. He’s not much of a cook, but hey, at least the guy fucking tries.
“Hey,” someone says timidly from behind my back, and I turn around to see a girl.
Redhead. Tiny, but curvy. Not my type at all. What the hell did I do last night? I wonder.
“Um,” I say intelligently, and Red looks at me meaningfully as I scramble for her name, coming up blank. Sarah? Her bottom lip pushes out slightly, and it’s painfully clear I’ve upset her. My brother starts grinning like a madman.
“Oh look, Kade, your latest conquest is up.” He walks over to the redhead and wraps a too-familiar arm around her shoulders, winking at her. “Ready for round two with the hotter brother?”
I wish he would shut that mouth. Being the older and more responsible brother, I have this sentiment often. Red looks utterly confused and glances from me to Parker. She makes no move to push him off her, and a moment later, her eyes stop on his muscled arms. Of course they fucking do.
“You should probably go,” I offer lamely, feeling like a total douchebag. “I’ll order an Uber or something.”
She doesn’t object as she disappears into my bedroom. Parker flips a burnt-looking piece of dough, all the while shooting me meaningful glances.
The girl comes out of the bedroom in time to catch him sniffing a very blackened and inedible-looking pancake.
“That looks delicious,” she mutters sarcastically. But the way her eyes devour my brother speaks volumes. She thinks he’s hot. That’s probably why she’s still lingering in our apartment. She wants a piece of the other twin next.
I guess we are nice to look at. Since we’re identical twins, there aren’t many differences between us at all, until you get to know our personalities.
We’re both six feet four, with naturally broad shoulders and bodies we keep in shape by jogging together and doing weights at home. My dark hair is shaved on the sides and longer on top, and Parker’s is floppier and a little longer all over. Our gray eyes are an unusual contrast to our darker skin and make us appear more intense, or at least that’s what we’ve heard.