(Yes two years passed through the last chapter) Also this song fits)

11-22-17

"What are you doing here?" She asks. Looking straight at me as if I'm a figment of her imagination.

"Could ask the same of you." I say and she forces a laugh and turns away.

"Matt, I knew he knew where you where. I'm not leaving without the people inside, so leave." She says in a cold voice. She has changed.

"I'm back up." I say which makes her turn around to look at me.

"You're supposed to trust back up, I can't with you." She says and I will admit that one hurt, but I deserved it.

"Well, I'm staying so you're going to have to deal with it." I say, she looks like she's going to say something, but then we hear voices. She sprints passed me and around the front of the house. The voices get louder as I follow her. She knows how to run now. She runs up some wooden stairs and pulls open a door. I follow close behind her. She acts like I'm not there until there's a locked door. 

She turns back to me to start down another hallway, but then she pushes me back to where we were before against the wall. I go to talk, but she puts her hand over my mouth. I then see two men go around a corner. Luckily they don't see us. She removes her hand and glares.

"Pay attention." She says and looks back at the locked door.

"Could just jam it."

"Alarms." Is all she says before grabbing her phone. She puts it on top of the lock and it beeps. She then pulls the top off and breaks a wire. She then makes a rock and jams it. The door opens. She steps in and walks down the metal stairs. There are clear glass cages, but no one is in them. Alexis goes down and down floors until we see two people in a cage. There are men in it and they look like they're taking blood from them. Alexis goes to walk forward, but I pull her arm back.

"You're going to cause a commotion. Wait." I say and she rips her arm free from my hand. She watches as the men leave and then bolts to the cage. The woman's backs are to us so we can get their attention or see there faces. Alexis walks around the cage. Only one of the walls is clear the rest are cement. She finds one with the door and starts picking at it. I look through the door and almost faint.

Claudia is in there with someone who looks exactly like Alexis. Claudia sees me and stands up. I just stare at her confused. She looks down at Alexis confused. When Alexis looks up to Claudia she holds up one hand to make her stand back. Then she breaks the door open.

"T-this can't be real." Claudia says staring at Alexis is awe. Alexis looks at her confused. Then the duplicate of Alexis stands up. Alexis's eyes go wide and she takes a step back.

"Y-you look like me." She says and Claudia laughs.

"Sam, is this really happening?" She asks as they look at each other.

"Yes, Alexis we need to get them out of here." I say and then an alarm goes off. That seems to snap her out of staring. She puts an arm around the other Alexis and starts walking out. Claudia leans on the wall so I immediately help her stay up. Alexis and I start to walk up the stairs when men plow through them. With one hand Alexis makes a huge ball of rock knocking them all to the floor.

"Is there another way out?" She asks and Claudia mumbles.

"What?" I ask pulling her up more.

"If both of you" She looks at the two Alexis, "earthbend up we might be able to rise out of here, but I'm not strong enough too. Mackenzie you remember how to right." Alexis's twin nods. She looks at Alexis and they both start to earthbend. It must take a lot of energy because they both have shaky hands. It must be what they made the building out of that makes it more difficult.

More men then start to come through the door. I waterbend at them trying to stop them, but they have something that melts the ice. It does seem harder to bend in here. "Let me go. I can stand." Claudia says and pulls away from me. I release her and start to bend anything at them. "The shots will knock you out." Claudia says as one passes me. I keep bending, but then more people come from somewhere.

"I got the rest." I hear Alexis voice. Then I see Mackenzie start to earthbend at the others. She looks tired, but stands in front of her Mom and continues to bend. I then hear a big crash. There is a ginormous hole in the ceiling and it seems to go up for every. Alexis pulls Claudia onto some rock and Mackenzie and I bend while backing up to stand on the rock. Alexis bends and wall around us and then her and Mackenzie bend and I feel us start going up. I hear commotion from the other people and the feel my heart rate pick up. Stupid small spaces. Alexis glances at me and then looks away in a split second.

"Sammy still claustrophobic," Claudia says in a teasing voice, yet one that holds concern. I nod my head and feel dizzy.

"Alexis I can't push up much longer," Mackenzie says.

"Alright, put one last push and then sit down," Alexis says. The container moves faster and then Mackenzie sits down in between her Mom and me. I see the strain in Alexis and then we all fall. Mackenzie and Claudia scream as for me I feel my lunch coming up. Alexis laughs a little and then we are all on the ground, but not hurt.

We all get off the ground when men surround us. There are five of them, but all three girls confess one within a few seconds. Claudia being at lost of energy falls. Mackenzie catches her, but knees next to her. The three confessed men kill the other two and start to hurt more as they come out. Alexis is also kneeling on the floor. She wobbles when she stands, but makes the earth rumble under the men's feet. I waterbend at them to keep them down. Alexis face has lost most of it's color and then a Jeep comes down the road. One of the men confessed hops out and helps Claudia up, she must have been the one to confess him.

Mackenzie hops in the back with her Mom and Alexis makes her way over to it. The man confessed is then shot by someone. I run around the jeep and get ready to drive, but Claudia tells me to wait. Claudia makes a wall as she steps out of the jeep. What is she doing? She then firebends and makes the build go up in flames. The twins help an unconscious Claudia in the jeep and when Alexis is in the passenger seat I drive us down the road. We hear sirens before we see them pass us.

"Go to Apple May road, 1426. There are friends there." Mackenzie says. Alexis pulls out her phone and puts the GPS in the cup holder. It's over an hour way. I look over at Alexis, but she keeps her eyes out her window.

When we get to the building Claudia and Mackenzie are asleep. Alexis looks like she wanted to, but stayed awake. "I'll knock and see if anyone is home. They'll think I'm Mackenzie." She says like she needed a reason to go in. I watch as she knocks on the door and then an old man opens it. He gives Alexis a hug and she goes stiff. She points to the car and then a frantic woman comes out. She pulls Alexis in the house and the old man walks down to the car.

"Can you carry Mackenzie or is this Corrine. It's got to be Mackenzie." He says and I nod my head.

"Mackenzie would have hugged me back." He says and opens the door. I open mine and carefully take Mackenzie out of the car.

When we get inside the house he tells me to put her next to Claudia. I carefully set her down on the bed and then we walk out. He shuts the door and I walk into the kitchen were a woman and an uncomfortable Alexis are. "No, you'll stay. Both of yea." She says looking at me. "We'll explain everything tomorrow, just get some sleep. If you go up the stairs the door on the left is a guest bedroom." The women says. Alexis nods and puts a fake smile on her face. She grabs her backpack and walks up. I follow her and then shut the door when we enter.

"Alex-"

"Don't. I have too much to process already. Just go to sleep." She says holding up her hand. I put my backpack down and lay in the bed. I close my eyes but don't go to sleep. It's not like I can get a decent amount of sleep, anyway. My breathing has slowed down and I think Alexis thinks I'm asleep. I hear a pill bottle and then the crunch of a water bottle. She takes medication? I feel the bed dip a little and hear her breathing. I roll over to face her, but her back is to me. I want to just wrap my arms around her small waist and hold her close to me. I want to smell her sweat sent, but I can't and it's taking everything I have not to. She's curled into a ball and is sleeping with a sweatshirt on. She only did then when she was cutting. I want to grab her arm and make sure I'm not right, but she rolls over and I close my eyes.

I slowly open my eyes acting like the movement woke me, but I see she has her eyes closed. She's still curled in a ball, but she's facing me. Her facing me makes it 20 times harder for me not to touch her.

After what I think has been an hour I roll one of her sleeves up. I was right, but the cuts look to be a least a week old. It still makes tears come to my eyes, but I'm not letting her do it again. I don't care if she hates me, she will not hurt herself. I pull her sleeve back down and then move closer to her. I rest my arm on her side and rest my head close to hers. She moves a little and I hold my breath, but she doesn't wake. I close my eyes and hope for some sleep.

***

I wake up sweating and look over at the clock. Four and a half hours. New record. I look over and see Alexis also breathing heavily. She has her hands over her ears and is mumbling. I go to touch her shoulder and then pull back. I shouldn't, but then I do. She pulls away from me making me grab her shoulders. She opens her eyes and she looks frightened. She lets her hands down from her ears and moves further away from me. "You talk in your sleep." She says and doesn't look at me. What had I said? "You seemed scared." She says and looks up at me.

"Bad dream I guess." I say and I know she doesn't believe me.

"I know the difference between a bad dream and bad experience." She says, but then shakes her head. "Just sleep that way or lie awake, just don't lay towards me." She says and closes her eyes. She really does hate me. I turn around and lay down. I hear her let out a breath and lay back down. I lay awake until the sun comes in the room. Alexis and I get up at the same time. She doesn't look at me, but changes into new clothes. I do and make sure she doesn't see the scars on my body. Once we both change we walk down the stairs and sit in the kitchen. The woman is there making coffee, at least that's what it smells like.

"Here you go." She says and hands both me and Alexis a cup. Alexis smells it and makes a face.

"Does this have honey?" She asks.

"Yes, oh you're allergic to it too?" She asks and Alexis nods. She hands the cup back to the woman and stares at the ground. We here Mackenzie and Claudia come in. Alexis and Mackenzie just stare at each other. Mackenzie sits down next to Alexis and then Mackenzie laughs.

"Mama told me I had a sister, but now that I see you I can't believe it." She says with a small smile on her lips. Alexis nods her head and then Claudia sits next to me.

"I'm sure you have a ton of questions, but let me tell you the story first." She says and Alexis looks at her. "I am your mother. I had twins obviously, but me and your Dad were being hunted down by a group that likes to do experiments. They want to know everything. They called themselves The Balancers. If you weren't special to them you were killed, if you were you got experimented on." She pauses before talking again. It was like she was remembering something.

"We knew we needed to keep you safe. Dad took you Corrine and he was supposed to bring you to the safe house. He and I were supposed to meet up and go underground for a while, but he died in a car crash. A drunk driver thought it would be smart to go driving and then went head on with his car. He died right away, but you didn't have a scratch." She says and tears swell in her eyes. "The people that were looking for us didn't know we had twins, so I thought you'd be safer with a foster family. By the time Mackenzie was eight I was going to come and get you because the people hadn't shown up, but then they had tried to kidnap me and Mackenzie. I was able to get her to safety before they got me. She had lived with your grandparents." She says and the old women and man smile. "When Mackenzie turned fourteen they had found her and kidnapped her, bringing her to where they'd had me."

"We tried to find you guys, but there was nothing." The women says with tears in her eyes. Alexis doesn't show any emotion but watches as Mackenzie hugs their grandparents.

"You couldn't have. There was nothing to find. I never wanted to leave you or abandon you, but I thought it was better." Claudia says as tears run down her face.

"My first step parents said they were my real parents. That I had a big brother, but I knew they lied." Alexis says and Claudia looks up at her.

"How did you find us?" She asks and then all eyes are on her.

"I had heard about you and started to look you up. I found that you had disappeared and it hadn't made since. One thing lead to another and I found the most likely area you could be." She says and Claudia gives out a small laugh.

"You say it like it was easy."

"No, not really, but I needed something to work on." Alexis says and glances at me, but goes right to looking at Claudia again.

"Well I'm glad. Where do you live?" She asks and Mackenzie nods her head like she also wants to know.

"Wisconsin." Alexis says. Claudia and Mackenzie ask her multiple questions and Alexis answers all of them with really short answers.

"We'll come with." Claudia says and my eyes go wide. "I want to learn more about you and me and Mackenzie have wanted to leave this town for a while. No offense Ma and Dad." They shake their heads like they understand.

"O-ok." Alexis says.

"We'll start packing. Come on Mackenzie." Both of them go up the stairs. My mind can't wrap around everything and I can see that Alexis's can't either.

"Well, it was nice to meet you. I'm sad you're leaving, but I know you have a life to live. I wish you the best of luck." The woman says. Alexis puts another fake smile on and nods her head. She stands up and then walks to the living room.

"She's not good with new people. Don't take it to heart." I say and she nods her head.

"She looks like a troubled girl and now this. It's gotta be one major life change. As for you boy. You like her a little much." She says and smiles. I don't know what to say. How could she know? "I'm excellent at reading minds and eyes." She also has powers, awesome. "You two are both troubled, but it'll get better."

"That's what everyone says." I say, but she shakes her head.

"If someone wants something to be better it will, and you both want something better than having all those walls up." She says and I nod my head.

"I guess you're right." I respond and then the man comes over. I didn't even see where he went.

"You helped bring my family back. Thank you." He says and extends his hand.

"It was all Al-Corrine." I correct and shake his hand.

"You helped though." He says and lets my hand go. I walk into the room and they watch as I sit down next to Alexis.

"How is this settling?" I ask and she kinda glares at me.

"How about you just leave me alone." She says and stands up. Mackenzie and Claudia walk into the living room with a suitcase for both of them.

Once everyone says goodbye we all get into the jeep. Might as well use it. As I drive to the airport the twins sit in the back and Claudia sits in the passenger side. She looks back at her daughters and smiles. They both have one ear plug in and are watching something. "She is always happy. Always wanted a sister." She says and looks over at me. "You are harder to fit into the story."

"Can you read my mind too?" I ask nervously of her answer. She laughs and shakes her head.

"No, just my Ma." I nod my head thankful. "But I know you like her." She says making me look at Alexis. There too involved to hear us, but I still turn the music up a little.

"Let me guess, my eyes gave it away," I say and she laughs.

"That and the way to care for her. You went with her and you seem to always want to help her even if she keeps pushing you away."

"She's definitely good at that," I say and she nods her head.

"You seem good at it too." She replies. I don't look over at her. "You're different. You used to be more....as ease, now it's more of blocked off. What happened?" She asks, but I'm not ready to talk about it.

"I can't talk about it."

"I see, ya wanna tell me why she's pushing you away?"

"That's a long story that is personal, but long story short we got close, I made a promise that was broken, and then I had left without saying anything to anyone, but Matt," I say and see out of the corner of my eye that she nods her head.

"She hasn't had it easy has she?"

"No, not at all. Bad things seem to always happen to her. She was getting better until I left and she got hurt by her old family." I say and feel myself grab the steering wheel tighter.

"Things happen, just gotta talk it over and move on." She says before there is a comfortable silence.

***

"Sam how are you on plains if you're claustrophobic?" Claudia asks as we are about to board. We all chipped in to get tickets.

"Fine if I've got the window and something to distract me," I say and walk onto the plain. I put Mackenzie and Claudia's suitcases in the compartment place before sitting down. It's me, Alexis, Claudia, and then Mackenzie. Mackenzie has to have the aisle like I have to have the window. This is Alexis first time on a plain so she just sat down. We both put our backpacks under us and she watches as people come on. Her breathing picks up and Claudia notices.

"Hey, can you waterbend? I didn't see you bending it." She says trying to distract her.

"I can't do it well." She says as she watches more people come on

"Are you enochlophobic?" She asks Alexis, I, on the other hand, have no idea what it means.

"Kinda." She says and starts to play with her necklace. She pulls off her sweatshirt as if she can't breathe. She has another long sleeved shirt on. Probably to hide the scars. Mackenzie puts headphones on Alexis ears and tells her to close her eyes. Then she does the same thing. "Mackenzie is claustrophobic and will sleep the whole time, that and make my hand turn purple. Alexis seems to have a phobia of being surrounded by people.'" She says and I looked down at their intertwined hands. Alexis has her eyes closed and continues to play with her necklace, but it makes since.

It's another like 20 minutes before we take off. I have the window open and I try to ignore how many people are here and how high we are up. When we lift up Alexis grabs the arm chairs, but my hand was on it so she's squeezing my hand to death. I don't squeeze hard, but just enough so she knows that I'm here. I'm surprised she doesn't release my hand. Her eyes are squeezed shut. Claudia laughs and looks at both of them. "Definitely sisters." She says and I nod my head.

I stare as the clouds pass and think how this will go over. I messaged Matt saying that him, Carol, Jake, and Ashley need to be ready when we get there. He asks me about what, but I don't respond.

***

When we land Mackenzie is still asleep. Claudia pulls her hand out and makes and fist and then releases. I laugh and she shakes her head. "One of these times she'll squeeze so hard that she's gonna break my hand." She starts to wake up Mackenzie. I pull the blanket off of Alexis's head. She said it would help, so when she opened her eyes it was just blue and no people. She squints and lets go of my hand. I move my fingers around as she takes the headphones off. She looks down at my hand and her face gets a little shade of pink.

Once we find a cab that will take us to the place we all hop in, but Alexis stays outside. Claudia motions for me to talk to her. I get out of the van and walk to her. "What's wrong?" I ask and she shakes her head.

"I-i ca-can't. Not with s-someone else driving." She stutters and I'm confused.

"You can't have anyone drive?" I say more as a statement. She nods her head. "You're fine with me driving." I say even more confused.

"I-i don't k-know him. It-its comp-plicated." She spins around away from me. I walk to the driver.

"She has a phobia. Is it ok if I drive? You'll still get paid, she just can't have anyone drive unless it's me or her." The driver looks confused and then sees how Alexis looks. She's shaking and pale.

"Sure." He says. Yes, phew ok.

"Thank you." I say and walk back to Alexis. "He said I can drive the van. Ok." I say making her turn towards me. She doesn't look me in the eyes, but nods her head. Claudia opens the door more and tries to talk to her, but Mackenzie intervenes. Must be a twin thing I think before getting into the driver seat.

***

"Thanks again." I say to the driver. He nods before getting out of the car and into the driver side. We walk into the building and it looks really different now that it's been remade. We go down to Ashley's office where Matt told me they would be. When we enter the room all there faces have confusion.

"C-claudia?" Ashley says in disbelief. Claudia nods and Ashley gives her a hug.

"T-there are two Corrines." Carol says looking between them. She walks up to Mackenzie and gives her a hug. She hugs back and Carol jumps. "You're not Corrine." She says and then looks at Alexis. "Corrine doesn't do hugs well." She says, but squeezes her anyway. Matt is still looking between them. I walk over to him and pat him on the back.

"Ok, well, um we are going to need to talk tomorrow. Corrine you know where your room is, but Sam has to go with you. It's a full house. Claudia and ...."

"Mackenzie. I'm Mackenzie." She says. He nods and then Ashley pulls them out.

"Corrine we need to talk," Jake says, but she turns and walks out. He huffs and motions for me to follow. She whizzes through the halls and then opens a door that has stairs. When did this happen? She walks down and Alex is there with a baby in her arms.

"Your back." She whisper yells. Alexis nods and takes the baby. "I'll see ya tomorrow, maybe." She says and Alexis shrugs. Before I can look around the room Carol tells me to come up the stairs. I go back up and she hits me and then hugs me.

"You're a jerk." She says, but is smiling. "So she acts differently doesn't she." She says it as a statement. I nod my head. "Ya, she's got extra walls up now and won't let anyone come close to her, but when she's with children she's still like her normal self." She says and looks down the stairway. I do and see her smiling at the baby as it holds her finger. She has a child? "She will always love them."

"Question I know I was gone for like two years, but is that her child?" I ask looking back down at them.

"No, gosh no. She has to babysit for her a lot. That must have scared you." She laughs and I glare at her. "It's not my fault you left her and crushed her. Now you get to pick up the pieces and let me tell ya, it's gonna be a lot harder than before. Good luck." She says before disappearing again. My head is spinning and is going to pop off soon. I walk back down the stairs as Alexis puts the baby in the crib. She looks at me, grabs a pillow puts it on a bean bag and then throws a blanket. Got it. I'm sleeping in the bean bag. I walk over to it and get as comfortable as I can. She turns the light off and then curses.

"Dam bed." She mumbles. Still clumsy I can tell. I see her face light up as she looks at her phone. She looks likes she reading. I hold back my laugh. Once a bookworm always a bookworm.