"She was brave and strong and broken all at once."

-Anna Funder

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Kate rubbed some alcohol over Max's square-like chin. The skin near his lips was pierced by a shard of glass after his fall.

She noticed him hissing in pain, Elena and Ivan too joined in with their contorted faces.

"This will hurt a bit," Kate stated and brought a pair of tweezers near Max's calm face.

She gently pushed aside the wounded skin, the tweezers now holding the shard firmly. With a soft pull, the shard was removed, leaving a trail of blood that dripped from his chin.

She wiped it gently with a warm cloth and applied some antibiotic ointment on his skin.

"I hope it doesn't hurt much, buddy." It appeared as if Ivan was mostly trying to console himself.

Elena clapped Max on the back and helped him sit. Kate noticed him nodding slightly at her sister before gazing in her direction.

She found her wrist held lightly within his fingers and he looked at her softly. "I'm sorry, Go... Kate."

He entwined his fingers with hers. "I'm sorry for ignoring you--"

"Why?" she intervened, noticing his green eyes flicker back to her face.

"Coz you'd know I was pretending..."

"Pretending?" Elena asked.

"Pretending to like the party," Ivan spoke with certainty.

Max simply nodded at this.

"Why?" Kate questioned once again, glancing at his watery eyes and red nose.

"I don't like parties."

"You should have told me. Why would you do something when you're not happy about it?" Ivan frowned as he placed a hand on Max's shoulder.

Max smiled briefly before answering, "Coz you all were so happy."

Ivan clapped his own thigh. "Stop being a... forget it." His scowl deepened when he noticed his mobile flashing.

Kate patted Max's shoulder as she got up. She called Elena and they strolled towards the door.

Before leaving, they noticed Ivan hurling his mobile into one of the cushions. He sat on the sofa, finger-combing his hair frustratedly.

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"Mom, we'll be sleeping over at Max's place tonight," Kate stated, earning the attention of her parents. "He's not feeling that great."

"Is Ivan going to be there?"

Kate knew that her mom's question was directed at Elena, who bit her lip coyly.

"Are you going to be the mother of his child?"

Kate and her mom, Eleanor, chuckled at Elena's red face. She was so taken aback that she could only whine in protest.

"Shut up, mom."

"Let me guess." Eleanor tapped a finger over her lip before letting out a squeal. "He kissed you."

"No, mom. He only teases me."

Eleanor's face fell and she pouted disappointedly. "Well, at least he hasn't changed."

Kate glanced at her mom's soft smile and mumbled, "Yeah, right."

"Should I keep my gun ready?" her father, Kurt, questioned as he joined his fingers in an imaginary gun.

"Dad, he is Van." Elena rolled her eyes and held her father's palm. "Keep your gun down."

"What if he hurts you?" he questioned pointedly.

"Daddy," Kate said, stretching the letter 'D'. "He is Van, our bestie, he can't hurt anyone."

Her father gave her a tight-lipped smile. "People can't be trusted."

"But dad--"

Kate tried not to look at his pained face as he continued, "Remember what happened to you last time?"

"That wasn't--"

"That wasn't her fault, dad," Elena butted in to defend Kate.

Kurt held Kate by the shoulders, his light-brown eyes filled with immense worry. "I know it wasn't, but you were still harmed..."

Kate was hugged by her father, her back patted by him softly.

She could hear Elena sniffling and was too sure that her elder twin was trying her best to choke her sobs.

Her fists clenched as she used all her strength to fight back a sob. Her family's red eyes didn't help either.

No, she wouldn't cry. Not even a tear. Nor would she let them anymore.

"Daddy, no more crying."

Sure enough, she didn't miss a stray tear that was adorned like a jewel in the corner of her father's eye.

"They almost... killed you, K," Eleanor whispered. She burst into more waterworks that flowed down her cheeks like streams.

Kate let out a bitter laugh, causing her parents and sister to look at her surprisedly. "They almost killed me, but that day, I wasn't the one who died."

She continued, her voice cynical as she looked above. "Funny how life and death work."

"The dead can't rise," her father stated the obvious. She heard him heave a sigh of relief.

"Unless it's a Fantasy novel." Elena's joke softened Kate's face briefly.

Kate shook her head at them. "The dead do haunt your mind... always."

Not wanting to continue conversing about her bad past, she hugged her mom and kissed both her parents' cheeks.

"No more crying, okay?" She wished they wouldn't notice the crack in her voice.

But it wouldn't be named a family if things could be kept hidden from them.

She let out a long sigh and loosened her fists. She swiped her thumbs under both her parents' eyes and shook a finger in their faces sternly.

They could only chuckle at her attempt to keep their tears at bay.

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Upon entering Max's house, Kate found Ivan's face contorted as he touched his stomach.

She rushed towards his side and grabbed a fistful of his T-shirt and pulled it a bit upwards.

She stared hard at the red streak formed across his navel.

"Hey, I know I'm hot, but stop being creepy."

Though she ignored Ivan's amused smile, Elena didn't. She pointed at Ivan's stomach and smirked. "I don't find that flab hot."

Ivan pursed his lips at Elena's comment, but let out a hiss when the ointment touched his skin.

Kate felt that Ivan chose to ignore Elena's sarcasm, but he proved her wrong. He glanced at her sister, his lips twitching into a mischievous smile. "You love me anyway."

Kate couldn't help but snicker at Elena as she turned her face away.

A pillow was chucked on Ivan's head a second later, resulting in chuckles from him and Max.

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"No! How could you!" Ivan shrieked and hugged the TV.

"Hey, move! I don't want to miss Edward's pretty face."

"And I don't want to miss Bella's."

"Why did you do this me? Why?" Ivan wailed.

Max hurled a pillow in Ivan's face and he fell on the floor dramatically.

Kate rolled her eyes at Ivan's outstretched hand, the other was placed on his chest as he faked a fit of coughing.

"Shut up, Van." Elena chucked another pillow that landed on his chest.

"Guys! I'm dying, help!"

"Gosh, he's so overacting."

Max nodded, rolling his eyes at Ivan's antics. "He's trying to distract us."

"Guys..."

Kate turned to find Ivan's calves in the air, his eyes shut and his arms by his sides.

She glanced at Elena and Max, both of them trying hard not to cackle.

"Tell Bugs Bunny I love him," Ivan spoke feebly and shut his eyes again. "Farewell, thou wicked world. Farewell--"

Ivan was saved from his fake death when Kate snatched the remote from Elena's hands and put on the channel he wanted.

Ivan got up with a grin and made himself comfortable on three pairs of legs.

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Kate stroked her chin, thinking about what would be her next word.

She, Elena, and Max were irritated by Ivan repeating Bugs Bunny's lines. After throwing pillows at him almost a dozen times, Max had switched off the TV with a huff.

She noticed Ivan using the tiles to make the word 'LIPS' on the board. He then glanced at Elena with a smirk.

Elena smirked back and used her tiles to make a word below the letter 'L'.

Kate and Max chuckled when they noticed what Elena had played: 'LUST'.

"Guys, let's play Truth & Dare," Kate suggested, eyeing Max's alarmed face.

Ivan nodded and raised his finger. "Why did you faint?"

Kate focused her gold eyes on Max's green ones, noticing the pain in them.

"Coz you spilled the juice," she heard him answer which was the truth, she felt. But not the complete truth.

"Juice?"

"You know I hate it when food is wasted," Max explained and Ivan shook his head. Kate, however, didn't miss Max's relieved sigh. How easy it is to lie.

"Why did you select us for Aurora's roles?" Elena asked Ivan.

"It's not my turn, we need a bottle first," Ivan said, earning a hit on the back of his head from Elena.

Kate chuckled at Ivan's glare as he hit Elena's head with a pillow.

The two got up, continued hitting each other with pillows until Ivan raised a palm to stop.

Kate strolled towards their side to notice Ivan whispering in Elena's ears.

Kate smirked, a mischievous smile etched on her pale face as she turned the other way. "You two can kiss, I'm not looking."

"Shut up, K!" Elena and Ivan chided her simultaneously after glancing at each other awkwardly.

Once Ivan strolled away from them, Kate felt her twin's hold on her arm.

"He remembers," Elena said with a knowing smile.

"No, he doesn't." Kate shook her head, her eyes still fixed on Ivan's face, which looked blank.

"Can't you agree with me for once?"

"I could say the same to you, El."

"I'll prove my point."

"So will I."

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Kate ruffled Max's hair softly as the latter smiled at her.

Her sister and Ivan had gone to sleep after bickering over who would sleep on which side.

Turned out, Elena persisted in placing her sleeping bag on the right side and Ivan placed it on her left side begrudgingly.

Kate had decided to lay down next to them, but Max stopped her and asked her to stay by his side.

"Will you sing me a song?" Max asked her softly, his eyes seeming like green marbles under the lamp's shadow.

How could she say no to such a cute request?

Max's eyes closed after a while. Kate slithered away from his bed, but he held her arm close to his chest.

She giggled softly assuming that Max had mistaken her arm for his teddy bear.

She sat next to his sleeping form and put her head on top of his hair, which was now matted to his forehead.

She glanced at his eyelashes that appeared darker in the shadows. She slowly lifted her head and tried to avert her gaze from his lips.

"I love your smile," she whispered as she smiled at his childlike face.

Without much thought, she inched towards his face and pecked his lips.

She immediately regretted it, feeling guilty that she had kissed him without his knowledge. Curse you, PMS.

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Hey, guys! How are you all? 💝 I'm back with a new update!

I know I'm a little late, but I had writer's block and I think I do too now. *sniffles*

I'm not happy with how I've written this chapter, but I had the idea ready and I really wanted to update.

How was this update? Please be honest. 😿

What do you think of the developments?

What do you think of Kate? We did have a little glimpse of her past.

What do you think of Max and the reason why he ignored Kate?

Yay?/Nay?: please choose one.

If you like this chapter and the previous ones, please do leave a vote. Do share your thoughts with me in the comments. Thank you so much for reading. 💟

Sneak-Peek of Episode 29:

Stay tuned to know what made Ivan break down in front of the twins.

Keep smiling! 💕
Lots of love❤💙
Sakina

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