Double Vision

A Story by Roni Archer

I was asked to write a story featuring 1) identical twins 2) a locked closet 3) a party invite so here goes!

The invite hadn’t arrived until that morning, but Stewart had known about the party for weeks. He had actually started to think he might not be invited, and tried to convince himself he didn’t care. But then, when he had spotted the envelope on the ground by the front door, he’d felt his heart rate quicken. Hurriedly he’d picked it up and torn it open without even looking at the address, his mind immediately racing to thoughts of Kirsty. She’d be there; this was his chance.

When he opened the invite, though, he felt sick to his stomach.

Dear Greg, you are formally invited to a special night to celebrate my 21^st birthday at The Garage Bar on Saturday 4^th April, look forward to seeing you there. Kirsty xx

Greg?! He doesn’t even know her! She told Gabby that she liked me, not him.

Fuming, that entire afternoon he locked himself away in his room, turned his phone to silent and spent the whole time thinking about what he could do. Since childhood, he and his brother had done everything together. But over the past few weeks and months, they had started to drift slightly apart, doing things on their own for the first time. Stewart resented Greg for that. It was all his fault.

As evening fell, he heard some noises from the other room. Greg was getting ready. Stewart wondered what he was putting on. What would he wear for his “special night” with Kirsty? The thought of his identical twin getting ready for this occasion without him made him burn with fury.

At around 10pm, he heard Greg open the bedroom door and go downstairs to the kitchen. Time to put the plan in to action, he thought.

“Greg!” he shouted from the top of the stairs.

“What is it? I’m about to go out.”

I know you are, a*****e, he thought.

“Yeah, I just need your help with something, can you come up for a second?”

He heard Greg huffing as he came back upstairs. “What is it?” he repeated as he strode in to Stewart’s bedroom. “I’m just about to leave.”

Suddenly, the door slammed shut and the lights went out. Greg felt something cover his face and instinctively brought his hands up, clawing at the material in front of his eyes. A sharp blow to the stomach knocked the air out of his lungs, and his knees buckled as he was sent crashing to the ground.

He struggled, but Stewart was too fast for him. In a flash, he had Greg face down on the ground with his hands behind his back. Using a zip-tie, he quickly bound Greg’s hands together, and used the same technique on his thrashing legs. Within 30 seconds, Stewart had his knee on Greg’s back, his brother’s cries for help muffled by the pillow case over his head.

He was completely helpless.

- - -

Greg woke up in with a pain in his lower abdomen, and realised he was unable to move. From inside the closet, he could see a light had been switched on, but the pillow case over his head made it impossible to see. He tried squinting his eyes, but it was useless. All he could hear was footsteps coming up the stair, and a pair of voices. Hushed whispers; one male, one female.

He recognised his brother’s voice instantly, that son of a b***h. But it took him slightly longer to figure out the girl’s. It was only when the quiet voices reached the bedroom that he worked out who it was.

“You know Greg, I’ve wanted to do this for such a long time.”

Greg felt his whole body shake with anger.

“I’ve wanted it too, Kirsty” he heard the traitor whisper back, before the lights went out again.