2. Stupid Twin

ELAINE 

I tossed in the sauteed shrimp into the melted butter and garlic paste and was met with the sizzling sound of it being cooked. I used my left arm to wipe off sweat that drizzled from my forehead into the corner of my eyes and I sighed in exhaustion. 

Even with the industrial sized fans and heat extractor in the kitchen, it was still hot as hell. 

"Elaine, I need those shrimps now." The head chef screamed from one corner of the bustling kitchen and I began to move it around making sure that it was thoroughly cooked on both sides. 

It's so easy to get overly stimulated in a restaurant kitchen, from the clashing pits and pan, to different people yelling orders, to the heat and sting of the fire, to the smell of different dishes both raw and cooked. It was almost always chaos. 

The sharp pain that shot through me from my lower back and waist had me abandoning the knife I had in hand to grip the edge of the kitchen table top. 

Fuck cramps and the never-ending cycle of pain and emotional turmoil. Every single month, I never can tell which new symptom will be unlocked, and how exactly the lady in red plans to take my life for the month.

I didn't even have enough time to wallow in self-pity before I returned to my shrimps and turned them into a white bowl to be transferred to the chef. I brought out a nose mask from the pocket of my apron and covered my nose. The smell of sashimi wafted through the air from my far left and I had the strong urge to throw up. 

The feeling was so intense that the other senior chef must have seen it and he told me to go outside for a little while. 

The smell of fresh evening air outside the restaurant was a welcome one and I took a long whiff of it and leaned back on the wall of the building. I dug out my phone from the pocket of my trousers to see that I had 12 missed calls from Elias and I couldn't help but sigh. 

To think having a busy day in the kitchen on the day you get your period isn't enough torture enough then you add Elias. 

Elias is my twin brother. The one my mom had me swear I was going to take care of on her deathbed and the present cause of all my heartaches. Elias calling me so much was never a good sign. It only indicated two things; 

One: He had landed himself in trouble. 

Two: He had landed himself in trouble. 

This last year felt like I ultimately became the parent of a grown adult when I was still a kid, which is tiring on its own. I shoved the phone back in my pocket, making a mental note to deal with Elias later. 

I entered the restaurant through the main entrance instead of the backdoor trying to ask Diana for some painkillers for the cramp and headache that I could sense brewing behind my eyes. Every muscle in my body aches. 

I weaved myself quickly to the counter where my best friend Diana was. I managed a small smile at the black-haired beauty with a sour expression related to the amount of work she had to do today. 

Her suffering made me chuckle in amusement because sitting behind the counter and receiving orders and processing payments seemed like child's play compared to the hustle and bustle of the kitchen right now. 

"Ah thank God you're here, I was just about to finish this up and go find you." She relaxed a little and leaned forward to brush my arm softly. 

"Oh." I reached out to a bottle of water that was beside her and took a long swig. 

She sighed gently first, "Elias is here. He is looking for you and I asked him to wait at that far-end table where customers usually don't sit." 

I turned around and searched for him in the space before seeing him waving at me with a bright smile from the end and I sighed again. 

He had dyed his hair blonde, I noticed in shock and gasped. 

God, please. Let this be good and it shouldn't involve money. 

"Please tell me you did not serve him anything?" I whisper-yelled in shock. Although we had the employee discount, the price of dining here was pretty steep and not something I plan to pay for this month as I was saving for college. 

We were already due to pay up on the bank loans we took to cover Mom's hospital bills and other shitload of bills. 

I pick out my phone to dial his number. "Meet me outside, now!”

I end the call and walk out before he has a chance to convince me or explain. 

I didn't stop walking until I got to my faded red Toyota Camry which was my mom's old car and is probably the only thing I own at this point. I open the door and get in, indicating for him to do the same. "Why are you here?" 

"Hey Elias, my only family in the whole wide world. I'm happy to see you, it's been a while. I missed you. How have you been?" He rolled his eyes and pulled down the sleeves of his sweatshirt which had ridden up a little as he gesticulated and I scoffed. 

Wearing a hoodie in the middle of summer is crazy, but I guess it's fashionable for him. 

"And then you know what I'll say, I've been well sis, I missed you too." He gave me one of his dazzling smiles and I rolled my eyes this time. 

How can two of us have shared a womb and yet be so different? From his carefree nature to my more calculative one, from his indecisiveness to my Mrs everything-must-go-as-planned one, his blue eyes which were from our father to my plain brown ones. We were nothing alike. 

“You have 5 minutes to say what you're here for and then you leave.” I said staring straight ahead into the dark alley while mentally

bracing myself as my belly began to tie up in knots in anticipation