The Villainous Children Retire

Chapter 9

"Okay, start talking."

Esther sat on her bed and looked up at the angry boy in front of her with crossed arms and an angry look on his face.

She knew it was coming; she just hadn't known Eli would put the topic off until the night arrived, and there was only dead silence in the house.

"But I already told you I scared him off by threatening him."

"Mhm," replied Eli dryly. "And it's precisely because of that word "threatening" that I'm curious to hear more."

Esther grumbled and leaned back as she prepared to tell the whole story.

After she told him, it seemed the tension between them was still high.

Esther sat anticipating her brother's response, but all he did was stand still and sullen. His golden brown eyes pierced her as if it was guilt making her feel bad.

"Eli," whined Esther. "Don't stand there silently glaring at me! Say something! Are you mad at me?"

Truthfully, Esther didn't feel guilty about threatening Billy. She still felt like it had been necessary, but even though she and her brother were safe from him, she didn't like having Eli mad at her. In that aspect, she did feel a little regretful.

"Don't be mad at me, Eli. I don't care if it's anyone else but not you. I don't want you to be mad at me."

After giving her a few more brooding stares, Eli finally released his pent-up frustration.

"I'm not mad," he replied. "I'm just worried about you, is all. Are we certain he doesn't know it was you who visited him?"

"I'm certain," Esther answered. "But even if I'm wrong, he should be too scared of me to retaliate."

"Retaliate?" sneered Eli. "How? By telling his mom?"

Neither Eli nor Esther felt particularly worried about Billy's tattling.

"But still," Eli said, reminding Esther of the seriousness of the matter. He reached a small hand out and placed it on her shoulder. "I don't want anything bad happening to you. You're all I have left."

Esther looked closely at her brother's face. It was even more apparent how upset the situation had left him feeling.

"All you have left?" she repeated quietly. She looked up at Eli with a small smile, one enough to convince her brother to stop worrying. "What are you talking about? You have Grandpa, too."

"You know what I mean."

Yeah, she did.

Before Esther could utter a single word more, Eli quickly wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug.

He spoke in a voice that sounded like he was holding in tears. "You're sure he doesn't know it was you?"

"Yeah," Esther answered, unwilling to return his embrace. "I'm sure."

It was uncharacteristic of Eli to be the first one to hug Esther; holding hands was different, and she wasn't sure if he was ever conscious that he was doing it. His response to her now further proved the trauma they both had.

At times like that, Esther knew all she could do was whisper pretty words to him.

"It's. . . okay."

Even then, she wasn't confident she could genuinely mean the words she was saying. Deep down, Esther knew that she was not a good person.

"Are you okay now?"

With slight reluctance, Eli replied, "Yeah, I'm okay." Before he flopped down beside her on the bed.

"What are you doing?" Esther asked as she watched him stretch out on her bed.

"I'm just getting comfy."

"Go back to your own bed then."

"Can't. I'm too tired."

"Eli."

"Esti."

Esther sighed; she couldn't win against him.

"Fine, just for tonight."

She remembered the nights when their mother would get angry enough, leaving the twins struggling to find warmth. It was times like that when they relied on each other more than usual. Esther thought they would grow out of it once they started living at their grandfather's, but even then, there seemed to be some nights where they couldn't cope without the other's presence.

Esther looked down at her cozy brother before pulling the thick blanket over them both and lying down beside him.

* * *

A few hours had passed since they had fallen asleep.

Eli woke up with his sister deep asleep beside him.

He hadn't meant to fall asleep; he only wanted to trick Esther into believing he was sleeping, but he had underestimated just how comfortable her bed was. He thought it would feel the same as his when he had flopped down on it, but the second his body hit the mattress, it was like falling onto a cloud.

Maybe it was because he was always in his bed longer than his sister was, and as a result, sunk his mattress down. He had almost fallen asleep instantly; having a soft cover tossed on him was also a bonus.

Eli sat up and slowly began crawling to the end of the bed. He paced his movements carefully while taking note of his sister's sleeping habits. He didn't want her to suddenly stir and hit him. He knew the second she did that, she would instantly wake up.

Carefully and quietly, he succeeded in getting out of bed without alerting his sister. However, sneaking out of the bed was just the first step in his plan.

He had to make sure Billy wouldn't retaliate once he discovered who his night visitor was.

He marched down the steps and looked at the coat rack. Finding the same oversized coat his sister had, Eli dawned it and hurried out the door.

He didn't know where Billy lived, but he was confident he could find his house. He would search all night for it if he had to.

It only took him searching five houses before he found the one he was looking for.

He looked around at the windows until he saw the room filled with many posters and toys.

Eli checked the window to see if it was locked but as it began to slide up with hardly any resistance, he knew Billy had not learned his lesson from when his sister had visited him.

He pushed up the window all the way and climbed up onto it. After assuming his position, he waited for Billy to enter the room.

He could tell the kid hadn't been sleeping since his voice was echoing so loudly throughout the house.

He waited quietly in the cloak of night until the boy came stomping into his room.

He came in grumbling. "Stupid Mom! All I want is chocolate cake! Is it my fault it's almost bedtime, and I want it? No!" He rushed over to his desk in a hurry. "Why won't she ever listen to me?" He shouted as he took his hands and raked them across the table, causing all of his toys and papers to go flying off of it and crashing down onto the floor.

His mother shouted at him about what the commotion was about, but she didn't do anything beyond that.

"Looks like you're a brat at both school and out of school."

Billy quickly turned on the lights in his room and looked out the window.

"You again?"

"Yes," answered Eli coolly. "Me."

Billy gave a confused look. "Why do you sound different?"

"What?" Eli asked, unfazed. "Better?"

"Dumber."

Eli was a little taken aback. He always thought he and Esther sounded similar since their grandfather often mistook their voices when he couldn't see them. Now, he wanted to curse his grandfather for making him believe their voices were similar.

"Regardless of my voice, I'm here because it seems my warning wasn't enough."

Eli could see the flash of fear in the boy's eyes.

"What are you talking about? I haven't done anything to those monster children!"

"Watch it."

"B-but I haven't done anything to those annoying kids!"

"You were glaring at them earlier today, were you not?"

"How do you know that?"

Eli could tell by the sudden turn in tone in Billy's voice that he was slowly catching on.

Perhaps he had made a mistake in coming to see Billy, but Eli wanted to see his plan through.

"I know everything, and cake before bedtime will rot your teeth and your brain." He happily added, "And it seems there's hardly any brain left in that head of yours."

The slight blush that came across Billy's face was satisfying for Eli to see.

"What do you want from me?" Billy asked begrudgingly.

"I want to be sure that you'll keep your mouth shut and quit bothering those siblings."

"I haven't been bothering them!" Billy shouted.

"The girl beside them is included in the deal."

"Crybaby Cheryl?"

Eli nodded and replied, "Yes, her."

"Why? Isn't ignoring the terrible twins enough?"

Despite hearing Billy's ever-growing insulting vocabulary about him and his sister, Eli was more concerned about why he cared about Cheryl.

Esther was the one who was always more concerned about the girl, not him. Perhaps, this was him taking the first step towards becoming a better person.

"It doesn't matter why," he replied emotionlessly. "Just stop being a bully all the time."

"A bully?" squawked the boy. "Just who do you think I am-"

Eli flicked his hand, causing the remaining toys on Billy's desk to fly off and whiz past him.

Eli grumbled as he shook his wrist. He wasn't as skilled at moving objects around as his sister; however, he was proficient in blowing things up. With a swift motion, Eli caused a small explosion behind Billy on his desk.

The little explosion sounded like someone lit a firecracker. Billy jumped and turned around. He could see the smoke coming off his desk and the charred marks on it.

In a deepened villainous voice, Eli said, "This is your final warning." He leaned back and jumped out of the window.

Just like before, Billy rushed over to the window and watched Eli disappear into the darkness of the woods.

He was stunned by the strong feeling of deja vu until his mother began to shout at him, curious as to what the loud noise from his room was.

After returning, Eli put the coat back on the coat rack and sleepily walked up the stairs. He opened the door to his room and saw Esther sleeping exactly like he had left her.

He looked at the empty spot where he should have been. He knew he could sleep in his own bed now that his mission was accomplished, but for some reason, he felt a sudden emptiness.

With the same level of quietness, Eli snuck back into bed beside his sister. He pulled the comfortable cover back over himself, and with a big yawn, he conceded to his tiredness. This time, when he fell asleep, he had a good dream.