place the table, doing her best not to look at her mother. Her mother had always been very good at telling when something was up. Saki didn’t want a confrontation tonight. She wanted to eat her dinner and then do what she had to do. Dishing up her food, she gave Maddie a hard time about hogging the pork chops. Saki really didn’t care, but it is what she would have done before all this happened.
When dinner was done, she retreated to her room. She wanted to wait for everyone to settle down before she made her move. Once Maddie had cleared the table and settled in front of the TV, Saki went to take a shower. She lingered under the droplets as long as she could, hoping her mother would be in bed when she got out. Her mother had her own TV in her bedroom and preferred to watch the courtroom dramas no one else liked. That routine would allow at least one cover for her escape.
The other problem, however, was Maddie. With things returning to normal in their household, Maddie had again began to watch TV until late. Of course, Marnie knew about Saki’s plan to escape, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to use one twin to manipulate the other. They were too good at reading each other. Saki decided that she had to be content with the fact that Marnie had kept her secret from Maddie.
Saki left the bathroom wrapped in a towel. Seeing Maddie in front of the television, she paused and sucked her teeth.
“Are you going to be watching TV all night?” Saki asked, not having to feign annoyance.
“I just wanted to watch this show,” Maddie replied with surprising defensiveness.
Saki had to choose her next words carefully. She needed Maddie to go to bed, and if she complained about the volume or choice of program, Maddie would simply adjust them.
“This ain’t just your house, you know,” Saki said, headed for her bedroom.
“Did you want to watch something?” Maddie asked softly.
Saki knew that she couldn’t reply. She had to make her sister feel uncomfortable. She had to make her feel so uncomfortable that she would lock herself in her room. It wasn’t very nice, but her sisters had done far worse to her.
With the towel still around her, she entered her bedroom and sat on her bed. She couldn’t change quite yet. She had to wait for the living room to be cleared. She retrieved her best pair of clean underwear from a drawer and put them on. With the towel removed she saw that the hairs on her legs were beginning to grow back. She considered shaving them but decided that she didn’t have the time. Besides, they weren’t that bad.
She was standing in nothing but her panties when her bedroom door to the living room opened. Throwing her hand over her bare breasts, she turned toward Maddie.
“What, you can’t knock? How would you like it if I just busted into your room?” She yelled.
“Why don’t you leave me alone,” Maddie protested.
“Go where you’re going.”
Maddie picked up her pace, crossing Saki‘s room to her bedroom door. Saki did feel agitated. However, she couldn’t ignore the good feeling bubbling up inside her. Sure she had scared off her sister, she decided to go without a bra. Pulling on a pair of jeans, she reached for her emerald green T-shirt with the pocket on the breast. She imagined what it would feel like to have Lane pull it off of her and what it would look like on the ground. She liked the images.
Saki looked up at the clock that glowed in the dim bedroom light. It was 8:45, and it would take her more than 15 minutes to get there. Slipping on her cute sandals, she brushed her hair, listened once more for the twins, and switched off her light.
The living room was dark except for the light shining in from the street lamp. Crossing the room, she unlatched the door, stepped through, and closed the door behind her.
Free of her house, the next thing she had to worry about was whether Dax was watching her. She knew she looked suspicious. If confronted, Saki would have no explanation.