Mr. Marsh’s Twins

Feeling her daughter’s sorrow, Angel’s mother silently shed a tear. She covered her mouth to control her grief, her heart trembling lightly as she quietly put away the mirror. She saw her daughter lying flat like a corpse, tears continuously streaming down her face.

“It will get better, you’ll recover, Angel. The doctors said it just needs time,” Angel’s mother tried to comfort her with a light tone, though her heart was breaking.

Angel could no longer hold back her tears; they flowed uncontrollably. She saw no hope for the future anymore. She knew deep down that she had to leave the entertainment industry; she couldn’t survive there any longer. This time, she was lucky to escape with her life because Spencer showed mercy.

For the first time, Angel seriously reflected on her actions. She regretted how she treated Summer, regretted not recognizing the situation, and regretted not being introspective. She shouldn’t have been jealous of Summer or targeted her because the world is inherently unfair. Once, she too was favored by the crew.

But there is no medicine for regret in this world. Angel closed her eyes in sorrow, feeling utterly hopeless. She had been beaten and couldn’t make a sound or call the police because she was at fault first. With her power, going against Spencer or Mr. Marsh would be like hitting a rock with an egg-it would not only cost her life but also endanger her family.

Spencer returned to his apartment and opened the door several times, looking at the tightly closed door across from him, lost in thought. Agnes had gone to work; only Summer was inside. He wanted to see her but couldn’t find a suitable reason. What would he say when he saw her? Remembering what she said to him last night and how angry she looked made Spencer feel a bit melancholic. But thinking about the yogurt she had Agnes send over last night lifted his spirits somewhat.

In the adjacent room, Summer was in the kitchen making soup with an electric stew pot when suddenly there was a click and the power went out.

“Strange, did it break?” She turned around while washing fruit and noticed that the indicator light was off. The light switch didn’t work either. Her first thought was that they ran out of electricity, but checking on her phone showed there was plenty of credit left. There were no power outage notices in the residents’ group chat either. How could this be?

So she sent a message in the group chat: “Neighbors, has anyone else lost power?”

Three residents quickly replied-no.

Summer took a deep breath and opened her front door, looking at the closed door opposite hers with some hesitation. She felt Spencer should be home and wanted to ask if he had power since they were on the same floor and shared circuits. But yesterday’s events made her suddenly feel too timid to face him.

He must be mad at her, right?

Just as Summer took a step back, ready to give up and close her door, the door opposite opened. The girl looked up and met Spencer’s gaze; both stood still.

They both held their doorknobs as if time had stopped.

Seeing that Summer seemed awkward and unsure of what to do, Spencer spoke first, “The yogurt you sent was very good. Thank you.”

Summer paused for a moment, “You’re welcome.” Then she seemed to say absentmindedly, “Um… did you lose power?”

“No,” he replied. “Did your place lose power?”

“Yes,” she nodded.All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

After a moment of silence, Spencer asked, “Would it be alright if I come in and take a look?”