9 Bad Roses (3)

"It's bad," Rayden replied. He held out his hand to Ramona. "Give me a cigarette."

Chuckling, Ramona took a cigarette out of her pocket. "But my lighter's broken," she said as she handed the pack of cigarettes to her twin brother.

Rayden snorted in annoyance. "Ah, forget it."

"Hmmm, alright." Ramona put the pack of cigarettes back into her coat. Then she looked at Rayden. "Tell me what's happening. You look terrible."

"Arthur's assistant just came to see me," Rayden said.

"Oh, I was just talking to your boss," Ramona interrupted.

"Don't cut me off. You asked me to tell you," Rayden protested.

Ramona sighed. She suspected there must be something serious that was making Rayden look uneasy. Her brother had long ago quit smoking and replaced it with lollipops. But suddenly, he was asking for cigarettes again. Rayden wouldn't have done it if it wasn't for something serious. Before his brother could say anything more, she had already discovered something was wrong.

"Oops, sorry. Go on with your story," Ramona said.

Rayden squeezed his brown hair while growling harshly. Ramona, who was sitting next to him, patiently waited until her brother was done venting his frustration.

After a while, Rayden removed both hands from his hair and turned to Ramona. He looked at her as he said, "I got caught."

Ramona narrowed her eyes. "You mean?"

Rayden nodded. "They know I've been attacking the company's servers. Lukas said Arthur wanted to see me in person. Is it possible I'll get fired?"

Rayden's gaze turned pitiable. Ramona shook her head quickly. "He wouldn't be fired you," she said confidently.

"No way. They'll definitely fire me after they find out about my cheating," Rayden said, squeezing his hair back. "If I get fired, I can't help you pay off our parents' debt."

Ramona sighed as she rubbed Rayden's back. Sometimes her brother could be very vulnerable, especially if he was in trouble. Even though Rayden had a brilliant brain, he always had trouble managing his emotions if something he had organized neatly suddenly changed. In the past, he could lock himself away for days to figure out where he went wrong. But as he grew older, Rayden would seek Ramona out if he felt he had made a mistake.

"I'm sure Arthur won't fire you. Easy, bro," Ramona said as she rubbed Rayden's back.

Rayden shook his head. "He'll definitely fire me."

"Use your smart brain, Ray. There's no way Arthur would let go of someone as talented as you. He must have his thoughts on the matter," Ramona said.

"Don't try to cheer me up," Rayden snapped.

"I'm not trying to comfort you." Ramona grabbed Rayden's face and pulled him up so they could stare at each other. "Look at me. Do I look like I'm trying to comfort you?"

Rayden pursed his lips slightly. He looked at Ramona and then shook his head slowly. His twin sister's gaze was so convincing that he thought he might jump off a cliff if she asked him to the right then and there.

"Arthur just came to see me, and he said he was going to set up my meeting with that damn Kai," Ramona admitted.

Rayden immediately pulled his head out of Ramona's grip. "What do you want to do?"

"I can't see that guy smiling and greeting the residents after I found out how sneaky he is," Ramona replied.

"Then?"

Ramona smiled faintly. "I'll do what I want to do with him. I will make him feel a pleasure he will never forget." She chuckled as she turned her attention toward the skyscrapers of Nova City.

"Don't make a fuss, Mona. We have enough problems already." Rayden tried to warn his twin sister. But Ramona seemed to have ignored the warning because her face looked radiant. Rayden knew that behind Ramona's beaming face, the woman was making plans in her head.

"Arthur will probably ask you to join him," Ramona finally said.

Rayden looked back at Ramona with astonishment. "What's going on here? What are you guys talking about?"

"Your boss is gathering people who can help him investigate the bomb explosion two years ago," Ramona replied casually.

"And he came to this place to ask you to join him?" snapped Rayden.

Ramona nodded. "He said everything that happened to our family was on purpose."

"I think he's been reading too many books on conspiracy theories," scolded Rayden.

"No, it's not like that." Ramona shook her head. She then turned to Rayden. "Before you came along, I thought the same thing as you. But what Arthur said makes sense. Everything happened at about the same time."

"I'm sure it's just a coincidence," Rayden said confidently.

"Don't you want to know the truth?" asked Ramona.

"I don't have time to think about things like that. I just want us to pay off our parents' debt," Rayden replied firmly.

"Think again, Ray. I'm sure Arthur has big plans for you."

Rayden shook his head. "I won't listen to what you say this time."

"Whether you listen to me or not is up to you. I want that man to suffer as we did. Somebody needs to give him learning," Ramona said.

"Put that thought away, Mona. Don't get us into trouble. We have enough problems already."

Ramona was silent after hearing Rayden's words. She then laughed as she patted Rayden on the shoulder. "You take it easy. If Arthur really wants help, he won't let me get into trouble."

"What made you so sure? What if he deceives you?" Rayden asked.

"My intuition is never wrong," Ramona replied. She glanced at Rayden.

***