You and Landon froze. You could feel your heart suddenly begin to pound, and the pulses radiated into your neck, seemingly stronger that you remembered. For a brief moment, you wondered if Landon and you shared a heart, or if you each had one. A noise from the kitchen made you refocus.
You had not expected anyone else to be home, but your sister's voice was unmistakable. Glancing at Landon, you noted that he seemed to have an identical expression. "I thought we were alone." you whispered.
"We were... I know we were. When did she come back?" Landon answered.
"I don't know, but what do we do?" You whispered the question, but your twin did not have time to answer.
Your sister yelled again, "Bra... Lan..." Her voice was shriller, a clear sign that she was annoyed as no answer was given.
It was obvious she knew someone was home with her, and of course, you and Landon were a safe guess. The creaking of the stairs must have given you away as you climbed down. You and Landon made eye contact for a moment. In that glance, it was almost as if you were having a silent, psychic discussion. Mutually agreeing that there was no point in trying to hide, you and he finally yelled in response, "Yeah."
Your sister then appeared from around the corner of the kitchen. She was holding a butter knife with something brown smeared along the side. "Just making sure it wasn't some burglar or something. Though, you guys would have made the noisiest thieves." She then disappeared back into the kitchen. "You guys want PB and J?"
You and Landon shared a sigh of relief. While you had believed your family remembered you and Landon as sharing a body, it was good to have confirmation. Your brother then whispered with a smile, "So Bra... do you want a sandwich?"
You knew Bra, which sounded like 'Brei', was short from Brandon, but you were not sure how much you liked being called that. "Sure Lan..." You emphasized his nickname, but he did not seem phased by it.
"Your going to make sandwiches for us, that's nice." Landon then said louder, so your sister could hear. You and he then began walking towards the kitchen.
Your sister was putting the two halves of her sandwich together, as you and Landon rounded the corner. Your sister answered, "Nope. But I'll leave the stuff out for you." That was a typical response from your sister. She then sat, out of view, at the able in the adjoining dinning room.
You stopped at the counter, frozen for the second time. The task of making a simple sandwich seemed daunting all of a sudden. You and Landon had barely worked out how to walk in a straight line. "Uh... on second thought, I'm not that hungry." Landon whispered beside you, seemingly having the same concerns.
"I know that is not true." You stated. "I feel hungry, and..." you bit your lip, unsure how to continue it. "You have to feel something, at least a little hunger."
He frowned. "Okay, yes. I do feel hungry, but do you really want to try and make sandwiches right now. Ally is just on the other side of the wall."
Your gaze shifted to the tan colored wall, as if you could see your sister through it. You suddenly regretted not using the wand to get memories of this reality. "We're already here, and it will look weird if we just put everything away."
Your brother sighed in response, but he began helping you make two sandwiches. Landon and you stifled arguments about how to hold the peanut butter jar as he scooped it out with a knife, or how much of each should be on the bread. It ended up being easier than you had hoped, and you had two sandwiches as the finished product.
As you took the small meal into the dining room to eat, your sister still sat at the table with her phone out. As you and Landon sat down, your sister commented, "Two?"
"We're really hungry." You quickly stated, and the answer seemed to satisfy your sister. Though, her question made you wonder. It must have been unusual for you and him to eat separately, even small sandwiches. As you both ate, the rational became clear. You must have shared a single stomach, which was starting to fill.
"Alright, my friends are here." Your sister announced as she jumped up from her chair. "Bye..."
"Wait, clean up your mess." Landon complained, but your sister was already down the hallway. A few moments later, the front door opened and shut.
"Well, she hasn't changed." You commented as you pushed the plate of half-eaten sandwiches away.
“She still leaves us with her messes.” Landon sighed.
Silence fell over you, both lost in thought. You stared at the half-eaten sandwiches, curious about how connected you and Landon were. You broke the quiet, “How much do you think we share?” The question was very broad, but Landon seemed to pick up on what you meant.
“Besides a room…” He smiled, “We at least share a stomach, and maybe an entire digestive tract. But really, it feels like we share… almost everything on the inside.” He touched the center of your chest. “I can’t imagine there is enough room for many duplicated organs.”
You nodded in agreement. “Let’s head back up stairs and… examine… our body.” You could not think of a better way to put it. You wanted to see what you and Landon looked like more closely in a mirror. Did you have the same scars? Did you share sensation anywhere? “There is a lot we don’t know, and I have to admit, I am curious.”
Your twin nodded. “Yeah, me too. But after that, I think we need to add some memories. I’d rather not be caught off guard with Mom or Dad. They might think we are acting strange and take us to the hospital.”
“Agreed.” You said aloud as you and Landon cleaned up the mess from lunch and threw away the unfinished sandwiches. Walking back up to your shared bedroom, you closed the door behind you.