"Wake up, sleepy head," said a cheerful Kyle Roper to his snoring sister Audra. Living next door with a key to her place, he often visited unannounced…like this morning.

Audra stirred in her canopy bed, then slowly opened one bloodshot eye. "Is it morning already?" she asked, releasing a Wild Turkey and Coca Cola scented yawn.

"Wooo…weee…" said Kyle as he waved the noxious fumes away from his face. "I’m glad you’re on vacation so you can sleep late. What time did you bad girls leave the bar?"

"One hour after closing," she said rolling onto her back and pushing her long chocolate-colored hair from her mascara-streaked face. "I feel like crap."

"Maybe sooo…but if you’re gonna take Mom to the hairdressers, ya got less then an hour to shower and make it on time."

"Eight a.m. is too early to be getting a perm. What’s wrong with that sweet mom of ours?"

"She’s an early bird, unlike a pair of twins I know," he said pulling back the covers to reveal his sister’s Asian inspired silk pajamas. "I gotta go. I’ll call ya later." He then left the room as Audra reluctantly rose from her bed.

Immediately she felt a severe pain in her abdomen and cried out, alerting her brother just before he reached the front door. He raced to her side and found her kneeling on the floor, holding her stomach with both hands. "Audra, what’s wrong?" He lifted her petite body onto the bed. "Do you need an ambulance?"

Her face twisted in agony. Each word was a struggle to release. "Lisa! Lisa!" She sobbed, horrifying her big brother.

"What about Lisa?" He shook her to get a response.

"Lisa," she whispered before fainting. Kyle was shaking with the realization his other sister needed help. He grabbed the nearby telephone from the side table and frantically dialed Lisa’s number.

On the third ring, his brother-in-law Doug Smalley answered. "Hello," he said with a grumpy tone. JoAnne Myers

2

"Doug, I need to talk to Lisa," Kyle said with urgency.

There was a moment of silence. "Do you know what time it is? She’s asleep. She didn’t get in till after four. She’s dead to the world."

"Well then…tell her ta call me or Audra as soon as she gets up," said Kyle. "Don’t forget, Doug."

"When could I ever forget my in-laws?" The line went dead.

"Bastard!" said Kyle before returning the receiver to its base.

At that moment, Audra regained consciousness. "I need to call Lisa."

"Don’t bother. I already did, and she’s asleep."

"Your stomach feeling better? How’s your head?" he asked, sitting down on the bed next to her.

"Can you get me two aspirins from the bathroom medicine cabinet?" Her older brother obliged. He returned shortly with the tablets and a glass of water. Audra swallowed the pills and liquid then said, "Something has happened. I can feel it. Like when we were kids and Lisa or me got hurt…"

"And one twin felt the other twin’s pain?" he said, finishing the explanation.

"Yes! It was just like that…but much worse."

"Doug promised to tell Lisa I called."

"So you didn’t talk directly to Lisa?"

"No, but you and I both know it’s not just alcohol Lisa is prob’ly on."

Audra rebelled at her brother’s accusations against their sister. "So you believe Doug’s lies about Lisa using drugs?"

"Don’t forget I had a drug addiction once. I know the signs of a heroin addict. When Lisa calls you, make it clear to her that she needs to get help if she wants custody of the kids in the divorce."

"If Lisa loses those kids, she’ll just die."

"And that’s exactly why she must get help. I gotta go," he said, kissing Audra on the cheek and leaving.

After hearing the front door shut, she remembered her previous obligation. "Oh crap! Mom!" She jumped off the bed and into the shower.

* * * *

Audra spent the next five hours with her beloved sixty-year old widowed mother. They spent the afternoon getting their hair done, shopping and eating cheeseburgers, and fries at the local Dairy Queen and washing everything down with chocolate milkshakes. When all was said and done, Audra dropped her mother off at her senior housing unit. She then drove straight to Lisa’s house which sat on the outskirts of the deserted coal mining town of New Straitsville, population 744. Wicked Intentions

3

She parked directly in front of the small two bedroom single story house. She saw both Lisa and Doug’s vehicles and hoped the two were amicable with one another that day. Their marriage had been rocky for the past year, and only recently had Doug agreed to a divorce and Lisa retaining custody of the couple’s two young boys. Doug was bi-polar though and changed his mind faster than a revolving door, just to give Lisa a hard time.

After a deep breath to relieve tension and work up her nerve, Audra exited her pick-up and approached the faded white wooden fence that surrounded the once manicured lawn. As she walked up the sidewalk leading to the porch, she thought of how Lisa had prided herself in keeping the yard faithfully mowed and the flower bed weeded. But for the past six months, Lisa had paid little attention to her home and family and more to her mysterious night life and peculiar new friends that Audra had inadvertently heard about through former classmates. Could Doug be correct about Lisa’s alleged drug use, Audra wondered? The thought frightened her.

She knocked on the solid wood door out of respect. Before, when Lisa and Doug were happy, Audra and other family members never needed to knock when visiting. Now though, Audra and her mom felt uncomfortable and sometimes even intimidated when visiting Lisa and the children while Doug was present. At times, his dark eyes burned holes through his future ex-in-laws. Today was the first time Audra and Doug would speak in the past two months. She was not looking forward to the meeting and sweat profusely as she waited for the door to open.

Soon she heard heavy footsteps and knew Doug was approaching. She thought that odd if Lisa was home. Everyone who knew Doug knew he hated answering the door or telephone. He was the Neanderthal type when it came to entertaining. He insisted Lisa tend to any guests and be his round-the-clock maid. Once Doug’s work day was over, he never left the recliner until bedtime. Lisa even ran his shower or bath water, along with picking out his night wear, gathering his towel and getting the temperature just right for his large frame.

Audra wiped the sweat from her brow and dried her palms on her jeans as the door cracked open to reveal an unshaved and seemingly un-bathed Doug from the smell coming out of the small opening. "Hey, Doug, is sis home?"

He yawned wide and said. "No. She and my mom went to town for groceries."

"Could I come in and wait?"

He hesitated momentarily. Audra found that odd also. "Is there some reason I shouldn’t come in?"

"No," he said, opening the door wide and stepping back to allow Audra to enter. JoAnne Myers

4

She smiled extra big and entered. Once inside, she was shocked at the mess. "Did ya have a wild party I wasn’t invited to?" She then forced an awkward laugh which made Doug uncomfortable because he squirmed where he stood.

"Ahhh….no. Jest some guys over for cards and beer when you girls were out last night. I’ll help Lisa straighten up when she gits back."

Audra moved about the room, wondering what the hell happened. She knew Lisa was an immaculate housekeeper, but…she was pre-occupied these days. Maybe due to the stress of the upcoming divorce Lisa was too downhearted to clean house. Or perhaps Doug