The Fault in Her Scars [DISCONTINUED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE]

[16]

"Demi, Deanna. Deanna, Demi."

I smiled at the girl standing before me. "Hi, Deanna. You have a very pretty name."

"You have a very pretty everything," Deanna suddenly blurted out, then blushed.

Okay, wow.

Suddenly, from behind me, Dani rushed forward and pounced onto Deanna. "Monster!" she was shrieking. "You're a monster!"

"What the.." I pried Dani off Deanna, restraining her in my arms. "Bad girl, Danielle, bad girl!" I faced Deanna. "I'm so sorry, Deanna. I don't know what happened.."

"It's okay." Deanna smiled.

I held Dani up. "Apologize."

"No!" She screamed. "She's evil! Monster!"

Embarrassment burned deep inside me. "Say you're sorry! She's not a monster!"

"Demi, really, it's oka-"

Deanna was cut off by Dani's shrieking. "She's a monster! She's going to kill all of us!"

Rolling my eyes, I pulled out a amall spray container from my pocket, looking apologically to Deanna before spraying her with it.

I wrestled Dani to the couch. "She's clean, all right? Did you see that?"

Dani went silent. "Okay." Then she ran into her twin's arms, relenting as quick as she'd sprang forward.

I led Deanna to the couch. "I'm really sorry, Deanna."

"No, it's fine." She gave a giggle. "I really love your hair."

"Aww, thanks. I love yours. Are those from my extension line?"

Something plastic thudded onto my lap, and Dani hollered, "No thanks!"

I grimaced as I chucked the phone case back. Where she found one left me clueless. "She's just jealous," I reassured Deanna. "She doesn't like when I talk to other people.. Anyway, so, your extensions?"

"Yeah, they're from your line." Deanna touched her hair. "I adore them."

"Would you mind if I.. If I touched it?"

"No, oh my God, be my guest."

I ended up braiding her hair. We laughed at my failure for a good few minutes before I took it down.

Dani hadn't interrupted our converation one since, and I was beginning to think we were safe, when she came up to me, pouting, and begun whispering in my ear.

Basically, she told me -repeatedly- that Deanna was evil, only now there was a twist to it. Apparently, Deanna was sent to Earth by the group of aliens that her alien friends were having a war against, and her main mission on Earth was to take me away from Dani and then 'vanquish' the both of us.

I sighed in response. "Dani, darling, I'm your Mommy, now, remember? Not Deanna's. Yours."

"Sure?"

"Yes, baby, I'm positive."

Dani got off me only to fling her arms around me as she threw an angry look Deanna's way. "Okay, Mommy, I'll go play," she said loudly, as a warning to Deanna to back off, I supposed.

It was adorable, though, how she called me 'Mommy', even though it was part of what she thought to be a cunning plan. Even more so that it was directed to me and not her monster of a biological mother.

When Dani returned to her sister's side, who, by the way, was busy playing around on her phone like a normal teenaer, Deanna leaned forward. "It doesn't seem like she likes me a lot."