ELLIOT: ELENA I

If the world demands blood from you, it will find me standing in your place; let it break me, let it bruise me, let it ruin me. I would take your place again and again and again, if it means you are spared.

I have a twin sister, her name is Elena. We used to switch our exam papers. It started in middle school. Same handwriting, same answers, same way of circling multiple choice letters. Teachers never noticed. We sat close enough to trade sheets in the few seconds before they were collected, passing them beneath the desk.

When the results were posted on the school bulletin board, the hallway buzzed with noise. Students crowded around, pushing, craning their necks to see the rankings printed on thin white paper.

Rank 1: Elliot River Ashford.

Rank 2: Elena River Ashford.

Until one day, Elena decided not to play along. Father called us into the living room one afternoon. Elena and I stood side by side in front of his desk. He didn’t ask us to sit. He was holding the house phone.

“I just received a call from your principal,” he said. “He told me that Elena submitted a blank exam paper.”

My head snapped toward her.

Blank?

“Why would you do that?” Father’s eyes moved to her. 

Elena didn’t answer immediately. She stared at the floorboards between her shoes, then slowly lifted her chin. “I’m tired, Father.” Her voice didn’t tremble. “I don’t want to live under you forever. I want to go abroad. I want to study somewhere else.”

The word hung in the air like something forbidden.

“Abroad?” A short, humorless laugh left him. “You think you’re capable of surviving outside this house? Outside my guidance? Everything you have is because of me.”

Elena’s hands curled into tight fists at her sides. When she looked up, her eyes were already shining. “You never asked me what I wanted,” she said, but it didn’t come out steady. Her voice cracked and climbed higher. “Not once. You just decided everything for me.”

“I hate standing on that stage. I hate smiling like I enjoy it. It makes me sick. I don’t want it. I don’t want that school, I don’t want acting, and I don’t want this house. I hate everything!” Her eyes were wet now, but she refused to look away. “I’m tired of living someone else’s plan.”

For a second, even the wind seemed to stop. I can see that Father’s expression hardened.

“I do not tolerate disobedient children.” He stood, the chair legs scraped harshly against the floor. Before I could react, his hand shot out and grabbed Elena by the wrist. She gasped as he pulled her toward the hallway.

“Father—” I stepped forward.

He didn’t look at me.

He was dragging her toward the narrow corridor that led to his private room. The room none of us were allowed to enter. The room with the thick wooden door.

“Father, please,” I said quickly, words stumbling over each other. “I’m sorry. Maybe she wasn’t feeling well that day. I’ll talk to her. I’ll discipline her myself. I’ll teach her properly. So please—”

The slap came fast, and the sting spread across my cheek. 

It’s humiliating.

Father’s gaze finally landed on me. “I do not like men who beg.”

Something inside my chest cracked.

“Then don’t hit her!” I shouted, I could hear my own voice shaking. “You promised you wouldn’t hurt her again. Just beat me instead!”

The room went quiet. Father’s grip on her wrist loosened slightly as he studied me.

“Okay,” he said. Just like that. “I’ll do that.”

“No!” She struggled against his hand. “No, Father— don’t!” I forced myself to look at her, her eyes were wide with fear.

Father released her and grabbed my shoulder instead. His fingers dug in, steering me down the corridor. 

Elena lunged forward and caught my sleeve. “Please don’t go,” she whispered. Father shoved her away. She stumbled backward, losing her balance on the wooden floor. Her body hit the ground with a dull thud.

“Stay where you are,” he warned.

He pulled me into the room. The air inside was colder. The curtains were always drawn. The smell of old wood and something metallic lingered in the dark. The door slammed shut and the lock turned.

From the other side, I can hear Elena’s voice broke through the door.

“Elliot! Elliot! Father, please don’t! Please!”

Her fists pounded against the door.

If the world demands blood from you, it will find me standing in your place; let it break me, let it bruise me, let it ruin me. I would take your place again and again and again, if it means you are spared.