Tap, tap, tap. The soft knocking on the door.
Laurie pulled herself up from the sofa and glanced in the mirror. What a mess. She had let herself go during lockdown, not that she had made much effort beforehand. She took another swig from the vodka bottle and tried to flatten her hair. She adjusted her bra and pulled up her top, then staggered towards the front door.
Tap, tap, tap.
‘Alright. What d’you want?’
She couldn’t make out the words in the feint reply that came from behind the door, but through the drunken fog a memory struggled to break through.
She threw the door open, then leaned against it to keep herself upright as the drink and shock hit her in a single wave.
‘Hey Laurie.’ Her twin sister Ellie stood on the doorstep. Laurie took a moment and registered her appearance. She seemed small and weak and shrunk, huddled in a coat that was too big for her.
‘You look like shit.’
Ellie looked back at her, ‘Speak for yourself.’
No one spoke for a moment.
‘You come here for any reason? What’s it been, five years?’
‘I’ve got liver cancer. Best option is a transplant from a suitable donor. Guess who the best chance of being a suitable donor is.’
‘Your identical twin,’ Laurie slurred and laughed. ‘You really want a piece of my liver, huh?’
‘You’re my best shot.’
Laurie took a deliberately long swig from the vodka bottle. ‘Well, I wouldn’t want to do anything that might jeopardize that, would I?’
Ellie swayed. The elevator was out of order and getting up the stairs had exhausted her. Years of hurt and estrangement stood between them over the threshold of the doorway. She had to breach that barrier.
‘Can I come in?’
‘Knock yourself out.’ Laurie stood aside and let her enter.
Written for #FOWC, hosted by Fandango on his blog This, That and the Other. Today’s prompt word was: Jeopardize. Click on the link to read contributions from other writers.
And for the Three Things Challenge, hosted over on Pensitivity101’s blog. Each prompt has three words to incorporate into a piece of writing. This week’s words are: TAP, HURT and TWIN. Follow the link to see what other writers came up with.
IAIN KELLY 
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