What Are the Odds?

Alabama was in the rearview mirror and the cold November wind prevented them from opening the window to help with the overbearing cigarette smell in the seats. It stunk like Uncle Shane and he was tired of remembering him. They had to pass the exit to the mountain an hour ago and neither of them so much as looked at the exit sign as they drove by.

"When we're rich, we can get a new car and throw this one away. I hate it. I hate him. Even dead, I hate him."

Areli was looking out the window and kept her hands in the front pocket of new pink hoodie. There was no heat in the car and the four hour drive from Montgomery left his fingers cold on the steering wheel. He wanted a warm room and a place to sit down and eat but he wasn't stopping until they made it to Knoxville.

"How much longer until we get there? I really want to see Dara. I'm so scared something bad has happened."

Dara was put in a home for women per a court order after she'd been removed from the group (

It's a cult, Hez. Stop denying it

) and was pretty much stuck there until she turned 21, but they had a plan and an attorney to help.

"We're close to Chattanooga so just a few more hours to Knoxville. She's fine. Meredith called to check on her," Hez replied.

"Meredith sure did help us, uh? We have a place to stay for a while, a bank account, phones, and we can save Dara. She said Frank would have our IDs soon too. We'll be set, won't we, Hez?"

"Yea, the three of us. We'll be set. I'm going to make us a lot of money. I promise."

"I love you, Hez. We're going to be together forever. You and me and Dara." She moved over and wrapped her arms around his and kissed his cheek before she moved her braid over her shoulder and laid in her lap like a long blonde rope. She said something about cutting the split ends when they got some money but he didn't know what that meant. Her long hair was beautiful to him.

"I love you too. I can't wait for some more alone time tonight in the mountains. Frank said there was a hot tub there."

"Do we have to wear bathing suits since it's just us?"

"I don't guess, but we wouldn't be able to keep our hands off of each other."

"Like we can anyway." She bit his ear lobe. "Want to see something?"

"I'm driving so I'm not sure."

"Of course, you're sure. Look." She sat back against the door and pulled up her hoodie showing a skin toned see through bra. Her puffy nipples pressed against the mesh fabric and he was instantly hard.

"Stop or I'm going to get in a wreck."

She laughed and pulled her hoodie back down. "I'll let you look at them later then, but I thought my bra was pretty."

"Well, as much as I like seeing you in your underwear, we need to figure out how we handle this with Dara."

"That's easy, we tell her."

"You think that is a good idea?"

"Yea, I'm not hiding us from her or anybody anymore. She's one of the few people that even know we're twins. I'll talk to her. She is going to live with us and we'll be a family."

"Odd family."

"We're odd people. None of us have anyone else now. I'll worry about Dara. You worry about the cards."

"We're going to make it, Areli. I promise."

"Hez, this isn't just on your shoulders. We're together. You're my man now and I'm your girl. Once we get Dara, the world can fuck off."

That was new. Over the last few days she'd taken to fighting any pretext hinting that anyone could stop them and started being assertive. Her fear wasn't gone, but she was controlling it.

"What do you know about where the cabin is?" Hez asked.

She'd been playing on their new phones so she pulled it out to show him some pictures. The town was touristy and busy during the summer and Christmas season. Snow was a problem if he had to get out of the cabin to work but he didn't figure he would have a normal job and he didn't want Areli to have to work unless she wanted to. He didn't know about Dara.

"The towns are Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. Lots of restaurants and there is a casino at the top of the mountain that we can go to once we get our ID's. If Frank can convince them we are 21."

"He will."

"I don't trust him, Hez."

"Me neither, but Meredith with beat his ass if he doesn't do us good."

"I know, but he is shady. We'll need to be careful."

"You need to learn to drive too so we can make sure you and Dara can have girl time together." He wanted to distract her from focusing on Frank. She really didn't like him.

She smiled at him and came back over to wrap her arms around his.

"Thank you for caring about Dara. I know you do it because it's important to me. That means a lot. You're the best."

He enjoyed her on his arm and focused his eyes on the road as they passed through Chattanooga on their way to Dara.

___________________________________________

Knoxville was a busy city. There was a football game coming up the next day so the roads were packed and the color orange was everywhere. The new phones helped them navigate better but the gameday traffic was a pain.

"What kind of game are they playing tomorrow, Hez?"

"Football. I saw it once. It looks fun."

"Can we go watch it?" She asked.

"I don't know. We can try but I don't know nothing about it. We'll try it on TV first."

"Sounds good. We have a lot to learn so we may as well start and it's 'We don't know anything about it'. We need to practice our grammar every day. Don't forget." She patted his leg as she talked.

"I won't, but I think we're here."

The "home" looked like an old school. Solid brick with pull out windows and a parking lot that was as overgrown as it was broken. Nothing about this building said, "home". Areli was tearing up.

"Come on, Areli. We have to be strong. Show her we aren't scared. It will help her. No crying right now."

"This place looks like the compound. She has to be terrified. Let's just take her and run Hez."

"And then what? Run forever? We wait and we make her understand. We can't screw this up. C'mon."

She nodded even if unconvinced.

He parked as well as he could on the uneven pavement and took Areli's hand before they walked in the building. They were met by a woman in scrubs who had no interest in them.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes ma'am. We're here to see Dara."

"Dara who? We have last names in this building."

"We have 'em out here too, but I figured you'd know who I meant." Areli wasn't having it today.

"Dara Marshall," Hez said, stepping in.

"Are you a family member?"

"No. She doesn't have any family." Areli cocked her head as she responded.

"Well, you need permission to see her."

Hez pulled out a folder. "The attorney who sent her here said we could see her. Here, I have this." The document looked pretty official so he hoped it would be enough.

"It isn't notarized but I don't want to argue. My show's coming on. Go through the door. You'll be searched and then you can go to the visitor's area and wait."

"Searched? Is this a prison?"

"I don't need your sass, young lady."

"My what?"

"Thank you, ma'am." Hez grabbed her and moved the door. He whispered, "Don't fight back. Not right now. They won't let us see her if we cause a scene." She was not happy and her red cheeks showed she was close to blowing up.

"When we get her out of here, I'm going to burn the fucking place down. They put her in prison." Hez walked her through the door after they were buzzed in and then led her through several sets of bars. If this was a home and not a jail then he wondered what the difference could be. After moving to a waiting room they sat for close to half an hour before they saw Dara come through the door. She ran to Areli so fast he barely had a chance to look at her. Her red hair was long and straight like Areli's. All the girls had to wear it like that at the compound. It wasn't as long as Areli's but it still went to the small of her back. She was about a year older than them but looked younger. He didn't know if it was the freckles or her big eyes that made him think that. After a long hug she ran to him, kissed his cheek and hugged him tightly as Areli petted her hair.

"I never thought I'd see y'all again. Please take me with you. Please. I can't stay here no more."

"We can't today but we are saving you. We promise." Hez hugged her tighter.

"No, today."

"Let's talk Dara. Come on." Hez tried to push her back but she wouldn't have it.

"No, hugs only. You'll leave me."

"No one's leaving right now. Here, hold Areli's hand." Areli grabbed her waist and pulled her arm from around Hez's neck and walked her over to the pleather sofa that looked as old as the building. Dara was a mess now and looked like a poor small soul sitting on that oversized sofa. She wore a pair of sweats, grey, with slippers and white socks.

"Where are your clothes, Dara? What's with the sweats?" Areli held her as she talked.

"They took the few that I had and gave us these. It sucks here. I don't have any friends. We get to go outside once a day and they always cancel our weekly outings. Please take me with you. Don't leave me here."

"We're working on it. I'll explain later. What happened after the police came to the compound?"

"It was bad. They arrested everybody and some of the men fought back, Ezra too. I told him not to but he said they were after us for our faith. Idiot. They were after us because they were doing illegal stuff. They were all bad, including your parents. There I said it. They were going to sell y'all."

"What?" Hez knew something was going on with the Church when their parents were killed but he didn't know much more than that. Dara was talking crazy though.

"I'm serious. Those men that killed your mom and dad were after Areli, that's why I hid her. Let's just go now, please."

"What happened to Ezra? Where'd they take him?"

She held tighter to Areli. "He's dead. They shot him right in front of me. He had a gun but no bullets and he still pointed it at them."

"You think anyone else is left, Areli?" Dara asked.

"Us. We're all that matters. I don't care who else is there. Fuck them."

"Areli!" Dara was shocked but still held her hand tightly.

"It's fine, Dara. Things are going to change for us. I don't want you to think about Ezra or anyone else from the Church ever again."

They spent the rest of the hour explaining how they were going to get her out in about two weeks. Frank and Meredith were going to drive up and get everything together. Areli and Dara cried when they left and it broke Hez into pieces. She didn't speak for a while after he pulled away from the prison school and battered parking lot and made theri way to the mountains.

"This is too much, Hez. She needs out now."

He looked over at her with her head leaning against the cold window.

"We wait and do it right. Frank said two weeks at the most. Meredith will hold him to it. We can come back on Monday to see her."

The temperature dropped five degrees as they made their way into Pigeon Forge but the weekend traffic had them at a standstill for over an hour as the country scenery gave way to go-kart tracks, putt-putt golf and gaudy store fronts with large wood carved bears covered in lacquer.

"Wow, Hez. Look at this place. It looks like a lot of fun. Maybe we can come do all this stuff when we free Dara?"

Hez smiled as he watched the lights of the town pass in front of her face, caught in an expression of awe. He ran he hand over her braid feeling her hair as they sat at the long red light.

"I like when you play with my hair, baby."

"I like when you call me baby."

She grinned big and jumped over to kiss him before looking back out at the carnival like town. They turned off the main drag before getting into Gatlinburg and made their way up a winding mountain road that strained the Taurus more than once, but finally after the long lines of traffic, met later by the steep mountain roads they arrived to a small cabin. Meredith told them that the cabin was normally rented out to tourists so it was fully furnished and a maid would come by every three days to take care of things. Frank complained about the amount of money they were losing in rental fees but she wouldn't have any of it.

Hez dropped their luggage in the small bedroom and admired the cozy wooden home. There was a tv and a fireplace near a nice sofa with blankets over the back. The wooden walls were adorned with pictures of bears and Dolly Parton and a large bearskin rug sat under a wooden coffee table shaped liked the state of Tennessee. Areli put a bag of snacks on the kitchen counter and smiled as she ran her hand over the wooden table where they'd eat.

"Our first home?"

"I'd be fine if it was always our home. This is really nice, Areli."

"It's pretty. Look, there's a bedroom upstairs for Dara. Meredith said we could stay here as long as we needed, months even, so it's our home for now."

"For now. Let's get a shower and go to bed. I'm beat from that trip. We can get in the hot tub tomorrow and maybe go into town."

"You go ahead. I'm going to look up something on the phone."

Hez really wanted to shower with her but the hot water felt just as good washing over him as he let the long drive go down the drain with it. He knew Areli would worry about Dara until they got her out but he was worried for her now too. Why put her in a place like that? He didn't understand this world but he was going to and he would learn about it with them. He turned off the water and stepped out to see Areli getting undressed. She had her shirt off, showing the see through bra and her unbuttoned jeans revealed the front of her panties that matched it. She caught him looking.

"I look pretty in lingerie don't I?" She pushed her arms together, squeezing her large tits.

"You look pretty in everything." He dropped his towel and pulled her to him, kissing her as he wrapped his arms around her naked waist.

"Here, let me take care of you. I'll be too tired after my shower." She turned around and pushed her ass out towards him as she slid her jeans down her legs. Her skin colored panties were satin in the back and fit snugly on her round ass. She turned around for him to see her pussy peaking through the see through front before she got on her knees and unclasped her bra, freeing her puffy nipples and soft white breasts.

"I've been watching videos, baby." She looked up at him and grabbed his hard cock in her hand stroking it towards her face before she moved her head down and licked his sac, flipping her tongue over the sensitive skin. She then squeezed his cock softly, milking the precum out licking it off the tip.

"You want a blowjob, baby?"

"Yes."

"Do you want your sister to give you a blowjob, Hez?" She looked amazing on her knees, tits out, looking at him, asking permission. This was new. He didn't know what she'd been watching but he wanted her to keep doing it.

"Yes, I want a blowjob. Bad."

She kept her eyes on his and moved her mouth to the tip.

"I like when you tell me to do it. You need to start doing that. Tell me to give you a blow job or to show you my body. Just tell me and I'll do it for you. I'm your girl, now."

She put him in her mouth, letting her soft lips slide down his shaft before she pulled back and stroked his wet cock in her hand. She bobbed her head to match her hand and he looked down her pale white back to her satin panties that had creeped in between her round ass cheeks. He didn't know what turned him on more - her ass, puffy nipples, her blonde bush or the fact that she had no problem with putting his dick in her mouth and he could do whatever he wanted with her. He felt the build up in his groin as the wet sounds from her sucking him filled the bathroom and he reached for her shoulder but found his hand on her head instead. He heard a little moan has his hand touched her hair and he exploded in her mouth.

"Areli, I'm..."

She jumped as the first streams came out of him and she moved her head forward taking him in as he pumped his cock inside her lips and he felt her swallow as he finished. Areli sat back and looked up at him with cum on her lip and smiled as she wiped it off with her hand.

"I really like that baby. It lets me know you're happy and taken care of." She stood up and peeled her panties off, exposing her blonde hair below and kissed his cheek.

"Go lay down and I'll be out soon. I got some stuff for you to look at on my phone." She jumped in the shower and started unbraiding her hair. He couldn't get enough of her. He wanted to be in there with her. Today was the start of everything for them and he didn't want to be apart. He finally grabbed his towel though and headed to the small kitchen table.

Her phone was opened to a restaurant and she'd written several places down that had Hold 'Em tournaments. The prizes were from 50 to 100 dollars split between money and gift cards for restaurants. It wasn't a lot but it would help them if he could win. He scrolled through the sites before he found a porn video still on the phone.

He hit the play button and a girl was teaching how to give a blowjob. Hez felt his groin stir when he saw the woman on her knees sucking the guy's dick while he talked to her.

"Suck that cock, slut. Do you want my cum?"

"Yes, daddy. Cum all over me. I'm your little cumslut."

He held her head and pushed his dick in her mouth while she held his hips. He moaned loudly before pulling his cock out and spraying her face.

"Cum on my pretty face. Cum on me."

Hez stopped the video and his dick was hard again. Is that what Areli wanted? To be treated like that? He thought of her on her knees in front of him again and wanted to run back to the bathroom but he held off to respect her privacy. He sat the phone down, grabbed his book, and went to bed, waiting for her.

Areli came in naked, brushing the kinks out of her long blonde hair. His eyes were trying to be everywhere at once, from her small blonde curls over her pussy to her puffy nipples. He was instantly hard again as he watched her put on a pair of white panties that passed over the dimples in her round ass before coming to a snug fit and then pulling her satin nightgown on after.

"I'm going to get some firewood for tomorrow when I get up. It's cold, baby and you need to keep your girl warm."

"I know how to keep you warm, come here."

She crawled under the covers and moved close to him.

"I have on pretty panties but you were watching me get dressed so you know that. I like turning you on. I'm going to buy lots of pretty things when we are rich so I can show off for myself and for you and Dara. I'm going to be the prettiest bookstore owner in Tennessee."

"You're the prettiest girl in Tennessee."

"I know baby. You look at me like I am so I'll pretend to be when I'm with you. Let's sleep and play tomorrow. I'm so tired. I love you."

She was asleep in minutes.

The buzzing started as he closed his eyes. He normally didn't hear it without the cards but it was there, in the back of his mind, as numbers swam through his head, images of Areli and Dara mixed with them in his mind just before sleep finally took him.

___________________________________

"Look, I'll let you play since you're probably 18 but if I catch you drinking, then you're out." The doorman handed Hez and Areli their papers back. This was the second place that gave them a problem over not having an ID but drinking seemed to bother them more than the gambling.

"We won't drink, sir." Areli had her hair completely free which brought a lot of gawkers but she looked particularly innocent and out of place in the sports bar. The place was loud and he saw a lot of orange for Tennessee and a smattering of purple for the opposing team in tomorrow's game. He was directed to a corner table for the game so he grabbed Areli and weaved through the crowd until he was standing in front of a girl in a black push up halter top that barely contained her large tits.