Call me Isabella. Now you may be wondering right now wanting to ask me "Hey Isabella didn't the description say this is about a boy named Brady?" and you would be right - kinda.
This is Brady's story or as I knew him, Mitch. Mitch was once Brady - or maybe more accurately he was once only Brady. Now maybe he is both. Or maybe he was only Mitch for the brief period he was mine and now, he is once again Brady. You will have decide for yourself.
When I met him, we were on a cruise ship, he was half drowned, unconscious, and in need of a backstory to keep him from being tossed back overboard. It was not a very friendly cruise ship to those without money if you couldn't tell. That night I lied to protect him, and my twin brother Mitch was created. That night also doomed us to be indebted to that company for the rest of our lives. That was a story before our story begins though. Maybe that tale will get told another day. Maybe not. I don't know who would want to read that depressing tale.
This story begins one ordinary night not so long ago. Well ordinary may be a bit subjective. Back then Mitch and I were posing as twins (that lie I told stuck) and working on board a cruise ship. Now I use the term "working" rather loosely. We weren't exactly working on the ship by choice or for pay, but hey it was better than jail or death... right.? That sounds ominous. But maybe not ominous enough. The bottom line was we were practically prisoners on that ship but for me that was the best life had been in a long time. I would have given anything to stay on that ship with Mitch for the rest of my life. Maybe that was naive of me to want. Maybe it was Stockholm syndrome in play. All I know is Mitch saved my life the day I saved his by lying about who he was. That is also a depressing tale that could eventually get told but who would want to hear that one I cannot fathom. Even as someone who has heard most of that tale, I don't know that Mitch will ever fully understand the extent to which he saved my life that day. I don't know that I will ever be able to repay him for saving my life either. They say to repay a life debt you must give them a life but that may not be possible now.
Maybe I ought to explain more but as I said that is a tale for another day, maybe that day will come. for now, why don't you just read on and find out the pertinent parts as you go.
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To set the stage our story starts on a boring Wednesday night which happened to be the last day at sea of a two-week cruise. As a way to keep ourselves sane Mitch and I preferred to think about cruises in reference to the number of nights we would sleep on board a boat since at the end of each passenger period we would get moved to another boat. We always got put on the boat a day before the passengers and taken off the day after the passengers disembark. This time the passengers would stay thirteen nights on the boat so we would sleep fifteen nights on this boat, the S.S. Serenity before getting moved to the next boat (under heavy guard might I add). This was night fourteen.
Back then Mitch would play live entertainment sets in one of the lounges while I waitressed. During the cruise Mitch and I would tailor everything about us to match the theme of the cruise. For example, if it was a couple's cruise Mitch and I would pretend to date. It helps sell the whole love is in the air vibe of the cruise when your performer and waitress are also head over heels in love. It also keeps girlfriends and wives from being quite as crazy about the "pretty waitress looked at my man" if said waitress is blowing kisses to the stage in between orders.
It was always creepy pretending to be in that kind of love though and I hated it. This week had been a family friendly cruise which were my favorite because Mitch and I would pretend to be siblings. Those weeks always felt almost real and made me wish Mitch really was my brother.
The only problem with the weeks we played siblings was Mitch's "vacation girlfriend". We found people liked to play spectator or cupid to young love on cruises so any week where we were siblings Mitch would pick a girl to hang out with and "date". Mitch had one hard rule though, he refused to kiss anyone because he was still in love with his royal advisor's daughter: Mykayla. To help him with this I would help instigate a bunch of "accidental" interruptions anytime his "girlfriend" would try for that first kiss. Most of the time the "vacation girlfriend" wasn't a problem, except the last night. Since she had yet to get a kiss often times his "girlfriend" would show up at our cabin after his last set to try one more time to get a kiss. Which wouldn't be a problem except after the first girl we found out some girls don't take it well when they find out you share your room with your sister. She made a stink causing us to get a beating, reduced food, and the worst chores. After that we learned to have me hide if anyone showed up unexpectedly.
So that night Mitch had just finished his last performance of the voyage, and we were in our room tailoring our act for the next voyage and preparing to be moved to the S.S. Saranda when there was a knock at the door. Without hesitation I hid under the bottom bunk while Mitch went to answer the door expecting to see his "girlfriend".
How wrong that expectation was. Our lives changed that night.