"Wait, I know you."

Polly stared into the eyes of the same boy that sat at the table all those years ago when she was still in the camp. It was the same boy whose name she forgot but remembered how Tanner had called him his brother.

He was Minny's twin. Lennard.

He looked like Minny, with floppy dark hair and a grin that looked equal parts sinister and powerful. His presence was separate from Minny in the way that it was obvious Lennard was not a good guy. He was mischief and danger and a trick of the eye. Polly immediately didn't trust him.

"Is it weird? That I look just like Benny boy?"

Polly shook her head because it wasn't all that weird. Yes, he looked like Minny. But, he was different. His stance, his tone of voice, and his facial expressions were all wrong. His body may have looked identical to Minny, but it was the mannerisms that made him easy to identify.

"Minny shaved his head." Was all Polly supplied.

"I know. My father is an idiot, and my brother is an even bigger one. But, less about that, and more about why you're here."

Tanner pressed a hand into Polly's lower back, but it felt like a protective gesture. Polly didn't like it, not one bit. Her hatred for Tanner ran deeper than any apology could fix, and she didn't trust him. Not yet. Probably not ever.

"Let's talk about that human." Polly's finger sought out the girl on all fours. "What is her deal?"

Lennard piercing glare met Polly. He moved towards the girl and picked her up, cradling her like she was his daughter. But, Polly knew that the girl was older than she appeared, and she knew their relationship was not that of a father and daughter.

"She is a member of this household, and you will respect that." His tone was hard, icy. It was clear how protective of the girl he was, to the point where Polly began to wonder if she was his girlfriend.

"Alright. I won't ask about the fox, either. Let's just get to the point. Why did you put that letter in my locker? With the rat. I'm not afraid of rats."

Lennard put the girl down, then pulled out a chair to sit in. He looked almost regal with his pressed suit, his styled hair, and his glass of liquor. He brought the cup to his mouth and tossed back the drink.

"I'm well aware of that. The rat was in your locker not for you, but for Minny. I knew you two were already friends, and so I knew you would tell him about it. And I was hoping my brother would use his brain for once to deduct that I was behind the letter. The rat is an inside joke between us."

"An inside joke? I'm not some game, okay? That note was terrifying!"

"And also a way for you to go running to Minny, who would sweep you into his arms to protect you. Too bad you like girls, because Minny is quite a catch."

Tanner's hand on her lower back clenched into a fist.

"You need to relax, Polly. Come, sit down. I have a proposition for you."

The word no burned in the back of her throat, begging to be said, but she pushed it down and grabbed a chair instead. She felt sick to her stomach, as though she knew what a mistake she was making. It was quite a large mistake to be making, if it ended with her dead.

"Why was my sketchbook here?" Her tone was accusatory, but she felt it fitting.

Lennard leaned back in his chair, grinning. It was devilish, and not all that welcoming. It was all trouble, and no friendliness.

"My darling Polly, the sketchbook was a plan to lure you here. Fortunately, my brother brought you here anyway, so I don't need to use it anymore. It was going to be a harmless way to approach you. Think nothing of it."

His words sounded fake and sugary soft. Like Tanner, he was a smooth talker, the son of a politician. He was well groomed, but was not a good person. He was a slippery as a snake, and Polly was well aware of that. His words said he had no ill intentions with the sketchbook, but Polly felt differently.

"So, why do you need me so badly? What is up with this family? Why do all of you need me?" She wasn't thinking of Minny when she said the words, and then she immediately felt horrible for saying them. Minny had never wanted anything from her but friendship.

Lennard didn't catch her mistake. "You, my darling, bring together my family. Tanner is freakishly obsessed with you. Minny is a close friend. And my father wants to see you dead. You're the thing that brings everyone together. And I need everyone together."

Polly regarded him with serious eyes. His grin made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end, but she remembered him all those years ago, at the dinner table. He may have been rude, but he had warned her. Back then, him telling her to listen to his brother had felt like a splash in her face. A threat. But now, it felt like a warning for her safety.

If Lennard had truly cared enough to warn her against his insane older brother, than perhaps he wasn't as evil as Polly originally felt.

"Why do you need everyone together?"

"Polly, you've been left in the dark for far too long. Tanner never owned that camp you went to, my father did. My father was the one who accepted those who went in. My father decided who was ready to come out. And my father played Tanner like a puppet. My father is now running for governor, and he wants to fix all you little freaks, as he put it. I know you're a smart girl, and I know you know what that means. All people like you will be thrown into conversion camps. Possibly even killed. Are you listening to what I'm saying?"

Polly felt sick to her stomach all over again as her mind processed the information. "He has a good chance of winning, doesn't he?"

Lennard shared a sad smile. "He's going to win, unless someone stops him. I want to stop him, Polly. Minny wants to stop him. Tanner wants to stop him. We can all stop him, but I needed everyone on board. And where you go, both Tanner and Minny follow."

Polly felt dread run up her spine, cold as ice and just as painful. She knew what this would mean for her, for Kenzie. While Tanner's camp was not in her current state of residence, she knew that the Higgins family did live here.

"What is your plan?"

Lennard stood up, adjusting his suit. To the girl, he whispered something in her ear, and she scampered off. Then, he looked at Polly and Tanner. "Tanner's going to be running against him. And I need you to be the face of his platform, to protect those who are just like you."

Polly stood up with him, frantic. "First, you can use the word gay. Second, my preference towards women is not public information. I don't think I want the entire state knowing I'm gay. I'm not ashamed, but I'm also not ready for that. For all my classmates to know." She knew what would happen. She would be bullied. She would be torn down. She would be called a freak of nature.

She would be first on the list to be shipped off to another conversion camp.

"Polly, please. Think of the greater good, here. If you're the spokesperson, people will realize that you're an actual person. Not a freak. Not a myth. You're real, and you have real feelings, and you're adorable in the way that no one would want to hurt you."

Polly felt bile in her throat as she flinched away from Tanner. "No one wants to hurt me, huh?"

Lennard placed a hand on Polly's shoulder, turning her towards him. He was patient, but serious. "Polly, Tanner hurt you because he was in love with you. He also believed that his mother died because she was gay. He wanted to save and protect you in the only way he knew how. Bad parenting leads to bad children, but he's trying to fix himself. He's trying to come to terms with what he's done."

Polly didn't particularly care that he was trying to fix himself. Tanner still ruined her like no one else could. He tortured her for years. He made her hate herself for who she was. And now, it was his brother coming clean for him. He wasn't the one explaining himself. Lennard was.

"No one will vote for him. He's a torturer, and he was a part of the camp. Even if your father owned it."

Lennard shook his head. "Not if Tanner was a minor when he started working at the camp. Tanner was forced to be the face of the business, and because he was a minor, he didn't have a say. We're using that against my father. Also, because my father owns the camp, Tanner technically can't be traced back to it. Also, all the victims of the camp don't live here, except for you. I've been keeping track of them throughout the years. So no one to vote against Tanner for that."

Polly felt like this was a slippery slope. Tanner was not a good person. He had done horrible things to others. And now he wanted to become governor? Polly didn't buy it.

She looked at Tanner. "Do you even know how to be a governor?"

"I'm the son of a politician. I studied history in school. I know plenty about being a governor."

"School? When did you have time to go to school between running a camp and being a priest?" Her tone sounded snotty and rude, but she couldn't help it. She couldn't picture Tanner going to college, being a normal student, doing his homework and partying with the guys.

"Fortunately for us, I took night classes and online courses. But I did graduate."

She turned back on Lennard. "Why should I trust you? You ran out on Minny." She hated that this boy had brought so much pain to Minny. Minny, the sweet boy who wanted nothing more than to run with his brother. The brother that abandoned him.

"I want to know the same thing."

Polly spun on her heels to look at Minny, then she squealed in delight. She knew she'd just seen him on the car ride home, but she had never felt more excited to see him than right then. He was like her knight in shining armor for saving her.

She wrapped her arms around him tightly. "Thank god you're here."

"Benny boy. Long time no see. I'd love to talk to you without prying eyes. How about we talk upstairs, hmm?"

Minny untangled himself from Polly, his heart melting at her happiness to see him. She was a true friend, one he didn't deserve. Then, he turned towards Lennard, ready to deal with the brother who ran out on him all those years ago.

"Let's." And then the two disappeared up the stairs, leaving Polly and Tanner alone in the sitting room with a fox and a crawling girl.

* * *

And so the ever elusive Lennard comes to life

Lennard has been a pleasure to write about up until now, so I hope you all enjoy him

He's Minny, but badder (;

What do you think about Tanner being governor? Will it work?

Happy Friday my Skeleton children!

Love you all, XOXO