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Intro

Our story begins in ThorneVille, home to high school sweethearts, junkies, elites, jocks, outcasts, drama, queen bee's, and secrets. Just about anyone is qualified to live in our town. If you lie, if you cheat, if you make people miserable, just come join us and you'll fit right in no grand entrances just enter, sit and listen and make a decision.

I suggest before you start reading this you grab a drink, sit yourself down and clear your schedule because I'm about to take you on a hell of a ride. Prepare yourself mentally and emotionally. Let's begin with the day my life was flipped upside down, the day where sleep was the last thing on my mind. September 23, 1999. I truly believe my life has been a roller coaster that went up once and has been going down for an eternity.

"The victim was just identified as Alessandra Torrez from Northridge Valley, Alessandra was found mutilated at 3:35pm near Northridge river it's presumed that- "

"Lillyth I'm home" I struggle to find the remote, I'm always misplacing it whether it's under the cushions or placed on the coffee table in front of the couch. The thing is, that it'll never be in reach when it's truly needed.

He can't watch this it'll set him off balance. I jump off the couch and run towards the TV to shut it off, fortunately with my clumsy characteristics kick in and I manage to pull the coffee table out of place, spilling water all over the floor. It's ironic that my coffee table has never actually ever been used to hold coffee.

"Can you hand me the mop?" I wait at the corner of the living room doorway that lead into the kitchen. "yeah here" he hands me the mop and goes back to rustling through his bookbag, he seemed distracted, but it was a normal thing. I clean up the water spill and grab the cup taking it with me to the kitchen.

"How-" I walk up to the kitchen sink and before I can even finish my sentence he interrupts me.

"It was good, we have a new French girl in our class, her name is Sarah. She has a translator that's always hovering around her because she can't understand English." - "I knew you were going to ask."

"Wrong I was going to ask if we should order something to eat."

"I was just heading out Anthony asked for me to come over" there was a brief pause but he continued "If you want I can-" nothing seemed off to me when he paused for no reason, it was a tendency of his ever since he was little.

"No, its fine, Go. Ill order Chinese" I pick up a random flyer on the counter and skim through it.

"are you sure? I mean I can stay and tell him maybe some other time" He was hesitant to go, and I wasn't going to let him back down, he needed to have a social life he always seemed to be cooped up in a corner of the house.

"David Go enjoy yourself, you won't be 16 for a lifetime, you deserve it. You work so hard, Go. Just don't do drugs" I smile at him.

"Fine, bye Lyll, see you later"

"Bye David, be safe. I love you" I yell as he walks out the door slamming it behind him. That was the last time I seen him. I didn't ask what was wrong, he was distant and I kept pushing, its my fault he didn't come home that night.

For 3 months I was in and out of the police station hoping to get some news but algo with hope my heart also got shattered. I barley ate I barley slept, I was out of the norm. I stayed in my room all day sitting up against the wall wondering where he was, who he was with, and if he would ever come back. Did I treat him wrong? Did I not raise him right? These questions lingered in my head, never to be answered.

"How did you not find a person, it's been 3 months. He couldn't've fell off the earth; it's not possible, is it?" I've been ranting, screaming, and crying about the same 3 things for the past half hour. Everyone looks at me like I'm crazy.

"WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?!"

I yell at a couple who've been looking at me for a while now. I understand why their eyes are glued on me, I sound completely, and entirely insane, I don't blame them.

"Ma'am follow me this way" a police officer gestures for me to follow him down a corridor. I stand up off the hard-wooden chair with minimal to basically no padding at all. I follow the tall, dark haired man not knowing anything I'd encounter when I walk in the room I've been through this many times an officer brings me into a room, an officer enters tells me th eres nothing that's come to light, and I go on about my day sulking, crying, and growing mad with each passing second. But today, today I felt a different vibe when he called my name, his voice was low he averted eye contact it was all different.

"Can you tell me if its good news or the other one?" I ask desperately. "I'm not at the liberty to say" He says avoiding eye contact at all costs. Dreadfully I enter the room when we reach the dark black door that resembled an abyss of nothingness. As I walk in I'm greeted by not one but four other police officers.

Question; why so many officers?

Answer: Moral support for bad cases, or unsettling news that'll hurt me.

"How are you Miss Villega?" greets me the second I close the door behind me, simultaneously they point at the chair for me to sit at; their weird sync motion terrifies me and creates a wave of curiosity which takes over me.

"The waiting is torture. I wait for him hours on end, I want him to walk through the door and say I'm sorry Lyll I needed some time for myself, I promise I'm better now. What hurts the most is knowing it might never happen. But I still wait- so YOU tell me how I'm doing" I sit down and an uncomfortable wave of silence settles in, taking hostage every sound in the room. It feels as if the room got quieter and quieter with each passing second.

"well?" I ask and all the sounds rush back into the room the same way children run to their mother when they've fallen off a bike. A police officer sits down beside me and tries to avert eye contact.

"I'll be straight forward with you-" he looks around at another police man who nods at him. He proceeds "we found a male body down in the river- we have reason to believe it may be your brother; David." I stare at the blank walls I have nothing to say. I don't want to believe it's true, not my David he was always careful. This can't be happening.

"Oh" is all I mumbled. I didn't want to speak, I wanted to run home and never leave my protective bubble.

"We have a picture we'd like you to see; do you mind clarifying if that is David? We understand if you-" I interrupt him

"I'll do it" I feel my heart getting heavy, my palms are sweaty. I feel the same exact way someone would feel on the tilt a world at the state fair for the first time, I feel my breakfast trying to get back up; but I won't let it.

"Are you sure?" he asks me, I want to say no but my curiosity gets the best of me, before I knew it I nodded at him. I didn't want to do it I really didn't, but what if was my David. After all he is or was my brother who better to ID him than his own flesh and blood. My curiosity took over my fear leading me to nod. The police officer at the far-left corner walks over to me with a laptop she sets it down in front of me opened.

The picture that I saw will haunt me forever, with a few clicks to the right were 7 more pictures, each more gruesome than the last. The pictures provided an insight to an actual horror movie. Imagine walking into a butcher shop; all the meat hanging, cut, and tied, that's what happened here only that he was thrown on the floor. His torso and face were slashed open. The beautifully complicated rope pattern decorated his toned neck, under the beautifully lined pattern that strangled his neck there were burn marks as if the rope became an illuminous device and this poor child became the handle to control it. The fire must've been put out before it burned his face because there were no other burn traces on his body that were visible until the last picture.

He was treated like a piece of meat.

"Th- That's not my David" stumbled out as I held back tears. "That's not my David" my tears were like a cascade falling down my face I cried out of relief but I felt bad for this kid. What did he do to deserve this. I just started at the walls waiting for someone to say something, someome to help me make sense of this, but sadly no one did.