Beacon Hills has been considered my home for the past sixteen years of my life. Like every other town you could find in California, there's a store, a hospital, a park, a school; on the outskirts of town, you could find an old church, an apartment complex, a gas station, a police department, and just about anything else that makes up a town. Beacon County resides directly outside of the Beacon Hill Reserve, a large state forest surrounding the west side of town. Here in Southern California, residents reside in a charming little suburban township. It was the picturesque town. A place any family would consider raising a family. In a way, Beacon Hills seemed almost too perfect.
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My reflection mimicked my actions in the bathroom mirror as I slowly straighten my hair. The process never exceeded fifteen minutes, reasonably because my hair was naturally dull. Slowly, I flicked my eyes towards the mirror out of curiosity. There was something about the lifeless look in my eyes, that even makeup couldn't cover up. The previous nights events flash across my mind.
Last Friday night, as tradition of Beacon Hills High School, we celebrated the annual Winter Formal. An event known for its glamours lights, beautiful decor, and the occasional spiking of punch. The night started out normally. I went with Jacob Taylor-who had asked me a few days before hand-a lacrosse player who played on the team with my brother. With no one else in mind, I said yes, that was my first mistake of the evening. There was nothing wrong with Jacob that I first assumed, I mean I thought I knew him decent enough since we've known each other since the fifth grade, but let's just say the date ended badly, terribly in fact.
Along with the horrible date, a friend of mine, Lydia Martin, ended up hospitalized that night. Apparently, it was another ominous animal attack. Ever since the start of the year, which was only a month ago, several animal attacks have occurred in town leaving it victims traumatized, and others dead. Never in Beacon Hills have so many animal attacks happened within such a recent amount of time. The idea seemed too preposterous at first, but sadly, very true. Although, unlike some of the other victims, Lydia was lucky enough to be spared her life. Minor cuts and bruises were scattered along her body, enough to land her in the hospital for a few days. And just yesterday she went M.I.A..
Not paying attention to what I'm doing, the tip of the flatiron brushes against the tip of my ear, and I yelp loudly, the flatiron plummeting to the tile floor landing with a loud clatter. I groan loudly, as I begin to notice my ear turning a bright shade of red. Angrily, I rip the plug from the wall and set the flatiron on the counter.
"Are you alright Jamie?" my brother, Danny, shouts from down the hall. His footsteps echoed across the hardwood floors of the hallway as he walks over from his room. The door unlatched as he entered our shared bathroom. He peeks his head in cracking the door slightly, he looked around at my mess spread across the countertop.
"I just burned the tip of my ear with my flatiron. It's not as bad as the last time," I explain. This situation occurred more than usual, me burning myself with the flatiron. My uncoordinated skills, along with my lack of hair expertise, left me in the dark when it came to harming myself with a either my flat iron or curling wand. So I'm surprised Danny even asks anymore, he knows me well enough to know that if I shout in the morning I've probably harm myself with the flatiron. Although it wasn't in his character to go without saying anything, a characteristic I loved about him.
He sighed and shook his head, "Not very unlikely. What was this? The fifth, sixth time you've burned yourself in the past three months?"
"No," I protest, quickly defend myself. "This would be the fourth time I've burned myself."
Danny chuckled slightly before closing the door behind him. "I'll be ready to leave in about five minutes," he stated from outside the door.
"Okay, I'm almost done here. I'll meet you downstairs in a few," I went on as I quickly cleaned up my clutter across the bathroom. Within a minutes, I had grabbed my backpack and skipped down the stairs.
Other than Danny and I the house was empty, though it wasn't unusual on Monday mornings. Our parents owned their own business and Monday mornings for them was usually busy. It had been this way for years, but usually, they were here in the mornings. But I wasn't surprised when I found my lunchbox already prepared in the refrigerator. It was something our mother had done for us for years, and as I got older I learned to really appreciate it.
I quickly grab my water bottle and fill it quickly before, proceeding to lock the door behind me as I head out to the car. The car was already running when I got outside, so I quickly tossed my bag into the back seat before seating myself in the passenger. I had my own car, and I normally drove on days Danny either had lacrosse practice during the winter or when he had band practice in the fall. It saves on gas which is increasingly raising over the past few months. But I'd rather call shotgun then be behind the wheel myself.
Normally, the car bursting with laughter and music, but today we sat in silence. My brother focused on the road, while I scrolled through my phone. Something about today was different. There was something in the air that left us speechless. It wasn't too awkward, but I think Danny knew going to school would only remind me that Lydia wouldn't be there and I think that's what made us somber.
Sighing, I flipped the visor down and proceeded to touch up my hair. Before I left, I slipped in a few bobby pins since I was too lazy to finish my hair after burning myself. I brushed a few loose strands behind my ear before looking over at Danny. He looked over at me as if he knew I was starring. We were in fact twins, fraternal twins obviously. And ever since we were young we've always had a wicked keen sense for each other. Whether it be guessing each other's emotions, or detecting a lie, we were always very in sync with each other. And right now, I was very thankful for that.
We arrived at the school, and Danny pulled the key from the ignition. He sighed looking over at me, "What are you planning on doing Jamie?"
I looked at him confused. "What do you mean?"
"Are you going to go look for Lydia after school?" Danny was asking about the search party organized by Lydia's mother and the police department. The police report stated that Lydia left through the bathroom window in the hospital last night. So if she ran away she would most likely be in the woods. The reserve surrounding town was huge, and anyone willing to help just covered more ground and were more likely to find Lydia before that dreaded 48-hour mark struck.
I nodded, "Most likely. Maybe I can convince Allison to join me." Allison was another close friend of Lydia and I. I'm sure she's just as worried about our friend as I am and would be easy enough to convince to join me looking for Lydia. "I'll tell you if I make plans or something, but count on me coming back home with you. If I do go I'll probably want my car."
"Okay, see yeah later then." I got out of the car and watched as Danny met up with his best friend Jackson who was handing a dollar bill to a homeless man telling him not to go "find another parking lot to die in." Jackson was the polar opposite to Danny. While Danny could be considered the nicest guy in school, Jackson was straight up rude and acted like a complete douchebag. It was hard to believe the two were actually best friends.
I grabbed my backpack from the backseat before I trekked up the steps to school. As I walked through the halls, I scanned from Allison but didn't notice her. Normally, Allison, Lydia, and I would meet up before we split to go to our separate first periods. Almost late, I quicken my step to my end locker and swing the door open. The metal door opened harder than expected and it suddenly stopped and clattered loudly as it came in contact with something.
I gasp as I look around an notice that the door hit somebody in the face, again. Quickly, I pull the door and look at my staggered victim. I was shocked when I noticed who I hit-Isaac Lahey.
"I'm so sorry!" I gush as I take a look at his face and examine it. "Are you okay?"
Isaac Lahey was a sophomore just like Danny and I. He also plays lacrosse like every other boy in this school. The only reason I specifically knew his name was because I keep up with everything and everyone on the team. Lacrosse was the main sport of Beacon Hills High School, it was as if football or basketball didn't exist here. The only sport anyone actually cares about was lacrosse. Plus being sisters of the goalie, and friends with one of the most popular girls in school, whose boyfriend was captain of the team, I made it a priority to know almost everyone.
I watch as Isaac leaned against the wall and hand on his nose. I noticed his large frame, and his slightly shaggy brown hair and his soft blue eyes as they squint slightly from in impact of the metal locker door. He was wearing his lacrosse jersey a large 14 neatly printed the front. A large black duffel bag in hand, along with a lacrosse stick sticky out from it.
His nose, which should have been a bright red like my burnt ear, didn't change shades or looking like it was going to bruise over. Actually, it looked perfectly fine. I know for a fact that if the metal locker door hit anyone's face, it would definitely leave a mark. Like when I hit Jared last semester, his face was red for a day or two before it went back to normal. The fact that Isaac looked perfectly fine shocked me. "I'm fine. I'm fine," he stutters before looking down at me. His eyes widen in shock.
"I'm so so sorry. I had no idea, I mean--"
Isaac cut me off, "It's fine. I have to go." He pushed past me and continued down the hall.
I scoffed at his behavior. As far as I knew, that wasn't the Isaac Lahey I knew, but that wasn't saying much since all I knew was a name and a jersey number.
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UPDATE: 15/03/2018 I believe this is edited. I changed a few small details from the original chapter, but nothing noticeable.
Word Count: 1904 (not including the author's note)
If you see errors in this or future chapters please leave an inline comment. It makes it easier for me to know what I need to go back and fix. Also please be kind about it. I'm not a fan of rude comments, and I'm very easily offended and I cry more than I probably should. Thank you.