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Chapter One:
" WELCOME TO
WHITE RIVER "
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THE SUN WAS just beginning to rise when Spencer Lyons awoken from his dream world. His dark blue comforter was thrown off the bed carelessly, and he jumped off the firm mattress in his plaid pajama pants and Led Zepplin t shirt. His cell phone was ringing off the hook, a photo of a beautiful brunette flashing across his screen. He snatched the buzzing device from his desk and quickly accepted the call, punching the speaker button. "Dude, it's five AM!" he snapped. His honey colored hair stuck outward in places, his blue eyes rimmed with dark circles. He scrubbed at his face. "Good morning to you, too," she replied with a chuckle. Spencer bit back a remark as he plopped into his desk chair. "Please tell me you saw the U-Haul right across the street from you."
Spencer leapt from his chair in confusion. He darted across his room to his window, wrenching it open to climb out. "Hello!?" He ignored the caller as he pulled himself up onto the roof of his house. Across the street was, indeed, a U-Haul. A tall woman with pitch black hair braided into a bun stood on the grass in a long dress, her thin arms crossed tight over her chest. Standing on the porch were two identical individuals with warm blonde hair, both holding weird detailed wind chimes. They were echoing within the distance. Spencer kept his head low, his fingers twitching against the wood. "Spencer? You there?" The voice startled the sunshine boy, his head jerking to look behind him. He dared to take one more look at the house, spotting the workers holding a black sofa.
He sighed to himself and climbed back down from the roof. He could hear numbers being pressed through his speakers. "What are you doing?" he asked as he lurched himself back into his window. "Dialing nine-one-one. I thought you were dead," she joked. Spencer's eyes rolled heavenward as he plopped back down into his desk chair. "Did you go look?" He hummed in response. "Well, see anything?" He let his head rest against the back of his chair, his eyes focused on the Star Trek poster hanging above him. "Its twins. And a woman that literally looks nothing like 'em," he replied nonchalantly. The girl on the other side of the line huffed dramatically. "What?" He lifted his head curiously. She hummed for a moment before forming her next question, "Does your mom know them?"
Spencer peered over at the photograph resting on the shelf over his desk. The photograph consisted of the bright eyed boy and a younger girl with strawberry blonde hair, her smile wide. Behind them was the scenery of a pair of mountains and beautiful trees. A man with blonde hair that looked too much like the young man stood between the mountains, holding up a walking stick that they had found on their hike. "I don't know," he said, tearing his eyes from the memory. "Is she ...still not talking?" He glanced at the phone, contemplating whether or not he should hang up. We promised that day that we would never shut each other out. We're all we got. The words flooded his mind. He tossed his head back. "No." His answers were short. She was understanding.
"I can come over. Bring movies and popcorn," she offered. Spencer felt his mouth twitch as a smile tried to overtake his features. "It's five AM." The girl laughed. Her laugh sounded like bells. "So? When I was feeling down, your mom made me brownies and brought my favorite movies. Let me return the favor." His head rolled toward his window as he swiveled within his chair. His mind drifted back to the twins standing in the yard, their wind chimes tinkling in the cool, morning breeze. "Okay," he huffed, straightening his back. "I can't promise she'll stay awake." A small chuckled buzzed in his ears. "Fine by me. Then we can investigate the newbies." He rolled his eyes with a wide smile. "Whatever, D. Just hurry up." His smile was bright. "Alright, Spence. Be right there."
He pressed the button and took that short amount of time to get dressed. He replaced his pajama pants with a pair of sweatpants. He left his Led Zepplin shirt on. He knew Devyn wouldn't care. He glanced in the mirror that hung on his wall. His fingers raked through his tangled waves. No more than five minutes later, there was a sharp knock at the door. Before he could leave the room, two more knocks sounded. He grinned to himself. Knock-Knock, Knock-Knock-Knock. Spencer bounded down the stairs in his gray socks, skidding to a stop before the entrance to the living room. At the door stood his mother. She looked frail. Her strawberry blonde hair was tied into a bun on top of her head, her body draped with her fuzzy, purple robe. "Mom," Spencer spoke, attracting the woman's attention.
Her bright blue eyes were now dimmed. She smiled at her son before crossing her arms over her chest. "Was that Devyn's secret knock?" she asked with an amused sigh. Heat crept along Spencer's neck as he nodded. Darcy Lyons turned and pulled open the front door, revealing the dark haired girl wearing a cow onesie. "Hey!" she chirped, immediately taking the adult into her arms. Devyn Alvarez smelled like coconut. She always smelled like coconuts. Darcy buried her face into the girl's thick, brown hair. "Good morning." Devyn looked to Spencer with a warm smile on her lips. Darcy gave her one last squeeze before allowing her to escape. "I brought Tomb Raider, the Jurassic Park trilogy, House of Wax since I know how much you love Jared Padalecki, two fluffy blankets, a plate of brownies, and Spiderman, Dr. Strange: The Way to Dusty Death for the dweeb."
Spencer's eyes widened at the sight of the comic in Devyn's hand. The plastic glistened under their lights. "D," he breathed out in amazement. He crossed the room with long strides and engulfed the girl into his arms. "Don't get too sappy," she joked. Despite her words, she wrapped her arms around his torso, burying her face into the crook of his neck. "Thank you." His voice was mumbled against his arms. She laughed. "Nah, its not a problem." She felt that familiar buzz within her chest, her eyes squeezing closed. When he pulled away, she pushed the comic into his chest. "I expect to hear about it after the movie marathon. 'Kay?" He nodded, his blond waves falling into his face. The brownies were taken by Darcy, her fingers picking at the gooey substance. "Did you make these?" Devyn shook her head in response, tossing the blankets onto the couch. "Abuella did."
The three settled on the large sectional. Devyn had already put in House of Wax, since Darcy had decided that the best time to watch a horror flick is when daylight was approaching. The movie began to play the previews. The volume was loud. Devyn settled beside Spencer. Her feet were tucked beneath her body, one of the very fuzzy blankets strewn over her lap. "So, what's going on across the street?" she asked nonchalantly, picking at the light blue nail polish chipping from her fingernails. Spencer's eyes widened at the question. His head whipped in Devyn's direction. She only shrugged in response. "I don't know much. All I heard at the Community Watch meeting last night that a woman is bringing these twins after their parents died," Darcy replied with a frown. "Poor things. They said it was brutal. Father was decapitated."
A chill ran down Devyn and Spencer's backs. The two glanced at one another. His bright blue eyes were filled with worry. Devyn wasn't hesitant to take his trembling hand into her own. The warmth of her palm seemed to calm the honey blond. Darcy hadn't noticed the change in the atmosphere. She hadn't noticed much since her husband had left. "What about the mom?" Devyn asked. She needed to get as much information as she could. That's just who Devyn was. Darcy finally looked to the girl, her eyebrows furrowed. "Why are you asking so many questions, honey?" she replied. Spencer's eyes focused on the television before them. "Curiosity, I guess. Nobody's moved here since Cyril and that was still eight years ago." White River wasn't somewhere people wanted to go. Of course, it had its perks. The people were nice. There wasn't bad crime rates. Everyone knew everyone. And not to mention that delicious diner that Devyn worked at most mornings.
"Well, why don't we take these brownies and welcome them to the neighborhood?" Darcy straightened where she sat. Spencer almost fell off the couch. "Mom, we don't do that. We don't do cliche," he argued. The woman with strawberry blonde waves bundled atop her head shook his words off with her hand, already ignoring the movie title page blaring through the speakers. "We don't get chances to do cliche, Spencer," she retorted. She was up on her feet in a flash. Devyn followed close behind, looking over her shoulder to smile at the boy she considered her very best friend. "What could go wrong, Pooh Bear?" she asked mockingly, ruffling the boy's hair. He swatted her hand away with a frown. "I don't know. Death?" Darcy glared at her son momentarily before escaping to her bedroom. "Do you still have my leggings and jumper I left here?" Spencer glanced toward the girl wearing her cow onesie, the corners of his lips quirking upward. "Yeah," he replied.
Spencer pushed himself off of the couch and passed the brunette who smelled so sweet. He lead her up the stairs and toward his bedroom. Devyn was always so impressed with how clean Spencer kept everything. She lived for the way he decorated to his enjoyment and the photographs that he always kept so hidden. Until now. She examined the shelf hovering over his desk. His family pictures were out again, and the pictures of the group were lining the shelf with Star Trek action figures and Marvel comic books. Her eyes stopped on a photo that brought back too many memories. Devyn stood beside Spencer. She wore a pair of denim overalls that stopped two inches above her knees and a light blue shirt beneath it. Her dark waves were up in a ponytail that bounced every time she moved. Her hand was covering her wide smile. She remembered that Spencer had made her laugh.
His hand rested on her hip. His hair was a lot shorter then; barely curling around his ears. He wore his favorite shirt. It was grey with the Captain America shield in the center. His legs were clad with baggy denim jeans. Nothing ever seemed to fit him right. Devyn grinned at the black boots that adorned his feet. She hated those bulky things, but never did anything about them. If Spencer liked them, that's all that ever really mattered to her. His eyes were crinkled as he laughed. She grazed her thumb over the picture before she set it back in its place. "Here," Spencer breathed out. He held the black leggings and light grey jumper out to her. She gratefully took them with a smile. "Turn around, perv," she joked. Spencer felt the warmth crawl along his neck. His skin turned red as he did what he was told. Devyn unzipped the onesie and let the fabric fall to the floor. "I think I'm going to ask about their parents," she voiced. Spencer shook his head. "Don't do that."
She scoffed from behind him. "Its just curiosity! I'm not going to be a dick about it." She pulled the legging up her long, trim legs. She stood there in her black bra, her hands on her hips. "That's still really insensitive, D. Their parents were murdered for Christ's sake." She rolled her eyes. "Look, people constantly asked you about what happened that night." Spencer couldn't stop himself from whirling around to face the brunette. "We swore that we wouldn't talk about that, D. Please." Normally, Spencer would be tongue tied looking at Devyn. He would be blushing profusely and stumbling out of his room in sheer embarrassment. But with that night in the air, he couldn't find himself caring. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry.." She pulled the jumper over her head. Her dark waves fell over her shoulders after she tugged the thick hair through the head hole. "I'm still going to ask, though."
"Of course you are." She walked toward the blonde and nervously pulled his hand into both of hers. His hand was always bigger than hers. She decided long ago that it was just because he was a giant. Her thumb ran along his slender fingers as she stared down at the silver ring hugging his pointer finger. "Look, Spence.." Her dark eyes finally met his. There was an emotion that he couldn't place residing in the dark abyss that was her soft, brown eyes. "I'm sorry. I just, this is weird, you know? White River never gets new people, and when we do, its because their parents were brutally murdered? You can't tell me that you're not getting a weird feeling." He stared down at the brunette silently. He couldn't help but take in the slope of her nose, or the freckles adorning her cheeks. "I get it," he spoke, his voice almost a whisper. "I feel the same, but ...I don't know. I guess I just understand." She let his hand fall to his side and ruffled his blond waves. "I know."
"Please don't ask about their parents," he quietly begged. Devyn released a heavy sigh, but slowly nodded her head. "I can't promise it won't just come out, okay?" He smiled down at the girl. "That's good enough." She grinned childishly before patting the boy's chest. "Let's go meet the fresh meat." Spencer rolled his eyes as she pushed past him to race down the staircase. She was quick to take the brownies from Darcy and stroll toward the door. Spencer followed quietly, opening the door for the girl. Her steps were bouncy as she walked down the long driveway. "Alright, let me do all the talking," she hummed. The wind swept through her dark tresses, picking them up and winding them together. Spencer kept running his own fingers through his tousled waves. "I don't think so," he replied with a slight chuckle. She threw a glance toward the boy before she rolled her eyes skyward.
As they neared the house, this sour feeling began to reside within the adult's guts. There were paint cans that hadn't been opened sitting on the porch. A single lawn chair resided within the grass. It was a deep red. Devyn glanced once more toward Spencer, her smile completely gone from her face. The grass crunched beneath their feet. The porch steps squealed beneath their weight. Devyn motioned for Spencer to push the doorbell. He jabbed his thumb into the small circle, but no sound came. Devyn was eye level with the knocker. It was a goat, and the horns built the piece to knock against the wood. She gulped and nudged the blond beside her. "K–Knock," she whispered. That sour feeling worsened with Devyn's sudden nervousness. She was the most outgoing and fearless person Spencer knew.
He grabbed the horns and pushed the metal against the wooden door. Devyn's feet shuffled beneath her. She felt the urge to let the brownies fall to the ground and run. She didn't know why, but this warm and sickly feeling began to wash over her. "Spence, I want to go," she told the boy. Her face had visibly paled. He was nodding when a pair of footsteps echoed within the air. "Now. Now, we've got to go." Her eyes widened as she stumbled backwards. Before her eyes, she could see that metal goat blink at her. The copper colored metal began to melt, revealing the bone beneath it. Spencer stared at the brunette in confusion. "Hey, hey—" Her heel lost footing, sending the girl stumbling back. Spencer was quick to grab her arm and haul her back onto the porch before she could hurt herself. She blinked profusely, refusing to look back at the door.
Before Spencer could question her, the door swung open, revealing the same twins from earlier. "Hello," the boy spoke. His tone was hard. Devyn stared back at him. "Hi, sorry. We just came to welcome you guys to White River," Spencer spoke. His large hand rested against the middle of her back. Devyn's eyes not once left the boy with the hard gaze. He looked over her curiously. His sister, with her long hair braided over her shoulder, smiled at the two. "Are those brownies?" she asked. Her voice was soft and childlike. Spencer nodded with a struggled grin. "Y–Yeah. My abuella made them," Devyn spoke up. Without moving forward, she held the plate out for the twins to inspect and hopefully take so they could leave. "Oh! You're Mexican!" the girl chirped excitedly. The fearful glint within Devyn's eyes slowly subsided, replaced with a look of confusion. "Yeah.."
Spencer hid his amusement with his free hand, scratching at the tip of his nose. "Anyway, uh, welcome to White River," the brunette hummed. The boy took the tray from her grasp. The tips of his fingers brushed against hers. The warmth radiating from his skin made a shiver run down the length of her spine. She quickly released the plate, allowing her hands to fall to her sides. "I'm Eileen, and this is my twin brother, Elijah.. Do you guys mind showing us around sometime?" Devyn wanted to shake her head. They're weird, she thought. I don't like them. Spencer had a different reaction. He grinned and nodded. "Yeah, totally. We can introduce you to our friends. Maybe show you the campus if you're thinking about attending." Elijah smirked silently. His eyes not once left Devyn. He could sense the anxiety pouring through her pores. "That would be great!" Eileen replied.
"Awesome. It was nice meeting you." Eileen and Elijah strayed by the door as Spencer pulled Devyn away from the house. She held onto his hand tight, her chest heaving as she struggled to understand what had just happened. Once they were out of hearing, Spencer turned to look down at Devyn. "What happened to you?" he asked her. She felt her fingers tighten around his. "I don't ...I don't know. I just started seeing things," she admitted. Spencer slipped his hand from her grasp and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. They bumped against one another as they walked closer to his home. "Something about that place makes me nervous, Spence. I don't like them." He drew in a deep breath before exhaling. "Maybe its just their story that makes you nervous. They seem nice enough." She fisted his shirt within her fingers and slowly nodded. "Okay, maybe you're right."
"Besides, it would be nice to expand our group. Especially since its the anniversary of our police station visit." A smile cracked across her face. "Maybe that's what's getting you. I mean, I have nightmares on the anniversary. Its like I'm right there again, and he's..." Devyn shook her head to stop the blond. They moved up the steps silently. "That night... That night was one of the worst nights of my life, and even though that may be so, I'm grateful for it. Because I had you." She looked up at the tall boy with a sincere, kind smile. He pulled her into his arms, nuzzling his nose into her thick hair. "I love you, Spence. You're my rock, you know?" He hummed in response. He squeezed his eyes closed. Unbeknownst to the two adults, they weren't alone. Eileen and Elijah Besnard stood on their porch, observing the two.