Dear Angela,
It's been a while since I've written you a letter, I hope everything is going well. Things in Mystic Falls haven't been the same without you, after Mom and Dad passed.. I've just felt a little off. Are you coming back anytime soon? I miss you, I know their death was hard on you, but it was hard on us all. You didn't have to leave, the family needs you more than ever. School starts soon, are you even going to be there? You don't answer calls, texts, emails. I had to resort to a handwritten letter that will take forever to get to you. Ugh, I hope this makes it to you in time Ang.
Missing you more and more every day,
Your sister, Elena
Sighing I put the letter back in my purse. You can do this, I think to myself shutting my hazel eyes and gripping the steering wheel tightly. I let out a deep breath and open my eyes determined. I'm sitting in front my old house, my suitcases in the trunk of my car. Was coming back here smart of me? I shake the thought away, unbuckling my seatbelt, grabbing my purse and opening my door. The minute my heeled boot hits the cement, anxiety and nervousness take over. I stroll onto the sidewalk and up to the front door, right when I'm about to ring the doorbell, the door is opened. "Uh.. hi Jeremy" I manage, plastering a smile on my face.
"Holy shit. Angela? Is it really you?" he exclaims, embracing me in a tight hug. I close my eyes and bury my face in his neck. Jeremy has no clue how much I've missed him. My kid brother, and he's so grown now.
"ANGELA!" a woman shouts, I grimace knowing its Aunt Jenna. I let go of Jeremy and step into the house to embrace my aunt. "It's been so long, oh my goodness. Look at how much you've grown!" she rocks us side to side, all the while squeezing me tighter. She pulls away to get a better look at me. Her hair is messy, she has bags under her eyes as if she hasn't been sleeping much. She smiles hugely, "still sucha beauty. Are you going to be staying? Please say yes. Your room is waiting for you." She gestures to the stairs, as if she wants me to go up and see my old room.
I turn to Jeremy for help, but he's nowhere to be seen. He must've slipped out without us noticing. I hear footsteps running down the steps and my body tenses up. Nerves acting up again I presume. "Aunt Jenna I'm gonna come home with Bonnie and Caroline afterschool, okay?" My tall brunette twin sister looks up from her phone. Her eyes widen, growing watery and in 2 seconds she's across the room embracing me in a tight hug. "You came back" she manages between sobs.
"Of course I did, it's our first day of junior year. Wouldn't miss that for the world Elena" I say holding her tighter. We break apart and she wipes her tears, fanning her face. She pauses and we stare at each other before bursting into giggles. "Hey, how about I drive us to school? I just need to put my suitcase in my old bedroom." Aunt Jenna's breath catches in her throat and she places a hand to her heart. I glance over at her and notice the tears forming in her eyes. "Jeez, enough with the crying." I stroll out the house to grab my suitcase so I can hurry out the house and be at school.
I get up to my room and smile, everything looks the same. You wouldn't even suspect I was gone for the last 4 months. I drop my suitcase on my bed and walk over to my floor length mirror. I decided to wear a baby blue long-sleeved crop top (the sleeves have lace), paired with a black skater skirt and my knee high heeled boots. My pale blonde hair is swept up into a ponytail, Aunt Jenna was right. I did look good. Elena and I are twins but we aren't identical. In fact we have almost nothing to suggest we're twins. Just our birth certificates with the same date, and the same parents' signatures. I plaster a smile on my face, looks real enough, I think to myself. Satisfied I swivel on my heel and rush down the steps, shutting my bedroom behind me. As I'm walking down the steps I smell something intoxicating. A familiar burning sensation fills my throat, my tongue dances along my canines. Blood. Human blood. Immediately I snap myself out of it. I run down the steps and fling the door open.
"I burned myself making breakfast" Aunt Jenna chuckles.
"Be more careful." I nearly snap, not turning around. I rush down the steps and into my car, starting it. I pull my phone out my purse and text Elena.
Me: Hurry up or I'm leaving your ass
Elena: Be right out, fixing my makeup. U made me cry it off.
Chuckling I sit back and relax. Everything would be fine. I have to know him. I felt his presence here, I need to know him. I spent all that time preparing for this. To be normal again, that overwhelming power..it was coming from a boy in Mystic Falls and I need to know who. It was so intoxicating for the brief moment I felt it. Who is he?...
My thoughts are interrupted when Elena throws open the passenger side door.
"Ready for our first day?" she asks. I look over at my twin and shake my head. How could we be born on the same day, yet be so undeniably different. I pull out of my parking spot and speed down the street as Elena turns on the radio and opens the sunroof.
It was going to be a difficult year.