Chapter One
-12 years later-
"Zel, you're gonna love the new house! I made sure that at least one of the rooms had a window ledge seat and before you decide you want to fight me for it, I forfeit, only because I'd rather have the room with the walk in closet!" We had just past the sign that said 'Welcome to Beacon Hills' and all I've seen so far are trees. I was getting some real cheesy horror movie vibes from this town already. I kept staring out the window while Gracie went on and on about the closet and how her 100s of shoes are going to finally have the breathing space they deserved. I just rolled my eyes and continued staring out the window. Gracie was my mom's best friend since childhood. She became my legal guardian after my parents were killed in an accident at a dig site. They were archaeologists who specialized in ancient history, specifically Greek.
A week after my sixteenth birthday, my parents got a call about an Ancient Greek artefact that had been located in central California and the team that was on site needed their help to decipher the symbols that were on it. Mom had promised that once I turned sixteen, I could start travelling with them to the dig sites. I was getting tired of being in Alaska, there's only so much snow you can take. They refused to let me go with them no matter how much I begged. I still remember that heavy feeling of dread that came over me as soon as they walked out the door. They sent me a voice message as soon as they landed, saying that they had arrived safely at the airport and that the place they were going to had terrible reception so I shouldn't worry if I can't get a hold of them. That was the last time I heard them say that they love me. Four days later, we received a phone call saying that the dig site collapsed while my parents were still underground. They were only able to retrieve my parents two days after the accident happened and there was nothing the doctors could do to save them. That was the day my entire world shattered.
We stopped at a red light and from the corner of my eye, I swear I saw something lurking by the trees. I suddenly felt the hairs on my neck and arms stand up and I quickly rubbed my eyes. Before I could look again, the light had turned green and we were moving. I was sure I was hallucinating due to the lack of sleep. "Oh and before I forget, I sent in your job application to Beacon Hills High School, you've got an interview at 8am tomorrow morning. You're welcome!". Here we go again, Gracie was being Gracie by making decisions for my life without actually involving me in the process, just like she had done with this move. "Seriously?! What did I tell you about making life changing decisions without me!?". "Would you relax? I know how you get with stuff like this! I just wanted to give you a little push because speaking from experience, your judgement with regards to the job market is terrible!". I stuck my tongue out at her knowing very well she was right.
"So I accidentally answered a job listing that were looking for waitressing strippers one time and you still hold that against me?! What about second chances huh?" I ask her smugly. "Zel, the fact that you showed up to the interview made me question you!". "Hey! All I saw was the word waitressing, my brain must've blocked out the stripper part okay?". She just shook her head at me. This happened during my first year of college. After the loss, Gracie decided it was time to get away from Alaska, so while she homeschooled me, we travelled a lot. When I got accepted to NYU to study psychology, we stayed till I finished my degree. She was able to get a job as a doctor at a local hospital. It was the most stability I had in a very long time so I wanted the full "independence" experience- I "tried" to get a job. Definitely not one of my proudest moments.
I checked this job listing about ten times and I know the principal so at least I don't have to worry. And in case you didn't notice, we have arrived!" Gracie said happily. I quickly got out and finally stretched my legs while taking in the scenery and the neighboring houses. I looked at our two story house. Secretly, I was kinda worried that it was going to have an old run down feel to it, Gracie didn't show me any pictures. When I researched the town, there were two things that stood out; Animal attacks were extremely common and the buildings looked old, so you can imagine my relief when we went inside and found that the house had been renovated. I just had to worry about the animal attacks now. All of our furniture had already been set up, we just had to pack our clothes. "Home sweet home" I said softly turning around checking out the kitchen and the lounge. Gracie walked in with both our suitcases. "Remind me again as to why I'm doing all the work?" she asked playfully and then let out a small laugh. She then slipped her arm in mine. "We're going to be just fine, Zel. No more moving I assure you. Now go upstairs and get cracking on that unpacking. Your room is the second door to the right. We're leaving at 7:30am sharp so get your butt to bed as soon as you're done. I'll drop you off at the school on my way to the hospital". She gave me a hug and shoved me towards the stairs. I picked up my suitcase and found my room.
The window ledge seat was the first thing I noticed when I walked in. I put my suitcase on my bed and went to sit down. I admired the way my new room was decorated and painted. Turquoise and sea green, my two favorite colors. There was another door that led to the bathroom. Gracie truly went out of her way to make sure this house was perfect. I was extremely lucky to have her. I thought back to our conversation regarding the move to Beacon Hills. She kept going on about how she missed her childhood home and felt that it was important for me to come back with her. She also mentioned that it was time for me to finally learn about my roots and about my family. I still had so many doubts about her decision but I knew as soon as she made her mind up, there was no changing it, so I decided to just make peace with it. I finally turned around and looked out the window. It wasn't too high up and there were two trees on either side. I could also see the forest. The longer I looked, the more familiar it started to feel for some reason. I got up to shake off the feeling and managed to unpack my stuff. It was about 9:30pm when I was finally able to shower and grab my PJs. I was so exhausted that as soon as I laid my head on the pillow, I fell asleep. All I remember was that my body went cold and I got up gasping for air. I saw a face I hadn't seen in my dreams since my parents death, the blue eyed man was back.