"Your brother's jumpier than normal," Cassie said as she handed me a cup of coffee. I was sitting by the window, waiting for Marco to show up.
"I know," I sighed, shaking my head. "He's been getting worse."
"Have you considered...you know, committing him?" The question struck me like a ton of bricks.
"Cassie, I love you for being concerned, but I couldn't...Not in a million years," I sighed. "I can't really blame him. I guess I'm just not as effected, you know? Like it's not totally real?"
"You have Marco though. Who does Cody have?" she asked, sitting down across from me. I looked at her, a frown crossing my face.
"He has me," I said defensively. "Every single time he needs me, I'm there."
"I know, but-" I cut her off.
"But nothing. I've got this, Cassie, geez," I stood up angrily, leaving my coffee untouched. I stormed into the bathroom and turned the lock, leaning heavily against the door. Tears welled in my eyes as the last real memories of my parents filled my mind.
"You'll be careful, right Kaylee?" my mother asked as she pulled me into her arms.
"I promise. It's not like I'm going away forever," I smiled. "Tell Dad I'll call him when I get to the airport?"
"Of course," my mom nodded. I planted a kiss on her cheek before dangling the keys in front of my brother's face.
"If you wreck my car while I'm away, I'll kill you," I teased.
"I won't," he promised. "Take care of my dog, okay?"
"Our dog," I corrected. "And I will."
"Oh! Kaylee! Don't forget Mayhem's leash!" my mother called as she ran back up to me, a black nylon leash in her hands. I smiled and clipped the leash to our border collie's collar.
"Thanks, mom," I said as I got into the cab. "I'll see you in two weeks!"
"Be careful sweetheart!" my mom waved as we pulled away from the curb.
That was the last time I ever saw my mother. The last time I felt her embrace. Heard her voice. Two days later, she was dead. My father too. Cody was with Jake when it happened. I'll never forget the sound of his voice when he called me at 2 in the morning on a Saturday.
"K-Kaylee, it's Cody," he said, his voice trembling. I knew right away something was wrong. Call it what you will, but I think it's the whole twin thing.
"What's wrong Cody?" I asked tiredly. Mayhem looked up from her spot on the floor, her ears perked.
"T-there's been an accident..." Cody's voice broke. That was all I needed to hear. My heart sank as I crawled out of the queen bed, my hair tangled, my bare feet hitting the plush carpet with a silent thud.
"What kind of accident?" I asked as I tossed my clothes into my suitcase. In the dark, the room lit only by the light of the moon, I packed my things, all while listening to my brother give me the heart breaking news.
"There was a fire. I...I don't know what happened Kay. I was with Jake, we were trying to fix his car and...and..." a sob broke free from his chest, cutting him off. "Mom and dad..."
"No," I felt weak. I leaned heavily against the wall as he uttered two words that would haunt me the rest of my life.
"They're dead."
"Kay? Kaylee! Open the door!" a voice broke through my memories. Blinking, I reminded myself that I had to be strong, for my brother's sake. "Kaylee!" the voice on the other side of the door barked. It took me a minute to realize it was Jake. Of course it was. Afterall, who else would it be? Of course Cassie sent him to find me. She always did shit like that. Made it out like I was losing my mind.
"I'm fine," I replied, unlocking the door. I stepped away, turning to look into the mirror.
"You sure?" Jake asked cautiously.
"Yeah."
"Marco just showed up. We're just waiting on you," he said softly. I could tell, just by his tone, that he was worried. Naturally, that pissed me off, but in a way, it made me remember that I wasn't in this alone.
I wiped the tears from my face, once again grateful for Rachel's water-proof eyeliner, then walked out to meet up with the group. Cody gave me a funny look but said nothing as Marco wrapped his arm around my shoulders.
"Been crying again," he noted, touching my cheek.
"Shut up," I muttered, leaning into his warm embrace. We were definitely a mixed up bunch. That hit me harder than ever, as I watched the group file out of the diner.
Tobias was the quiet type. Almost too quiet. If he hadn't been dating Rachel, I'm not entirely sure we would have been friends. His sandy blonde hair and sad eyes almost made me think of a puppy. But he was a smart person, a lot smarter than most of us, anyway.
Cassie was our resident go to girl for anything animal related. I guess that happens when your parents are vets. She's a very insightful, down to earth type of person. We've been friends for years. I think we met when I was 8, when Cody and I found a litter of puppies dumped by the side of the road. Or maybe it was when we found the stray kitten. Anyway, we've known each other for the better part of our lives. She was the first person I went to after getting home after the fire.
Rachel was pretty. Really, really pretty. Super model pretty really. She had long, blonde hair, icy blue eyes, and a way of looking beautiful no matter what she was going. If it wasn't for her amazing personality, we would never have clicked. Honestly, despite her good looks, she's not a snob. Really. And she's perfect for Tobias. She balances him out.
Then there's Jake. Jake is well...Jake. I've known him my entire life, thanks to us living only a few houses away from each other our entire lives. He's the jock, but without the stuck up attitude, I guess. I wouldn't be able to tell you really, I never really hung out with Jake before this past summer. He's Marco's and Cody's best friend though, so it's not like we're strangers. Plus, he's Cassie's boyfriend, so we're almost always stuck in the same room.
Cody's quiet too, but he never used to be. He used to be as outrageous as Marco, only a lot softer spoken. Marco's sarcastic and will tell you how it is, without really thinking first. Cody never speaks without considering how it's going to effect the other person. Up until this past summer, Cody was pretty fearless. But the fire messed him up. Now, everything scares him. It's heartbreaking, really.
Marco. Oh, the things I could say about him. He's got these dark eyes, that melt your heart...or at least, melt mine. His smile takes away the fear and pain, and his laugh...Anyway. Marco is the joker of our mosh posh gang. He brings the laughter and light. Even when we're pissed or whatever, he gets everyone laughing. He's really easy going too. I guess that comes with his motto of "better to laugh than not to laugh," or whatever. We've been dating since Freshman year. He's sort of my knight in shining tinfoil. Or a diamond in the rough. Who knows. I love him, that's what matters. Even though he can get on my nerves sometimes...
"Earth to Kaylee, do you read?" Marco joked, giving me a gentle shake.
"Sorry, daydreaming," I smiled. I looked around, and for the first time, realized we were standing in the middle of the abandoned construction site. I looked around slowly, then realized that Cody had stopped walking.
"Cody," I said softly, breaking away from Marco's protective, safe embrace. For the first time since the fire, I shared my brother's fear. I went to his side and wrapped my arm's around his thin shoulders, shocked by how still he stood. His once bright eyes, now dim, lifeless, frightened. It broke my heart to realize how tormented he was.
"Look," he whispered, raising a single finger to point into the sky.
"Shit, shit, shit!" Jake hissed, pushing Cassie behind him. We all looked at the darkening sky. At first glance, everything looked normal. The sun was setting on the horizon, light clouds shined from the sun's bright rays. But if you looked a little harder, you could see it, whatever it was.
"Cody, move, move, move!" I barked, slamming into him. He didn't budge at first. His look of fear changed to that of curiosity. In the back of my mind, I was cursing him for suddenly growing a pair. "Now!" I screamed, pulling at his arm.
Jake, who was dragging Cassie with him, pushed Cody, much to my relief. Within a few tangled seconds, we were all hidden behind a long, hallow pipe. I think Tobias and Cody were mesmerized by whatever it was. I, on the other hand, was terrified.
"Anyone else getting the Star-Trek vibe?" Marco joked.
"Not funny," I hissed bitterly.
Despite our own fears, none of us could tear our eyes off the falling...thing? Aircraft? Spaceship? What in the name of hell was that thing?
It was small, bluish. Not very impressive looking. But it was still...not normal? Not something you see everyday, to say the least.
"Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore," Cody laughed. I threw a disgusted look at him. "What?"
"You're afraid of your shadow, but not a frigging spaceship?" I growled.
"Right," Cody nodded. He and Tobias shared a grin before looking back at the approaching ship.
"Do you think it saw us?" Cassie asked softly. She was gripping Jake's hand so tightly, I was surprised she didn't break it.
"Probably," Marco said sarcastically.
"No, I don't think so," Jake said quickly. His expression, on the other hand, showed an entirely different opinion.
You're just having a really, really bad dream. You're going to wake up, and you're going to laugh at yourself for even thinking, for a moment, any of this is real, I thought. Because come on, this isn't real. You're on drugs, or something. You've got to me.
The...the ship landed a few yards away from us, with an almost silent thud. We all peeked over the pipe to get our first real look at the...frigging aircraft! It was like a freaking star-trek spaceship thing! For once in my life, I wished I had payed attention when Star-Trek was on television. Or at least watched a few alien movies. Because right in frigging front of us, sat a flying freaking saucer!