𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚗𝚘 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚍

The lies honest people tell

Lies. We all tell them. Some little and white, some built like the fucking Hulk ready to tear your shit up. Some lies are to protect, but only do damage the more you tell. Some are deceitful and manipulative. But, at the end of the day, you can't escape telling a lie.

-

I felt the sunlight shining upon my olive skin: it was warm, kind, soothing, giving me the best hug in the universe. I rubbed my hands along the tall, soft grass; it pricked against my palms and fingertips making me giggle at the ticklish sensation. I heard the sound of the grass being crunched and shifted. My smile widened. I turned my head over to the new presence next to me. My breath stopped, dead in its tracks. He was beautiful. I wished to run my hands through his dark brown hair as it reached the sides of his broad, sturdy shoulders. I turned to my side, he copied the motion. I reached my hand up to trace his sharp features, his stubbled chin, his lips that were soft and deliciously plump. Finally, I reached his eyes. They were a beautiful hazel that captivated me, and are filled with warmth I could never describe, but it reminded me of what love is. "Elijah."

I gasped awake, launching myself almost off the...couch?

'Wait, couch?'

My brows furrowed. I felt my chest tighten as I realized I was in some broken down, boarded up parlor room. All the curtains and sheets were yellowing, hell, even the couch I was on was yellowing! I turned my head to find my twin, Elana, her body strewn against the side of the couch next to me.

"'Lena?" I shook her, feeling myself panic even more. One, I didn't know where I was. Two, my twin sister was probably dead. Oh god, please don't be dead!

But she thankfully mumbled my name, her eyes blinking open. I sighed in relief, pressing my hand against my chest.

"How are the girls? You didn't touch them, did you?" I heard an annoyed voice echo from somewhere in the antique house.

Elana and I looked at each other. Her face was calm, curious; my canvas probably looked blank, frigid. I was scared, confused and felt terribly groggy. I remember when I was taken; the man shoved a damp rag of some awful smelling substance in my face before I passed out.

Elana looked at me pressing her index finger against her lips, telling me to be quiet, and she stood to walk toward the voices.

"Lena!" I whispered, sitting up and rushing after her.

"Give me some credit will you? So you called him?" Another voice could be heard as we creeped up the stairwell. Seemingly a man.

I frowned. 'Who's him?'

"No, I called his contacts. You know how this works." The woman scoffed.

I felt my mind spiral at all the things that could be happening, 'are these people traffickers? Did they work for the black market?' I gripped Elana's hand as we crept the dimly lit hallway. Everything looked dust-covered and gray. The seemingly used-to-be white walls were full of moss and everything smelled like earth and mold. It was bare inside, with some boarded up holes seeping through them.

"Did you or did you not get it to him?" The man said tactlessly.

"They say he got it." The woman sighed.

"Wonderful and what?" Both were getting on each other's nerves that I could tell.

"So that's it Trevor, he either got it or he didn't. We just have to wait."

Well, at least we knew the male accomplice's name. An anxious, yet hopeful smile crept upon my lips as we made our way through the house, hoping they wouldn't notice our escape. Only I didn't realize we were walking closer to our captors.

"Look, it's not too late. We can leave them here. We don't have to go through with this." Trevor pressed.

'He is scared...why?'

"I'm sick of running!" She snapped at him.

I jumped as I heard her rage, my head throbbing at the sound of yelling.

"Yeah? Well, running keeps us from dying!" He countered.

Elana stopped, holding her hand up to indicate we should stop. "Shh." She whispered.

I nodded, not realizing I was giving off sounds a wounded animal would give. I covered my mouth, trying to make as little noise as possible.

"Elijah's old school. If he accepts our deal, we're free."

'That name sounded oddly familiar?' I was too lost in my thoughts to recognize that Elana and I were right outside the room Trevor and his accomplice were in.

Creeeek...

The floorboard underneath Elana's foot cried out, cringing. I held my breath, standing like a statue.

"You!" A woman appeared. She had short, ash blonde hair and forest green eyes, and her voice I recognized from earlier.

We were caught.

"There's nothing around for miles. If you think you're getting out of here you're wrong. Understand?" The woman glared at Elana and I.

I bit my lip, focusing my head down. I understood that she wanted us to be good little hostages, but there were so many things that I didn't understand: 'why were Elana and I taken?' was my first question.

"Who's Elijah?" Elana asked. She seemed used to these situations...like she'd experienced them before?

"He's your worst nightmare."

I frowned. Something in me was screaming to remember that name, to find that man, Elijah.
As the unknown woman walked off into a different room, my twin nudged for me to follow her as she stalked toward her.

"Why are we here?" Elana demanded of the woman.

I walked around the room looking at furniture and the walls that were falling apart. The oddest thing is in every room I've been in, any crevice that sunlight would have seeped in, seemed to have been boarded up like these people did it themselves.

"Are you allergic to sunlight?" I interrupted whatever Elana and the woman were talking about.

Our captor looked at me with amusement, although I could tell there is some annoyance in her eyes.

"You don't know, do you?" She asked.

A whoosh of air glided in front of me and suddenly the odd woman that was across the room, right next to my twin who stood in front of me. Her eyes bloodshot, teeth fanged, squirming viens seeping through her skin. I stammered back, holding my breath.

"Vampire."

The woman smirked, walking away from me. "Ahhh, so you do know."

My breaths became sharp and fast. I smelt smoke fill the room, I felt the air swirl around me, I heard sharp bangs and screaming.

"Evie...shhh, it's okay."

Someone touched my shoulders, my body shaking.

"Evie take deep breaths...okay?"

I did as the person asked, not realizing it was my twin Elana.

"Why did you lie?"

Was the only thing I remembered before darkness.