Tragic Ends

The Twins

Chapter 1

Death at the door

Two days ago, we arrived in New Haven. The warm embrace of summer break offered a welcome respite, ushering in new sights and experiences, even if the streets of Paris proved somewhat underwhelming. It was a delightful escape from the familiar routine of Willow Academy for Fine Arts.

Now, I found myself back at the academy, climbing the grand black marble staircase leading to the hallowed halls. The effort it took to ascend seemed far greater than in my recollection, as if the very steps themselves were protesting my return. Fatigue weighed on me as I continued to ascend, each step feeling like a burden.

Suddenly, a voice broke through my exhaustion. It was the unmistakable tone of Colton Alexander Hudson, the school's gossip connoisseur and the self-appointed head of the school newspaper. He had halted me in my tracks, his presence igniting a blend of weariness and curiosity.

"Hey, wait, Octavia," he called out from the bottom of the seemingly endless staircase.

I turned to face him, still catching my breath. "Hi, Colton. What's new?"

A glimmer of mischievousness dancing in his eyes, as he delivered the bombshell. "You aren't going to believe this," he exclaimed.

I leaned in closer. "Oh?"

Colton leaned on the ornate railing, ready to divulge the juicy tidbit. "The Lowell twins are back."

My heart skipped a beat. The Lowell twins, heirs to the prestigious Lowell empire, were notorious figures at Willow Academy. Their return raised countless questions and ignited my ever-present suspicion.

"But I thought you said they were transferring to Hemlock Academy," I croaked, my voice betraying my nervousness.

Colton shrugged nonchalantly "Well, that's only what I had heard. I guess they wanted to finish their last year here."

The memory of the previous year haunted my thoughts. It was the year Lola Nxy, their roommate, had gone missing on September 3rd. The baffling part was that the first person to notice her absence wasn't the Lowells but Lola's mother, who grew concerned when her daughter failed to make her weekly Thursday phone call. When questioned about why the Lowell twins hadn't raised the alarm earlier, they casually replied, 'Well, we were staying in a hotel because our dorm room had a mold infestation.' This blatant lie was quickly debunked by the school board, yet no further inquiry was made into their involvement.

"Colton, do you realize we are going to school with potential murderers?" I whispered, the gravity of the situation weighing heavily on my words.

He scoffed, brushing off my concerns. "You and your conspiracies."

"Fine, but when it's your body at the bottom of  Willow River, we will see who's right and who's wrong."

His response was dismissive. "Oh, sooo dramatic."

I gathered myself, prepared for the climb up the next four flights of stairs.

"Do you need help with your bags?" Colton's offer was a surprising and welcome interruption.

A sigh of relief escaped my lips. "Oh, thank God, I thought you'd never offer."

As we continued our ascent together, I couldn't shake the unnerving feeling that the Lowells' return was just the beginning of something far more ominous. My mind raced with questions, desperately seeking answers as to why they had come back to a place tainted by tragedy.

"How's the aggressive pondering going there, Oct?" Colton inquired.

I paused, searching for words to express my unease. "It just doesn't make sense. Why would you come back to a place of tragedy, especially when you were in the midst of said tragedy?"