Love, Me

Prologue

Helena Whitmore turned around, quickly reacting to the shuffling behind her. She adjusted her glasses and squinted her eyes to focus, not really taking long before recognising her granddaughter, Jane. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips upon seeing the teenage girl. She had grown tall, her shoulder length hair had been dyed blonde as contrast to her natural ginger from her last visit.

Jane came forward, leaping in her grandmotherr's arms, squealing and turning her alongwith in circles.

"Hmm..something's smelling really good in here." Jane let go, turning her glance around, to the uncompleted cake resting on the mahogany wood table, splattered with material used.

Another person entered, "And That something definitely isn't you, Miss stinky." Helena held back a laugh as Adam strolled towards the fridge, pulling out a bottle of water, sipping down the contents.

He had come a day before Jane.

"Ha-Ha real mature, Adam." Jane retorted sarcastically, whacking her twenty three old cousin on the head, making his water spill over his plaid shirt.

"I'll go freshen up a bit and then I'll help you, Nana." Jane planted a kiss on Helena's cheek, sticking out her tongue at Adam who mocked her gesture in return.

"Isn't Jason coming? He called me up last night that he'd be here by morning." Helena intervened, ceasing the intense stare down that followed between the both cousins.

After a long pause, Jane turned her head and answered with gritted teeth, "I don't know Nana. He wasn't even home last night and the day before that. I had to drive here by myself. Probably getting screwed somewhere for all I care.

"Language, Jane." Helena's smile dropped, as she noticed that they still weren't on good terms. Just like the last time she remembered, Jason had to return midbreak because Jane didn't want him to tag along with 'her' family and she had some quite mean ways to show her hatred.

Jane apologised half-heartedly, and went upstairs. Adam whistled, "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed again" stroking his wet shirt.

Helena turned to her grandson, shooting him a warning look, "Adam."

He let out a loud laugh and shrugged,
"Sowiee."

Jane trudged upstairs, taking a left at the end of the hallway, leading to the room she claimed whenever she visited Helena for her winter break, along with her other cousins. Other than Adam, none of them bothered to show up anymore.

Jason had started to visit too with Jane since Jane's mother married Jason's father but the sibling rivalry was obvious between both of them. Their parents forced both of them to use one car but it didn't work for long.

"Tada! And that's how you make the most beautiful cake, la la la, that I did not bake." Adam sang, not forgetting the air guitar at the end, finishing it up with chocolate chips at the middle with loads of whipped cream to top it all.

Jane scoffed, coming back in her sleepwear, taking a quick glance, "That looks abominable."

"Well, No one forced you to eat, baby-bugga-boo." Adam said, cutting a huge piece of cake for himself, making up for the other cousins' part too. Helena would always bake a cake for all of them but as time passed, her kids and then her grandkids stopped checking on her. Her loneliness worsening with her husband, Henry Whitmore passing away an year ago.

"Call me that hideous name again and I'll stab your eyes out with that fork of yours." Jane hissed.

"Call you what sister? Oh you mean baby-bug-" Adam couldn't speak further as Jane shoved more than half of the cake in his mouth.

Helena's eyes widened as she entered the kitchen, "Enough, you both." She spoke, grabbing each's attention. Adam thumped his chest, coughing.

She added further, "Jane, you are cleaning up Adam's room and Adam, you are bringing her bags out from her car and then, helping me with the grocery shopping."

"Ha!" Adam shouted, pumping his fists in air and smirked before leaving. "Nana, you are not pushing me to that hell. Please. Last time, I found a dead rat in his pillow." Jane cried, recalling last winter break. Helena pretended not to hear anything and walked away.

Both went for their respective tasks. Adam walked out from the back door to where the cars were parked. He unlocked the car and pulled out two massive bags from the trunk and hauled them inside the house through the gritty path, when an idea clicked. He grinned, looking up at Jane's room windows.

Jane wrapped a long scarf around her face, as she stepped in Adam's room, reeking smell of cigarettes hitting her face. He had stopped smoking, It was strange that he started again, Jane thought.

She made her way towards the windows to open them to let some fresh air in, feeling suffocated. She noticed Adam and Helena driving off, her favourite top laying in a muddy pool of water under a tree, making her furious.

She ran a round of some innovative profanities directed at him, when her cell phone started buzzing in her pocket. She pulled it out and picked up the unexpected call.

"Jane! Please get me some help. I think someone is stalking me."

"Whoa! Calm down Jason. Where are you?"

"I'm on the Huntington Avenue. There is this shady-"

"Jason? Hello? Are you there? Shit."

Jane shouted a few times in the speaker before the line finally went dead. She quickly ushered out of the house and climbed in her car, hitting the road to reach her brother, with Adam yelling in background.

She called up the emergency helpline while driving to the road. Raindrops pelted against her window, her fingers tapped against the steering in anticipation as she accelerated.

She halted, spotting the familiar Chevy truck parked at a lonesome corner. She gulped in fear, gazing at the car, and then to the acres of wood with no sign of human existence. She debated whether it was a good decision to drive up alone.

She hesitantly unbuckled the seatbelt, just when she saw someone hopping out of the car in a hooded sweat. Without giving it a second thought, she chased behind him, assuming him as Jason but he disappeared.

Jane retreated back to Jason's car. A shadow in backseat grabbed her attention. Her apprehension to approach was followed by a piercing scream and scrambling her way back to her car, losing the keys in the process.

Her pulse quickened as she searched around for the keys, just when an explosion happened. A bright flash of lightening with thunderous sounds threw Jane crashing down.

The hooded men walked away from the scene, watching the wounded Jane laying lifeless with a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

Served both of them right, He muttered before dumping the knife in the lake.