Sarahtopia

Chapter 10: Lily

It was my big brother. The one I hadn't seen for more than a year. The one who had been reported missing two months ago. The one who made us sick with worry. "Ethan," I breathed out softly and disbelievingly.

"Hey Lily," He replied. He looked behind him, as if worried that someone was watching. "You gotta let us in."

Us? That's when I noticed his companion. It was too dark outside to tell what he looked like, I figured that he must have been his friend from university who also went missing along side my brother.

"Lily! Who is it?" my mother called out from upstairs. I looked at my brother, and he frantically shook his head. He seemed to be desperate not to let anyone else know that he was here.

This left me with only one choice. As much as I hated it, I had to lie to her. At least for now. "No one, Mother! It must have been the neighbour's door!"

That seemed to satisfy her. Our neighbours' bell was really loud. My brother sighed with relief. He then nudged his companion, who had been gaping at our house up until now. His friend broke out of his trance, and I gestured them both inside and lead them to my room, which, luckily, wasn't anywhere near where my mother was right now.

The whole way, Ethan's friend had this look of disbelief and wonder on his face while he was looking around our house. "Ethan, you have a lot of explanation to do," he told my brother with a quiet yet deep voice.

My brother turned to face him. "What? What did I do?" he asked, confused.

His friend glared at him. "You told me we were going to your house, not to a freaking mansion."

My brother snorted. "Our house isn't even that big. Wait until you see the Grand Palace."

I stayed quiet during their entire conversation. When we arrived at my room, we quickly got inside and I locked the door. My room was luckily quite simple. Blue and a bit of bronze with a hint of other colours here and there. Ethan and his friend sat down on my bed while I sat on my desk chair. I observed my brother, drinking in his features as I had not seen them for a long time. He was a bit skinnier than the last time I saw him, but otherwise, he looked the same. His skin was still pale white, and his uncovered left eye was the same shade of caramel-brown. His other eye was hidden underneath his jet-black hair, due to that accident that took place eight years ago. Taking a deep breath, I faced my brother and said, "Ethan. I can't believe it. We were all so worried about you, and you suddenly show up here after all this time. What is going on? What happened?"

My brother shifted uncomfortably under my gaze. He sighed and looked at me, cracking a small smile. "Lily, you haven't changed much. Still a midget, I see," he said teasingly with that usual irritatingly dull voice of his.

He had hit a nerve. The fact that he was taller than average gave him an excuse to call me midget, as he had been doing for the past four years. But now wasn't really the time to lash out at him over such childish things. "Ethan, I'm serious."

He sighed again. "Fine. But first, why don't you introduce yourself, dear subordinate of mine." He looked at his friend, who glared at him with annoyed eyes. However, he seemed used to being called stuff like that by my brother.

For the first time, I was able to take a good look at him. The guy was somewhat tall with a slender build. He had fair skin and blood-red hair. And his eyes. I inhaled sharply. His eyes were...breathtaking. His eyes were the most beautiful shade of teal I had ever seen. A perfect mixture of green and blue.

His quiet voice cut through me, snapping me out of my trance. "Uhhh....Hi. I'm Ryan Grayson, your brother's friend. We shared a dormitory in our university. We actually came here cause Ethan dragged me here, saying that he wanted to see his dear little sister first." He said that last part while sending a glare in my brother's direction. My brother just stared at him with his usual bored, monotonous expression.

The staring contest continued for a while, causing me to sigh. "You guys still haven't told me what you came here for. And I'm pretty sure it's not because Ethan wanted to see me," I said, making the duo jump in surprise.

They shared a look before my brother faced me with a serious glint in his left eye and his right eye slightly shown and started to speak, "Actually, we're here because we have to warn you about something. We found out that Sarahtopia is in danger."

A/N: I love cliffhangers.