A/N So, how do you like the story so far? You may have noticed Ashes, Ashes has a new (amazingly wondrously perfect amazing amazing) cover designed by I_am_sleepwalking. You guys should follow her.
When I wake up, I'm at home in my room that I share with Addison. I feel drowsy and our room is dark. I shakily sit up and turn my blue lamp on. I jump when I realize Addison was watching me in silence. "You really need to stop acting crazy, Abbs" Abbs. She hasn't called me that since sixth grade. "Addison. I'm not acting crazy. I really saw him.
"Sure you did." she says, crossing the room. "Remember this?" she says, holding up a picture of us when we were six, in matching outfits at a twin convention. "God, that's embarrassing." I say, laughing.
"You were still sane then." she says, under her breath but loud enough for me to hear. "Why are you acting like this?
"What?"
"Why are you being so rude?"
She's surprised. I never stand up to her.
"Why are you acting crazy?"
"My boyfriend just died for God's sake, Addison! Did you really expect it to have no affect on me?"
"Abbs..."
"No don't Abbs me. Stop trying. You're telling me to stop acting crazy. Watch me unravel."
Later, I walk down the wood stairs next to our bedroom. On the walls are memories.
One day, Addison, Nathan, and I were bored. We went exploring through the house to find something to do, Nathan was the one who found the camera. We took pictures of everything we found interesting, clouds, a flower, a tree, us three, just Addison, just me, anything.
After we filled the camera with our pictures we all walked down to the store and got our pictures developed. We raced back home and Addison excitedly ripped through the pictures while I searched for tape with Nathan. She was already on the stairs when I found her, tape and Nathan's hand nestled tightly in either hand. After a ball of twisted tape we had twenty pictures on the wall and our sides hurt from laughing at our failure at taking pictures.
I didn't realize I was crying until a tear dropped onto my arm.
After running back in my room and erasing any evidence of me crying, I walk back downstairs. When I pass Addison going to the living room, she doesn't speak, she just glares at me.
Rolling my eyes at her ability to hold a grudge I sit down with a huff on the brown couch. Our couch is positioned to look outside onto the road, it calms me, and everyone in our family. A glimpse of blond catches my eye. Could it be the woman from my hallucination? I sit ramrod straight until I see the blond hair again. I jump up, shaking, and run outside. But she's gone. She disappeared. I fall to the ground.
I wake up in the same forest, but it's earlier than the last time. I hear a deep voice speaking, "Eliza," the voice says in a horrible sing-song voice. "Stop hiding! You know we'll find you."
A rustling in the leaves next to me makes me jump. The blond haired woman- Eliza- is hiding in them, clearly terrified. She looks at me, her icy blue eyes holding me in place. Everything about her is shocking. She hides herself deeper in the bush, she must think I'm someone searching for her.
I walk carefully over to her. "I'm not going to hurt you. I don't even know where I-" she grabs my arm and forces me into the bush with her. "I don't have much time but you're not safe here. Don't go announcing yourself, you'll get killed, and me too."
I look at her blankly. "You don't know what you are, do you?" she asks, looking at me skeptically. "I- No. I'm something? What are you talking about? I'm not special, I'm just me!"
"Can you say it any louder?" she hisses. "You're a..." she quickly turns her head to make sure the men looking for her aren't near. "You're a-"
