The Unlucky Five {1}

01 the past

October 31, 2017
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

It was a Friday afternoon and Emercyn Rose was walking home from school with her older brother, Mark Rose, and her younger sister, Lily Rose. It was a normal day in Philly. The sky was clear of clouds and the sun was shinning down on them. It was a regular, beautiful fall day.

"I wonder why dad couldn't pick us up today?" Lily said, breaking their silence.

"He probably had to work late. You know how crazy his hours can be," Emercyn reminded her sister. Their father was a surgeon at the University of Pennsylvania. Lily shot her older sister a dirty look. She looked down at the necklace that hung from Em's neck. The necklace was a gift from her father when Em turned thirteen. She rolled her eyes and walked ahead of her siblings. Lily had always been jealous of the bond Em shared with her father. They had always been close.

"Hey, guys!" A sudden voice called out. Em turned around to see her best friend and secret crush, Aiden Devereux, sitting in his car. Mark scoffed loudly as he stared at Aiden.

"Way to rub it in, Devereux," Mark said as he rolled his eyes at the younger boy.

"It's not my fault you don't have a car," Aiden said laughing as he unlocked the doors. "Need a ride?"

"I call shotgun!" Em called out as she ran towards the car.

"Well, don't you look very happy today, Lily Rose," Aiden said sarcastically, a playful smirk smeared across his lips. Lily groaned loudly from the backseat.

"Shut up and drive, you moron," Lily said with her usual rude attitude.

"That's my cue!" Aiden said with a wink as he sped off in the direction of the Rose household. The drive wasn't that long, only took about five minutes before he was pulling into the driveway.

"Are you coming in?" Em asked. Aiden turned to look at her.

"Watch out!" Lily screamed as she pointed in front of them. They were heading straight for the mailbox. Luckily, Aiden swerved in time and didn't hit it.

"Aiden! Stop being all lovey dovey with my sister and pay attention to the road. You nearly killed us!" Mark screamed from the back seat. Aiden's whole face went red as he turned the car around.

"We would've hit a mailbox! We wouldn't have died, you idiot," Em said as she rolled her eyes at him.

"Thanks for looking out for me," Aiden said as he turned back to look at Lily. She folded her arms across her chest and rolled her eyes at him. She muttered a "whatever" before getting out of the car and slamming the door on shut on the way out.

"Um, what is dad doing home?" Lily asked as she stood behind their father's bright red truck. The three teenagers stopped dead in their tracks.

"That's weird," Emercyn whispered to Aiden.

"Maybe he's sleeping. Or maybe he came early and didn't feel like coming to get us. He's probably tired. He could be sleeping too," Mark rambled on. Em could tell her brother was nervous. Lily walked up to the door and pulled her key out. She went to unlock the door only to find it unlocked. She turned around with a horrified expression as she held the key up in the air.

"The doors unlocked," She said, her voice was unsettling and her eyes were wide with fear. The number one rule of the house was to keep the door locked at all times. It had always been a rule. Their mother and father even had that rule before they had children.

"Maybe he just forgot. He was probably up late at the hospital and was tired and forgot. That's all!" Mark said. He tried to sound hopeful but he failed miserably. Emercyn looked at her house, a feeling of worry and fear building up in her stomach. Something felt, off.