10 LSAFH

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Easton welcomes himself into the house, pacing around until he finally sits down.

"Well, I had an uninvited guest yesterday. Care to take a guess who it was?"

"Hm...Was it your mom? Olivia?" he asks.

"No. It was Serena Allaband, the woman who committed vehicular manslaughter nine years ago." I reply. "She originally came to talk with my mom but asked to talk to me since she isn't home. She explained and apologized, and apparently, she's diagnosed with severe bipolar disorder."

"Are you sure she wasn't lying and only trying to trick you into thinking she's innocent?"

"I honestly have no idea- I don't know what to believe. She talked to me frankly instead of hiding from it, so no I'm not sure." I sigh.

"Just be careful. I don't want you getting involved with her. She killed your dad, god knows what else she'll do if you say or do anything to upset her."

"I guarantee I won't be seeing her again, and if I do I'm avoiding any contact with her. Do you want anything to drink or eat?" I offer.

"Do you have any orange juice?" he asks, slightly smirking at me.

"I don't know, let me check" I chuckle.

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"So is your mom coming home today?" he takes a sip of his drink.

"Supposedly. She sent me a text this morning saying she'd be here around six O'clock."

"Oh okay, should I stay here so I can meet her do you want me to leave before she gets here?"

"I don't know, what do you want to do?" I ask.

"I don't know either." he replies.

"Well then you should figure that out, but you have some explaining to do so let's stop procrastinating."

"Okay. So I actually have a twin brother, and his name is Preston. He doesn't live with me and my parents because my mom didn't want twins and even though she loves him, she would rather have him live with her sister so she doesn't have to deal with the confusion of who is who. That's why you were thinking that the guy at your old school was me- my brother lives in Oklahoma with my aunt." he explains.

"Wait, so why were you lying to me about all of this? I'm confused."

He hesitates before speaking again, "Well... I've heard stories about you, from my mom. Your mom and my mom have been best friends since high school, and up until your mom met your dad and moved to Oklahoma, she was living here in Florida, in this exact neighborhood, in this exact house. I was about nine years old when my mom started telling me stories about how she and your mom met each other, and then she was telling me about you and how your mom was going to soon move back to this town. It was weird at first, but she talked about it so much to the point it made me interested to meet you. So, when the time started coming around, that she was going to move back...I started coming up with a plan after I met Olivia and became friends with her. She helped me figure out how I was going to meet you and keep at as casual as possible."

It's taking me a minute to process all of this: how Easton knew about me way before I even met him and that his mom and mine have been best friends since high school. It almost seems like a miracle, like this was my fate, my destiny- but it's too good to be true. To be set free from the past that has been causing me so much despair has been my dream, my fantasy. Now that I somewhat have that freedom I don't know whether I should be happy or I don't know, confused? There's something out there that I should still be searching for, and I can feel it in my gut. Maybe I'm supposed to be finding hope now?

"So you're telling me, that every time I talked to you whenever I was around Olivia, you two were acting as if I was a stranger? I still don't get why you would do that, you could've just told me everything the first time you met me instead of having to go through all of this." I declare.

"That would've been cliche. I wanted it to be interesting. I wanted to see what it would be like if I hadn't told you that I've known you for this long. And also, the girl that slapped me across the face was a payed actor, also a friend of Olivia's." he laughs.

"It makes sense, but you still seem kind of like a stranger to me. I don't really know anything about you, and I'm talking about the things you like, your favorite color, and things like that."

"Would you like to get to know me then?" he insists.

I snicker, "Yes, I would."

He takes another sip of his drink and stares into my eyes. I can't get over how mesmerizing he is. There is so much I don't about him besides the fact that his mother and mine have been best friends for such a long time, and that's what makes him even more interesting.

His past and mine have drawn us together and I can't decide if this was meant to be or we just happened to finally meet and develop a relationship- not the kind you might be thinking about. His parents and mine just so happen to be involved with the police, investigating crime cases, and for that reason we have been brought together, to learn from each other and become the best we can be.

Maybe he's my missing piece? Perhaps he is my key to finding hope, or that could just be my romanticized brain overthinking everything that is going on.

I take a deep breath after thinking all of this over, "Well thank you for clearing everything up." I check my watch to see that it is thirty past five o'clock, my mother will be home soon. "You should probably get going, my mom will be here in a half-hour."

"Yeah I'll get out of your hair now, we have school tomorrow anyway," he replies.

"See you tomorrow" I wave as he walks toward his car.