How hard could it be? • LM / SS

Chapter 2

                             "Take me back
                        to the night we met."

It was late in the night, an alarmed Max after bursting into his cousin's room to see if they had both heard the ear-splitting noise from outside. They could rule Melissa out as the culprit, the nurse after leaving for a late night shift not too long ago.

That was what led the pair to creep into Jade's room, grimacing as she stirred, the light from the hallway shining into her room. They were most definitely going to have a riot on their hands in the morning, the girl always being moody until she got a coffee in her at the best of times. They were already mentally preparing for the scolding they were going to get for waking her up, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

Max and Scott squabbled silently, both backing away from the bed as they fought over who would wake her. Max smiled triumphantly, tilting his head after shoving his cousin ahead of him. If someone was going to be beaten with a pillow, it wasn't going to be the seer. He had learnt that lesson too many times to make the mistake again.

Jade woke with a jolt, screaming loudly as she screwed her body tightly into a ball, a shield to protect her from the splinters of glass that were flying through the car.

"Calm down, it's just me!" Scott whispered gently, flicking on the light beside her bed in hopes of bringing her back to her senses. To be fair, that was their fault; they should have known not to wake her so suddenly, especially when she was suffering from nightmares so frequently.

"Sorry," Max muttered sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously as he flopped onto the bottom of the bed. Yeah, thinking back on it, it was a stupid idea.

"What the hell is wrong with you two? What time is it?" she asked groggily, burying her head back into her pillow as her heart rate eventually slowed to a normal place. God, what was it with people sneaking up on her? It seemed to happen too often, making her on edge even when she was asleep. It was like the twins couldn't catch a break recently. Well, they could never catch a break to begin with, but it was getting even worse lately.

"It's only twelve," Scott shrugged nonchalantly as if he was usually up at this time on the first day back to school. He had tried to get to sleep, but the nerves and excitement just made him more restless, no matter how many meditation podcasts he listened to.

"You better have a good reason for waking me up at this Godforsaken hour, or I swear, I'll crack up," she hissed furiously, voice sounding muffled from her face still being delved into the pillow. She refused to move from the warmth and comfort of her bed until she was given an explanation, although she could gradually feel the sleep start to slip from her body.

"I think there's someone outside, we heard a bang," Scott rambled, eyes widening for emphasis. If she could hurry up and come with them before an intruder broke in, stabbing them all in the process, it would be a great help. "We want you to come with us."

"Remind me, how does this affect me again?" she queried, recoiling away from the bright flashlight that was being shone directly in her eyes. She was seriously going to kick them down the stairs one of these days. The four walls of her jail cell would finally give her some peace and could possibly get some sleep!

"Because it could be a murderer. And if I died you would miss me so much because I'm your favourite cousin," Scott argued his point, nodding along and giving Max a high-five behind his back when she sat up.

His short speech seemed to have worked, the girl begrudgingly forcing herself to her feet, slipping on a pair of trainers, but still glaring daggers over her shoulder. The muttering of curse words under her breath showed that she wasn't happy, but she was coming with them, which was the main thing. "Scott you're my only cousin," she sighed, throwing her flannel shirt over her pyjamas. It was destined to be cold outside, given the fact that spring in California was never the warmest.