EDEN (Completed) (EDEN Series Book 1)

Chapter 1

"Wake up! It's 7 o'clock!"

I feel something soft strike my head, currently submerged under the covers. I rip away the blankets to find Lucy standing above me, grinning, with her newly trimmed eyebrows raised, most likely because the pillow she threw my way found its mark. I snatch the pillow and throw it back at her, missing entirely. 7 p.m. isn't even that late. I just want to continue my nap. I glare at her like I'm ready to pounce at any moment.

"Aww, did I anger the queen of darkness? Come on. A pillow never hurt anybody, "She says sarcastically.

She walks to the far end of my room and struggles to draw back the blinds across the rusted metal rod they're hanging from. The light from the sun is almost blinding. I cover myself with the blankets and hiss at her. I'm not a fan of the sun, or anything having to do with the outside world. UV rays are just so unforgiving on pale skin, and having black hair makes my head feel like a furnace.

"Nope," she says, "you're not wasting your life away on your laptop again. You know the tradition."

I know the tradition starts today. We've had it ever since we were kids, ever since our first vacation together. The day before we depart, we go out to eat at our favorite place and then come back to pack. It's a good tradition; it helps prevent me from procrastinating, but I usually still find a way. We haven't gone on vacation since we were twelve, ten years later, and I don't even think I even need one. I don't have the energy Lucy has or the motivation. I'm perfectly fine coiled up in a blanket and surfing the web until the sun peeks through the blinds in the early morning. I told her I would go about a month ago, but I didn't think she meant it.
I pull the blanket off my head and embrace the bright, evil sunlight. She's still wearing the grin that she always does, the smile used only when she knows I've succumbed to her whim.

"Fine," I say, "but we're getting tacos again."

She nods in agreement and skips out of my room, gleefully. Once the Sun hits me, I know there's no chance of falling back asleep. I'll never understand how I can sleep for eleven hours and still be exhausted the next day. I struggle to pull myself out of bed, my arms trying to conjure all their available strength. A cool breeze hits my face as I slide the window open. It's a refreshing feeling to help me further ease myself into the world of the living. As I glance down at the street, I see a black car I've noticed a few times, lately. I stare out of my window entirely too much, at least that's what Lucy says. I want to tell her, but I know what she'll say.

"Take that t-shirt off and put on some real clothes, Alice," Lucy says, standing in the doorway.

I can't break my stare on this car. I think I saw it at a grocery store and the mall, no, I know I did. Now, it's in front of our apartment? The windows are too tinted to see inside; Isn't that illegal, or something? I don't believe in coincidences; this car is following me.

"Have you seen that car before? I feel like I keep seeing it," I ask. Lucy comes to the window and looks out of it.

"Oh, god, here we go again," she says with irritation radiating from her tone.

She always thinks I'm paranoid. I'm not at all, though. I'm just aware of my surroundings. You never know what could happen these days.

"No, I'm serious this time. I know I've seen it more than once in the past week." She rolls her eyes and lets out an overly dramatic sigh.

"Remember two weeks ago at the coffee shop? You freaked out and said we had to leave because the two bald guys that walked in were agents that had been following you?"

Okay, maybe I'm a little paranoid. I've been this way since my parents passed away a year ago, no, since they were murdered a year ago. My parents were the happiest people I knew, and they were so in love. I miss them more than anything.