Chapter One

The serpent's wake

Summer break was the time to be alive.

The entirety of Greenwich High burst out of the school's front doors, their legs carrying them as fast as possible to the buses lined up to take them home. One specific student chatted eagerly with her friends, lacrosse gear hanging off of her arms as she tried to keep up. Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she waved goodbye and ran to her ride.

Lea was her name. It was a long time ago when this all happened, but her name is remembered above all else that went on that day. She was bright but a little dimwitted and performed her best when playing sports. Her wonder attracted many to her, the way she walked and the look she had on her face said it all. Happily, she ran to her bus ready to go home and relax in her warm bed.

Greenwich High was a school for the gifted but not wealthy. They were talented students who had great potential but not enough funds to use it. This is why the majority were bused out from afar, partaking in more extra circulars than one child could normally handle. Lea was one of these students who had been chosen to attend such a school.

Wide-eyed, she found herself glued to her seat window once again. Unable to stop she watched them past large and ancient homes that were worth millions. Every time they passed she felt the urge to stare at them in wonder. All of the homes were funded by the same company that helped build her school. Teachers and students alike lived in them.

She instead lived hours away, with her extended family. Her excitement only grew at the thought of being with them. It would just be the few of them together, hanging out, watching movies, and eating bakery treats. No more homework and fewer lacrosse practices for the next month or so sounded splendid to the seventeen-year-old.

Just quality time with her loved ones for months on end. The teen was jittery in her seat, tapping one of her feet against the bus floor. Her hands moved from the window and sat in her lap as she imagined the things they would do together. Her mother would have less work to do and her father would be home working from home.

Grandmother would already have started preparing for dinner. Vegetarian food for her younger siblings and cousins while a potluck for the rest of the family. Maybe they would even run out to the store together, she always seemed to forget an ingredient for some reason. Then they would arrive home finishing the meal just in time for everyone to sit together.

"Everwood Avenue this is your stop." The bus driver opened the doors allowing the students to leave. Lea got up, carrying her things with her as she tried not to run off the stairs.

Everwood was a gated community, with townhouses lining its streets framed by gardens and stone decorations. Orange leaves covered a majority of the brick walkway as the students chatted and laughed with one another. Others listened to music on their phones, the sunlight reflecting off of their screens as they mindlessly texted their parents.

The population of Everwood was made up of low middle class and upper lower-class families. Each had chosen to go to Greenwich High or another neighboring school. It was common for new families to move in over Spring Break due to the income boundary that was set for residents. One percent over the line and you would have to raise your rent or move away for another family to come to take your place.

Each house was identical in some way, except for their gardens. Some of the families chose to uproot the growing flowers and make it simply a larger lawn. While others had nurtured the flowers from where they grew for them to blossom and spread across the rest of the homes.

Everyone within Everwood wanted their kids to grow up in a safe, warm home. A place that allowed transportation to better schools. So they moved to one of its homes after years of waiting on a list with hundreds of other families. Lea remembered it just like it was yesterday, her mother had told her they'd move close to her doctor permanently.

They would be able to send her to a better school where her health wouldn't get in the way. After a few years, she was able to start playing sports again. And was allowed to eat foods she loved without feeling light-headed, talk to others without the fear of never seeing them again due to her dizzy spells.

"Grandmother I'm home!" She shouted, opening her house's front door and dropping her bags on the floor. "I'm home from school, grandmother!"

Kicking off her shoes, she looked around the house for the older woman. She looked around with confusion huffing. The house was quiet besides the buzz of television in their living room and the fridge. Normally if no one was home she would check her phone, but it had died during her last period in school.

Her sibling's coats weren't on their racks in the hallway, neither were her parents. She grabbed the remote off of the ground, most likely dropped by her parents, and turned the television off. As she walked further into the house she saw that the vacuum had been taken out but never used.

The house was more or less the same from when she left for school. Her younger siblings’ toys were left on the floor instead of being put back into their playroom. It looked like nobody had even sat down on the couch or cleaned with the same dirty dishes in the sink from the night before. The trash had only been taken out bus seventeen-year-old house was frozen in time.

"Why didn't they tell me they'd be out today? Now I have to clean everything up all by myself." Lea murmured with a sigh.

The seventeen-year-old went over the dirty countertop and began to clean up after her messy family members. It wasn't out of the norm for her parents to leave things all over the house. Her parents were always busy and had given up cleaning up after her siblings long ago. The toddlers left things everywhere and so did her older siblings.

Cleaning the house was usually a group effort before she got home and around the time her sisters went to work. But it seemed like they had rushed to leave from what the house's appearance said. This was only confirmed when she saw a note on the freezer door, ripping it off to read and dispose of.

Written in orange-scented gel pen it said the following. 'Sorry for the mess honey. Your brother had a doctor's appointment and the twins made a mess of the house cooking breakfast.'

The twins. She groaned at the thought of the identical women who seemed to never clean up after themselves. When they were younger they were worse but going to college had humbled their personalities. Sadly, their cleaning habits only grew worse with their time away from the rest of the family.

Lea felt her mood simmer as she saw the mess they had left on the kitchen floor. She could feel the grime, slimy bits of what she could only think was dried pancake batter under her now bare feet. Her hands balled into fists as she silently cursed her older sisters and thought of throwing the dirty plates right into their smug, pompous little faces.

' I just need to clean up some of it, mom wouldn't let the twins get away with all of this.' Lea thought to herself as she wiped off her feet and plugged the vacuum in to start cleaning.

A house with five children was always going to be a messy house. Her parents weren't neglectful but they no longer tried to be authoritative to anyone but her brother either. When she'd wake up for breakfast it was common for her feet to meet the dread top of a Lego. Or to crack the side of a play dump truck or crushing the head of a Barbie doll.

It stressed her out and added to the time she spent in therapy. Her dizzy spells had caused many issues for her in the past, so much so her parents had put her in therapy from a young age. Nobody wanted to play with her in daycare or summer camp due to the fact she could collapse onto the ground at any minute. Her parents were at a loss and desperate for help.

So, eventually, she went to a bunch of doctors and was put on medication along with mandatory therapy sessions. Therapy at first was harder for her to deal with than her poor health. It was hard for her to even think about or express but in therapy, even group therapy she felt more seen. Out of all the children in her home, she was always in the middle, alone.

In therapy, she was able to grow her confidence and be better. Along with the medication, after constant mistrials, able to feel better with it. Her dizzy spells went away eventually along with night terrors she had always suffered from since being a toddler. Everything just healed itself.

"Gross." The mop water quickly turned a murky grey once it hit the kitchen floor. "Those two are disgusting."

It was hard due to being on the floor for hours but she was able to clean up a majority of the kitchen floor. The mop was disgusting with food clumped in its strings and the water she had made was grey with a distinct smell. Her arms hurt but with how long it took to clean just the kitchen, they would be getting home soon enough.

***

"Bless this meal." The family members dropped each other's hands and began to eat their meal.

Their mother had picked upsides from their local farmers’ market to have along with some leftovers and fresh vegetables. The teen had participated in cooking the meal but only washed off what needed to be and helped make some broth. Besides that, she sat down silently watching over her younger siblings and helping them wash for dinner.

The younger boys were excited to eat, unable to stay still as she helped them get in their seats beforehand. For the first time in months, nearly a year the table was set for five with baskets and bowls filled with food. Steam billowed from them with each option to eat from it is hot and ready to feast upon to their heart's contents.

From greens to pasta to buttery rolls had been made. Some of it they had to bake for a good while to become crispy enough to melt in your mouth. Others had taken only a few minutes to make on the stovetop, warm up in the microwave or just cut due to being already prepared beforehand.

Lea sat at the end of the table, opposite her father as she poured herself something to drink. Before everyone had sat down she had served her younger siblings, ignoring her sisters for obvious reasons. By the time they had gotten home, she had cleaned all the floors and vacuumed the carpets.

Still, they all had spent a decent amount of their free time cleaning up after the twins, the boys, and breakfast. She was annoyed but kept it to herself to avoid having to interact with them for the time being. Thankfully they were too occupied with their mother to notice. Taking a serving spoon, she put some more pasta onto her plate and listened to her sisters’ talk.

Both of the women were identical in a jarring way that could not be described as anything but uncanny. Even as their blood relative, born and raised by the same parents, they looked nothing like Lea. Or her younger brothers, not even any distant cousins. They had grey streaks in their hair and lazy eyes since infancy that made them look more mysterious when next to their other siblings. They moved the same and even spoke the same despite being away from one another for so long.

It didn't help that they both had equally horrible attitudes, Lea thought to herself with a small shake of her head at the thought of the two nagging.

"...and then my roommate threw her dirty socks into my hamper mom! I wanted to vomit just from their smell." The younger woman made gagging sounds towards their mother. "And then she tried to tell our RA that I was harassing her before I came here! I nearly requested a room change after that."

"She told me that story a million times over the phone, I think I've heard a million versions of how her roommate bothers her." The younger of the twins butted in after taking a drink.

Red wine and vodka. Lea was unsure of how her sister was even able to talk after drinking five glasses of the mix, but then again she isn't a drinker. Maybe college had made her become a much heavier drinker. But still, the nineteen-year-old held at her glass for more and the other twin supplied it.

Taking another sip of the volatile concoction, she cleared her throat preparing to speak. "I missed you guys, being alone in England has been hard for me mom."

The twins were always studious and both had been accepted into mid-tier colleges in various countries. One had decided that going to school in Europe was her best decision while the other moved to the west coast for college. Overall, both twins appeared to be happy with their decisions months later.

She remembered the crying and the sniffles when they left. Both twins would be separated for the first time in their identical lives, an event that honestly lifted some weight off of her shoulders. Identically insufferable sisters suffocated and smothered the seventeen-year-old in more ways than one.

Their mother smiled happily seeing that the girls were chatting calmly with one another. "Well, you both haven't missed much. Your sister has been going to her therapy sessions more often and your brothers' are attending a private school now."

Lea dropped her fork onto her plate with her eyes downcast. Of course, her loving mother would mention that. Therapy wasn't a taboo subject to her family, not at all. But to mention it to the twins of all people while they were all enjoying a meal?

Her hands clenched in her lap as she struggled to keep a straight face. Easily she drowned out the rest of the conversation picking up her fork again to start eating her pasta again. Twirling her fork, she stuffed a bunch of it in her mouth and ate quickly.

The delicious cheese and marinara sauce tasted like dirt in her mouth. Lea knew she'd have to finish her plate to leave or face questioning she just wasn't ready for at the moment. felt heavier on her tongue the more she swallowed and chewed the food.

The glass of wine sounded more and more tempting as she drank the cool glass of water. It did nothing to help the dryness of her throat and she continued to eat with tension in her body.

By the time she devoured every bit of food off of her plate, the conversation had slowed down. A weight lifted off of her shoulders as she heard them once again speaking about their college life. Lea was relieved, she didn't want her sisters knowing everything about her business and possibly gossip about it as they've done before.

"Oh, Lea have you finished with your food already?" Her mother said as the girl got up and put her plate into the kitchen sink.

"I'm stuffed." She said hurrying off to her bedroom before her mother could say anything else. Laying down in her bed, with her bedroom door locked sounded like paradise at the moment.

Down the hallway, far from the kitchen and more near the end of the house her bedroom resided. It was a blessing in disguise having the smallest bedroom in the house as it allowed her to have it all to herself. Once her door came into view, she wrapped her hand around the doorknob and pushed it open.

Almost immediately she was hit with the feeling of fresh air mixed with the powerful fragrances of perfume. The metal of the doorknob felt cold due to the air conditioner in her bedroom billowing out sweet-smelling gusts of hair. Her carpet even felt cold as her toes and bare feet hit the soft fabric quilted beneath her body. It felt good to be in her own space without anyone invading it with rowdiness or a storm of mess.

She closed her door and locked it with a soft but hollow click echoing throughout the quiet room. Her bags from earlier had been hung up on one of the many racks in her closet, along with her school uniform. Lea sighed as she fell back onto her bed, sinking into its sheets and blankets with a thud. Her bed was covered in not only that but huge body pillows that made her feel as if she had been swallowed up by some sort of cloud or marshmallow.

Slowly, her eyes drifted around her room. A small study cabinet sat towards the right full of textbooks from various classes from multiple grade levels waiting to be opened or continue to collect dust. Far from that, a bookshelf mounted to the wall held many of her precious childhood treasures. Birthday cards from doctors, family members, and teachers sat in a neat stack. Stuffed animals from her childhood hospital stay and valentine's baskets sat huddled together staring back at her with empty, hollow eyes.

If she wanted, she could recall every letter by their date. When she had gotten them, who had gifted them to her along with the soft plush toys. Gradually she got up from her bed and walked over to the stack, taking them into her hands as she looked through them. They were mixed up but she could tell with ease when she had been given them and remember the emotions that came with them. A baby blue card from her fifth birthday, a princess card for her first therapy session, a plain card with ink splotches…

“What is this?” Lea muttered in confusion as she flipped over the mysterious, unrecognizable card. No memories floated to the surface with the card’s presence, more so she had never seen any card like it before.

On the back of the letter, there was an image of what looked to be a bird. It was too sloppy to be anything but hand-drawn with the proportions of the animal unnerving her. Its eyes were purposely made to be large, rectangular, and imbalanced with the rest of the bird. Claws sat angled in a way that they looked bent backward and curled unnaturally to the side.

The card felt rough in her hands, some parts of it looked to be crumbled up while others had been dropped in something wet. Opening the card, she was unable to understand anything written on it. The words weren't written in English or any other language she was familiar with. They looked more like characters than letters and merged in certain places as if the writer was in a hurry.

Immediately she wondered who could have given it to her. Nobody had come over to visit in at least a month, the last time she had friends over was a week ago. But they hadn’t been in her room for more than a few minutes due to going to the mall right after. There’s no way any of her friends would leave such a note either, they’d have to hide it under thirty other cards and put everything back before she found them. Her sisters wouldn’t do it or have time to due to work and her brothers couldn’t even write.

Plus the foreign language it was written was stranger than anything she had ever seen before. Almost alien. She was getting more anxious the longer she held the card so she put it back on the shelf and bit her lip. Lea pondered calling her mother into her room and showing her the card to see if she recognized it. But she could still hear the older woman chit-chatting with her sisters so she probably wouldn’t even pay attention to what she would show her.

‘I’ll show her later and then she can handle it.’ She thought to herself with one last glance at the card before picking it up again and going to sit back down on her bed.