Never trust the Neighbors

Jessie Kilburn and Stephanie Mahon

"Oh my gosh, look at this kid!" I squealed.

“I think it’s the new neighbor,” my twin sister Molly whispered.

“Well he’s going to be my boyfriend in less than a week." “You know, there are things more important in life than guys," she said, rolling her eyes. I’ve always been obsessed with boys and my sister is always the one to hold me back. It’s not my fault I have a twin sister.

I stared at his muscular arms as he played basketball. Most of the kids in my grade don’t have muscles like that; he must have been bodybuilding since he was three. All I knew is that I was determined to make a good first impression.

I started out the bedroom and ran down the stairs as fast as possible. I grabbed the perfume in the bathroom and Molly followed, groaning with each step she took.

He’s not going to like you if you go out looking like you're trying too hard.” She stepped in front of me trying to get in the way of me going out the door. I shoved her out of the way and ran outside, before I could realize that my shoes were untied. I could hear Molly’s snickers as I face planted into the grass.

My cheeks were burning red from the embarrassment. Before I had time to react, I saw his hand in front of me, helping me up. I took his offer and pulled myself up, flustered.

“Are you okay?” he said laughing.

I looked up into his big crystal blue eyes, they squinted when he smiled. He has dimples on the sides of his face and he was beautifully symmetrical. He had dirty blond hair and a golden tan; you would think he was a surfer and maybe he was. His clothes made him look even more perfect than I already thought he was. He wore a muscle tank and sport shorts. He was maybe a half a foot taller than me, the perfect human being.

I answered, “Yeah I just face planted in front of my new neighbor no big deal.”

He laughed once again and introduced himself. “I’m Chris, my family just moved here from California.”

“I’m Melissa, and I've lived here all my life.” I giggled. “Why did you move all the way up here?” I responded, acting confused, but I was just about to make my move. Knowing exactly what I was doing, Molly walked back inside, clearly annoyed.

“Yeah, my dad got a job offer here, and it paid too well for him to pass up. It’s a little different here and I don't really know anyone, but I’ll adjust.”

“You and your family should come over and have dinner with mine, so you guys can adjust better,” I smiled slightly.

“Well, I don’t know about that. My parents aren’t the most sociable people,” his eyes wandered a little bit, making him look nervous.

“I’m sure they'd feel comfortable, my mom and my sister, Molly, are really friendly. You don’t have to come if you really don’t want to, but I think it’d be nice for you and your family to get adjusted to the new neighborhood since you don’t really know anyone around here.”

“I just don’t know if it’s a good idea... I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” he said anxiously. The charm he had when he first helped me up went away suddenly, and turned into apprehensiveness and hesitance. He walked away towards his house, leaving me alone on my lawn.

He hurriedly tried to grab the door handle when a woman barged outside. She was a spitting image of him, with blue eyes and beautiful blond hair.

“Sweetie could you help me bring in some of the boxes, your father and I need-” she hesitated for a moment. “Who is this pretty girl,” she said smiling.

“I’m Melissa,” I answered, blushing for a moment. “I live here," I said, gesturing towards my house. "I just wanted to introduce myself.”

“Hi Melissa, I'm Mrs. Wilson. Well it’s great to meet you Melissa, maybe our families can get together some time.” Chris gave her an odd look, intimating that it wasn’t a good idea.

“Yeah, definitely, I think Chris was just about to ask you if you all wanted to come to my house for dinner tonight,” I smirked.

“That would be delightful. It’s so nice to get to know your neighbors on the first day.”

“Great. I think my mom just got some fresh trout from the store, it’s really good.” Chris’ eyes went wide, and he started fidgeting with his hands.

“Um I- I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said stuttering. “Chris is allergic to fish; it wouldn't be good if he had any."

"Never mind then, well that’s perfectly fine,” I smiled. “We can have the fish another time; my mom can just make something else.”

"Oh, don't trouble yourself sweetie, you guys can come over our house, we already have steak and sushi prepared," she responded kindly. It seemed as though the problem was solved, but Chris still seemed unsettled. I took the invitation anxiously and I was ready to go tell everyone. At that moment, my brain was going faster than my body and I just stood there, like a dork smiling.

"I'll see you in a little bit Melissa, nice to meet you," Chris said with a bright smile, gaining back his confidence.

I walked back up into the house and leaped over my sleepy dog, Scruffles and headed to the family room.

"Molly, guess what?" I shouted excitedly.

"What? You have a new boyfriend, it's not like you have enough of those already," Molly blurted still staring at the messages screen on her phone.

I ran over to her and jumped on her, getting angry and I sat there and she didn't move, or scream. This wasn't like Molly.

"What's wrong?" I turned to her confused. I kept poking her, like the annoying twin sister I am, but she did nothing.

"Bennie cut off our relationship because he said he liked you better and thought you were prettier," she cried looking up at me. "He said that he was going to ask you out tonight." Of course, this had to happen to me, tonight. This is when Chris is supposed to propose to me.

"That jerk, Are you kidding me? He should be ashamed. You're beautiful and amazing! Also the fact that he said I was prettier is funny because we look the same," I chuckled a little trying to get her to feel better, but I knew she was still feeling horrible by the look on her tear wet face.

She nodded and looked back at the black hole of the phone she had and threw it across the room. I took my phone out of my pocket and did the same thing. She smiled and gave me a hug. If she goes through anything, I want to be with her through it all, even though we are so different.

"I have to tell you the big news!" I turned back at her, ready to blurt it out, when she cut me off.

"We are going to have dinner at their house?" She let out. My face went blank for a second. She must have been watching us.

"Yeah they're making dinner for us. When is mom getting home?" I turned around and started to take off my sneakers, waiting for an answer, which never came. Molly left the room; she always does that when she is bored of me.

It's five o'clock now, and I'm screaming to my mom and Molly to get ready. I'm dressed in a navy blue dress with a skin tight, lace top and a flowy, silk bottom. I know Chris is going to like it. I put the nicest makeup I had on. The whole time I was getting ready Molly was on her phone rolling her eyes every five minutes. I looked in the mirror as I put on my peach lip gloss and my eyes wandered to pictures of me and my friends on the sides of it. I immediately took a double take as I realized that one of my pictures was ripped. The picture of me and my best friend Tiffany at my fifteenth birthday party was now ripped in half, and only Tiffany remained in the picture; I was gone. I knew it was one of Molly's jokes, even though in my opinion it wasn't funny at all and actually made me really mad. But, I figured that Molly was having a really hard time with her breakup, so I decided not to say anything. She was already upset enough; I didn't want to start a fight.

I felt bad for her because she and Bennie had been together for two years and I really thought they were going to be together after college. They met freshman year at a bonfire. They started hanging out all the time, and the rest was history (until now of course). What a jerk that kid is, he doesn't deserve her.

"Come on girls it's time to head out," my mom peeked her head into our room and checked on us. I was all prettied up and Molly was in ripped jeans and a tie dye fall out boy t-shirt. Her brown hair hung knotted in a low tied ponytail. Her mascara was smudged on her upper eyelid and she wore old slippers that were ripped so much they looked as bad as our dog's favorite chew toy.

I knew she was having a rough time and didn't tell her to change, but our single mom, thought otherwise.

"Come on! At least try to look good Molly," her arms went to her sides immediately.

Molly stood up and finally said, "I'm either going like this or not going at all." I looked at my mom and knew she was defeated. Molly always got her way. Mom left after a few seconds, and Molly grabbed her phone and stomped out of the room.

Rolling my eyes at both of them, I walked out of the room calmly and made my way down the hallway. The incandescent light reflected off the many photos that lined the long walls of the house. The pictures were filled of papa, before he passed. He smiled in every single picture, and he always had so much joy in him. I know Molly and Mom miss him every day like I do. The photos gave my stomach warmth and hope. They were so welcoming to the house it hurt. I took the perfume I put on the counter from earlier today and I drowned myself in it, washing away the memories.

It was time to go.

"Let's go, it's already six!" I exclaimed to them as I stepped out the door. I saw the face of Chris in the window on the second floor, which quickly disappeared behind the curtains, as if he had something to hide. That was really sketchy, so I told Molly and she said that I was just overthinking things.

When we got to the house the door was immediately swung open and there stood Mrs. Wilson and who I thought to be Mr. Wilson. They were dressed up in fancy clothes, even better than my dress. They both stood their smiling, almost like statues. Chris appeared at the top of the stairs and came down hastily, breaking the silence. He was also dressed up nicely, with a tuxedo and a blue tie.

"Hi, I'm Georgia, Molly and Melissa's Mom," Mama smiled softly at the Wilsons.

"Hello Georgia I'm Chris, and this is my mom Kelsey and my dad Frank," they both just stood there and watched us say our hellos. They must have been taken over by aliens or something, because they seemed crazy. Mrs. Wilson was acting completely different than she was a few hours prior; almost like a whole new person. Then she stepped back and it looked like memory washed over her face and she looked at us.

"Hey, Melissa it's you! I'm sorry about whatever just happened; I have short term memory loss sometimes. Frank is just a little shy!" She told us for reassurance. She was wearing a teal dress, with a pearl necklace and pearl earrings.

Frank stood there and looked at the floor fiddling with his hands. I can see where Chris gets it from.

We entered their house, and my mind was going all over the place. The outside of this house looks small, but the inside is glamorous. They must be a very opulent family to have bought this house. The walls were blank, though. There were no stray boxes lying around, and I figured they were probably upstairs. However, I did wonder how they got so much stuff up there so quickly, considering there was only three of them.

We walked into the dining room through a stained glass door. The room had a blue tone to it. I swear all the shades of blue were in this house; definitely no other colors were involved. Over the table there was a large chandelier glistening in the light coming through the tall windows. Outside the windows there was a long stone path leading through the woods. The path goes far through the woods, but I am still able to see the glisten of river Rapids, leading to a wide open lake.

"Please sit down, and make yourself at home," Mr. Wilson quietly spoke. He didn't look anything like Chris. He had dark brown hair. He was a short man, with a long torso. He had narrow eyes, and a small nose. They looked so different in fact, that you wouldn't even believe that he was Chris' biological father.

We sat down. Molly sat next to me and my mother on the other side of her. Chris was across from me and Mrs. Wilson was across from Molly. Mr. Wilson sat at the head of the table.

"You have such a beautiful home, how did you get moved in so quickly?" My mother asked, knowing that I was thinking that too.

"Oh, we had some family come and help us. I'm not that strong, neither Chris nor Frank," she gave my mother a smile, fit for the devil. There was something not right about them.

I looked down at my plate and there was a nice piece of steak on it, and some pieces of sushi. I grabbed the sushi and took a big bite. It tasted off; I looked at the piece I didn't eat. There was only cucumber, seaweed, and rice. I've never tried this before and it tasted really good.

My mom started a conversation with them about where to go shopping and what the best places are to go for fun.

I started to cut up my steak and slowly took a bite trying to look cute. Chris was looking at me now. It was really disgusting to be honest. It was burnt and literally tasted like a frog. I smiled and quickly raced my hand towards my water and it spilled, all over my dress.

The Wilsons quickly jumped out of their chairs, like springs on a trampoline. Mr. Wilson ran past Chris, who was shaking and grabbed a paper towel roll. He chucked it at me and it hit me square in the face. So far, the night was going well, for my sister. Molly sat there holding back her laughs.

"Where's the bathroom," I asked with tears about to burst out of my eyes.

"Up the stairs, down the hall and to the right," Mrs. Wilson kindly said. "Molly, can you clean this up for me?"

I walked fast out of the room and went like and elephant up the stairs. Chris seemed upset at me, which confused me. I mean it was just a little water.

I took a left and open the door to which I thought the bathroom was, and it was Chris' room. It smelled like him. He didn't wear cologne though, he had a natural smell. There was nothing in it but an unmade bed and a guitar, no boxes to unpack.

I looked over at one wall and my jaw dropped. There was only one picture hanging on the wall, and it was ripped. Sure enough, it was of me, at my fifteenth birthday party. I didn't have to do any more questioning; I knew exactly where he had gotten it. There was a red X through it. No thoughts went through my head other than one thing: I no longer wanted to be in this house.

I closed the door to his room tried to find the bathroom, starting to get nervous. I opened a random door and closed it behind me. As I turned around I couldn't comprehend what was going on. There was a full size aquarium fish tank in the room. It wasn't just some basic fish tank; it could fit at least a few sharks. So many thoughts raced through my head: Why would they have a tank with nothing in it? Should I go downstairs and tell someone? Or should I just leave and act like I saw nothing? It was too late anyways; I heard the steps of multiple people coming up the stairs.

"Melissa! What are you doing in there? This is not what guests are supposed to do!" Chris angrily yelled at me through the locked door. He tried the door once and kicked on it a couple of times. There was silence for a few seconds as I waited my back against the tank. My hands were wet from the sweat pouring down my body. I shook from the thought of the picture of me in Chris' room.

"Whatever you do just don't touch the water," he cried out on the other side of the door.

"Why? Is it poisonous or something? I think not," I yelled back at him.

The door started to splinter as he rammed against it. He did it a couple more times as I stood and waited. Where were my mom and Molly? The door finally gave way and fell in a big cloud of wood. He ran over to me and grabbed my throat. He threw me against the tank and I hit my head hard. His once crystal blue eyes were darker now.

"Don't worry your mom and sister are doing okay, they are just dead in the tank downstairs," he said sarcastically, releasing me and letting me fall to the ground. "We knew you guys were going to find out our secret sooner or later, but I guess your sister found out quickly. Once my dad touched the water you spilled, he turned." He smiled at me in the sweet way he always does. “You know, we were neighbors with the sweetest people back in California. They were just like your family,” he chuckled once. “They found out our secret, and they committed suicide, in their bathtub. Well at least that is what the police think anyways.”

"Are you telling me-" I paused for a moment thinking, "you're mermaids?" It sounded weird coming out of my mouth. I thought they were a myth.

"Yes, by definition, we are mermaids. But we're different. Nearly all mermaids live in the ocean. You hear all these stories about mermaids living on land and never getting caught, but that just isn't reality. We don't think we should be penalized just because we grow fins and a tail every time we touch water, so we try to live as normally as we can. That comes a price, however, that others have to pay of course. So-" he explained, but I interrupted.

"So," I gulped, not wanting to believe what I was about to say. "You basically kill anyone who finds out about your little secret, then frame them to make it seem like they committed suicide."

"You catch on fast," he winked sneakily. "But there's something about you, maybe your eagerness that makes me want to spare your life. I'd like to make you my queen," he stuck his hand out. I pushed his hand away. I was too weak to do anything else to stop him.

His face turned red in anger and he dragged me downstairs and into the basement, where there was yet another fish tank. This time, however, there were two familiar people in it; my mama and Molly, who lied motionless at the bottom. Tears rapidly streamed down my face at the sight. Chris' parents both stood still beside the tank, and to my disgust, smiling. Chris jumped into the water. A bright light shined through the tank and I turned away. I looked at him again and he had a beautiful tail that was teal and shimmery. It swayed in the water as he looked at me through the glass. He was irresistible, but I quickly snapped out of it. His family literally just killed my mother and sister; I couldn't possibly still be attracted to him. I could hear the voice of my sister yelling to me, to save her. I could see my mother's hands waving at me. She was saying something about Papa, or at least I thought she was. How could they be talking if they were dead? Maybe I was just imagining it; I did hit my head pretty hard.

"You should come in, the water is nice and warm," he then reached to me and grabbed my slippery hand. He was so strong, and I couldn't resist anymore. My mind was spinning.

I could see the faces of my mother and sister against the tank, as I was dragged deeper and deeper through the bottomless tank.