Lane sat remembering her Sixteenth birthday; the girl sat waiting impatiently to take her driver’s test. She was completely and totally ready for it, and knew with confidence that she would pass and get her license. That was, until Lane got to the driver’s bureau. As soon as the instructor came out of the back room to fetch the young girl she knew that she would fail. Not because of nerves, or anxiety. But because of the way the instructor had said Lane’s name, full of harshness. Almost like the woman had already had too many near death experiences that day, and Lane would just be one more to add to the list. The woman led Lane to Lane’s older sister’s car, which was a black 2011 HHR. It looked like a shiny black box on wheels, with a duct taped window near the back.

“Get in the car, start it, and roll down the window. I don’t want to stand out in the cold for long.” Her harsh tone was really starting to kill the young girl’s mood. Lane had left the doors unlocked, so that she wouldn’t have to worry about fumbling with the keys. Everything was going great; she had it in the palm of her hand. Putting the key in the ignition, Lane tried to turn the engine over, only to feel the steering wheel lock up, just her luck. It took about five whole minutes to get the car to finally start, but it was already too late. The Instructor was already beyond angry; she instructed Lane to turn on her right blinker, and the young driver knew that she had that in the bag. But no, it couldn’t be that easy. Lane reached for her blinker, to turn it upwards for right, when the palm of her hand hit the lever before the rest of her hand.

“I said right!” The woman's voice was loud and screechy, almost like a bird cawing. Lane could hear the marks being made on the paper. Alright, that’s two things. I got this. I can do it. She took a deep breath, and heard the driving instructor making more marks on Lane’s paper. What did I do wrong then? She didn’t tell me to do anything… Lane was really beginning to dislike her instructor. The woman was marking her off for things she hadn’t even been told to do, and in the end, Lane didn’t get her license. The old, grouchy instructor woman led Lane back to the lobby where her dad sat waiting. Lane could see him staring at me, his eyes asking the question. Shame and anger hit the girl like a brick, why did this woman have to be so picky? She’d obviously had a bad day that day, but that didn’t mean she had to take it out on unsuspecting teens who were just trying to get their license.

“Your daughter did not pass the test. Her car failed to start. She couldn’t figure out her left and right on her blinkers. She didn’t know where her bright lights were. She failed to find the emergency break, and the defroster. When we pulled out of the parking lot, she made a too wide of a turn. She failed to park correctly on a hill with a curb. And once we were in the parking back in the parking lot, she hit the curb. She can try and take the test again next week, but if she fails more than three times she will have to send a letter to the state asking permission to take the test again, and giving a good reason of why she should be allowed to test again.” Her bitter monotone voice seemed to just hang in the air.

“Did you really do that badly, Lane?” Her dad’s soft voice asked once they had gotten back in the car. He seemed really concerned that is daughter failed so horribly, and she just couldn’t hold her anger in any longer. “No! That woman is just some old prick who must have had something stuck where the sun don’t shine! She was marking me for things I did correctly and whenever I asked her to put her seatbelt on she completely ignored me! I mean really now, you’re not supposed to make the driver angry, are you? Since the driver has control of the car, they could oh you know…purposely wreck on your side of the car!” the words just spewed out of her mouth. Lane knew that it wasn’t fair to be taking it out on her dad, he was a sweet man. But that woman had taken her anger out on Lane and she just couldn’t stand it.

“Well Lane…would you like a Pepsi, and to drive home?” His voice was still gentle. “Yeah…” A silent sigh escaped the teens mouth.  Her mom wouldn’t let her take the test again for a while; she knew that much was obvious. But her dad might have…

“Sexy and I know it” pumped through the car on the way home, and Lane was on some interstate from the terrible place full of demons that they called a town. The girl was so focused on her frustration, and the song playing, that she hadn’t realized she was speeding until her Dad pointed it out. “Lane. You’re doing 80.” He nonchalantly said.

“I’m ticked off.” Her voice was harsh, with a hint of bitterness.

“Lane…the speed limit is 65.” Her dad replied; his worry for his daughter was starting to come through his voice. Lifting her foot off the accelerator slowly decreased their speed as she switched lanes, getting onto the lane that would allow her to turn right to enter Jonestown.  “I’m sorry,” The daughter’s voice was fairly flat, she was sure he could tell that she hadn’t meant what she said. It wasn’t her fault though; it was that instructor’s fault for making her frustrated and failing the girl.

Lane couldn’t tell you how long it felt like they were driving before they finally got home. Actually, she could. It felt like forever, it felt as if all eternity had passed before the girl stepped back out of the car. At that point though, she was in no mood to mess with anyone. You could see the steam and anger radiating off of her body. Of course, as soon as she stepped through her front door everyone asked the same question. “Did you pass?” rang all throughout the house.

“No. I did not pass. Don’t ask my score, I don’t even know it. Apparently I did so badly that she didn’t even bother to tell me. I’m going out. I’m not sure where yet, I’ll be with Aubrey and Eli, and I’ll have my phone on I promise. If it dies…I’ll text you from one of their phones.” Turning on her heel, she walked out the door quickly and waited on the front porch for Aubrey to come pick her up. She knew that her parents were only trying to look out for her, but still. She didn’t want them to; she could take care of herself.  It felt like eternity before she saw Aubrey’s blue Ford Mustang pull into the drive way, but really it was only twenty minutes. She wasn’t too car savvy, so she had no idea what year the car was made in but it looked pretty new. “Are you just going to stand there looking at me, or are you going to get in the car?” The girl heard Aubrey call from the driver’s side. Still, she just stood there looking at the car. Both the twins were up front, and the sun was shining brightly off the hood of the sleek blue car. “Are you coming or what?” Eli called out from the other side of the car. He and Aubrey are identical twins, you see. Eli is just barley taller than Aubrey, though both of them stand around 5”11’. Their skin was a very light tan with nearly no blemishes on it, but that’s because they’ve got fair skin.  Aubrey and Eli wear their hair different, so that you can tell them apart. Aubrey always has his hair short cropped and spiked in the front, while Eli keeps his hair long and swooped to the side. They are the odd balls of their family; the Native American side of the family genes comes out in them the most.

          She heard the crunch of stones hitting the bottom of her shoes as she walked over to the car. Lane really wished that Aubrey would just pull up into the yard like a normal person, instead of making her walk on the rocks to get to him. “Aubrey. Why do you do this to me? You know I hate walking through here.” Annoyance hinted in the teens voice. He knew that she could never really get mad at him though, he was just too darn cute. She watched as his cheeks pulled into a huge grin that spread across his face. Of course, he’d find her distaste of walking on wet rocks funny. Aubrey loved to aggravate Lane; he knew that he could get away with it. The pitter-patter of rain hitting the car was slowly calming her down; it always made her feel so relaxed. “Hey Eli, Aubrey, why not turn on some music? It’s a little depressing back here.” Finally, sound burst through the quietness of the car. “Have Faith in Me” by A Day to Remember was blaring all around her, and Lane got lost in the music as it flooded the car, and before she knew it she was at the brother’s house. “Hey you guys, why have I never been to your house before?”  Lane’s question was answered by silence. Of course, now they want to play dark and mysterious. “Well Lane, I think it’s about time you met our parents. I think you’ll like them.” Aubrey’s voice floated to the back seat. By now the rain was pouring harder, and it almost sounded like it was hailing. Their house is a nice little house, even if it is hidden behind a wall of trees. The top part of the outside was half-brick and half-wood. The house had a somewhat rustic look to it, and it gave off a slightly eerie feel. The inside of the home was nice too, when Lane first walked in the first thing that she noticed was the large fireplace off to the side in the living room. Its warmth nearly filled the entire house. The living room was furnished nicely with a polyester couch, loveseat and table in front of the fireplace with a flat screen T.V. mounted above the fire. “Hello Mr. and Mrs. Torrent. My name is Lane Conroy; I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure of meeting you before,” Her words sounded empty, with only a little bit of life to them.

“Hello Lane, we’ve heard so much about you! You sound like such a wonderful young lady.” The boy’s parents didn’t sound full of life either, the sounded a little gloomy almost.  Good, she thought,  at least we’re on the same page.

 “Your house looks lovely; it must have been in the family for a very long time.” The friendly chit chat was getting boring, and holding on to her fake smile was beginning to hurt the girl’s face; oh well, some sacrifices were worth making. Lane looked around and saw a large wooden bookcase filled with books, some looked like medical books, anatomy books, and even medical herb books. That’s interesting, I would have never thought one of them to be a doctor…

“So Miss Lane, do you know why my boys brought you here?”  The question seemed to ring in the air; it could’ve been a number of things. Why would she ask that?

“Uhh...to meet you both?” It wasn’t supposed to come out as a question, but Lane couldn’t hide the puzzlement in her voice.

“Well, that isn’t entirely true. You are here to meet us, but you are also here to learn something about your family tree.” Mrs. Torrent was looking directly at Lane now. Their mothers pretty, with big brown eyes and a tall, lean, feminine figure. She had long wavy brown hair that looked like it could have been on the cover a magazine.

“My family tree? What about my family tree? There’s nothing wrong with my family tree.” The words just flowed out of Lane’s mouth and she couldn’t stop them. As far as she knew there wasn’t anything wrong with her family tree, it wasn’t as if she was adopted or anything. My parents would have told me that…

“Well honey, there isn’t anything wrong with your family tree it’s just…sit down here sweetheart.” Something in Mrs. Torrent’s voice didn’t sound right; there was an odd sound to it…something wasn’t right.  Lane sat completely still on the couch, both her hands on her knees as she listened. “Honey…The family you know, isn’t really your family. You were adopted when your real parents were killed in an accident,” Mrs. Torrent’s voice was soothing, but not enough to ease the shock.

“How do you know that? What are you trying to say?” Lane stuttered, almost having to choke the words out.

“I knew your parents when they were alive.  Your father was Lance Smith and your mother was Samantha Smith. They were very reputable with people like us. However, many people didn’t like them either. Many dangerous people, who would want to hurt them, kill them even. We all had a dangerous job, and a few of us still do. Lane, your parents were scientists.” Mrs. Torrent’s lips were a pale shade of pink, she had probably put lip gloss or chapstick on not long before the boys brought Lane over; the lighting in the room was very dim, giving the room an eerie look to it.

“What are you saying? What do you mean?” Her heart was beginning to pound harder against her chest as Lane’s panic rose, and the adrenaline started pumping through her veins.

“We’re so sorry that it took this long for you to find out. We just couldn’t find the right time to tell you.”  Mrs. Torrent sounded so sincere, but Lane was still in shock at the news. How dare she keep that from me! How dare all of them! Anger flooded over Lane the more she thought about it, It wasn’t fair; it wasn’t their choice to decide if she knew about her parents or not.

“Honey…that isn’t all. Your parents told us that, well…after we told you it would be safer if you moved in with us. “

She could feel the color drain from her face. She would have to live in the same house as Aubrey Torrent, Mr. Perfect. There is no way that I can do that! The teen could feel her face flush bright pink as she said, “You aren’t serious, are you?” and the words almost sounded foreign as she heard them.

“I’m sorry, Lane.  I know it’s a lot to take in, and I’ve already had this talk with your parents. You can move in at any time now, we have a spare room available upstairs across the hall from the boys’ rooms. They can show you to it if you like.”

None of it seemed real, everything Lane ever knew was about to change all because of one little trip. Living with an entirely new family would be hard enough, let alone moving in with the boy she liked. As far as Lane knew though, Aubrey had no idea that she liked him, but he would soon with her living there.

“Hey…Laney, come on. I’ll show you to your new bedroom.”  Aubrey’s voice was soft, soothing, and made her heart lurch forward. All she wanted was to feel his warm embrace and to make all her fears, doubts, worries, all of it go away. 

“My parent’s…they were scientists, but that’s not a dangerous job. What were they doing that got them killed? You never told me what’s going on.” Whatever it was had to put them in danger, and that would put Lane and anyone else she’s been in contact with in danger also. She wasn’t sure where her questions were going to get her, or if she even really wanted to know the answers. Mrs. Torrent’s face hardened at the question, and it was very noticeable that she was not pleased.

“Lane, honey, why don’t you let Aubrey show you up to your new room. Tomorrow we’ll talk more about everything that’s happened today.”

Something about the way she said things comforted Lane; it was probably because she didn’t really want to know the answers. “Alright, will you please show me the way?” The words sounded fake, “I’m really kind of exhausted, would y’all mind if I take a short nap?”

“Of course not, Lane. I’ll have one of the boys wake you up after a little while, how’s that sound?” Mr. Torrent was already being nicer than Mrs. Torrent but that’s how it goes most of the time. Aubrey motioned for Lane to follow him up the stairs and she noticed the multiple family portraits on the walls. Some were just Eli or Aubrey; others were all four of them. A few were of the boys in a soccer uniform or a sweater vest and collared T-shirt. In front of her she could watch as the muscles in Aubrey’s back flexed through his shirt when he walked, and that wasn’t a bad sight either. At the top of the stairs Lane spotted a large wooden door, probably made of oak, and that was where they stopped.  

“Well Lane, this is where you’ll being staying from now on. My room is right there—“Aubrey pointed across the hall, “and Eli’s room is right there.” He pointed a few doors down and on the right. She watched as Mr. Perfect walked back down the halls before turning to the staircase. Opening the door, she could smell the distinct scent of old wood. It was a little calming, as if she had just stepped into a forest after the rain. The bed was huge, probably a queen size, and right under a window. The headboard was an elaborate wood carving that flowed beautifully with the comforter that decorated the bed. It was a dark green with a black swirled design starting from the bottom and moving up. The bed being under the window was perfect; she wouldn’t have to move it at all thankfully. Other than the bed the room had a dusty wooden chest at the foot of the bed, a wooden vanity near the center of the left wall of the room and a closet near the back of the room on the left wall also. The room itself seemed large enough for the girl to live comfortably for a while at least.

Lane laid down on the bed and felt her body sink into it, the comforter was soft and feathery feeling. She slid under the covers and the last thing that Lane remembered seeing was the empty open closet.

“Lane…Lane…it’s time to wake up…mom made dinner and its ready…” A muffled voice kept calling her from her peaceful dreams, and as she opened her eyes the first thing she saw were Aubrey’s soft brown eyes in front of her face. His lips were only inches from hers, and she knew that he heard how hard she swallowed. “Hey there sleepy head, it’s time to go eat so let’s get going.” His voice was almost a whisper, and Lane slowly sat up in her new bed. Her heart started to race and she began to panic for a moment before realizing where she was. Waking up here will take some getting used to…Quicklyshe rose up and sat on the bed, and her head began to spin from the sudden movement.
"I'll be down in just a minute, you can go ahead." It would take a while to adjust to living with an entirely new family, even though Lane had known the twins for as long as she could remember. What about my parents? What will they think if I just never show back up home, will they look for me? Or do they already know? The thoughts flooded her head almost as quickly as she had rose up on the bed. "Maybe I should call them...or atleast text dad and let him know that I'm still alive.." looking down at her phone, she stared at the lockscreen that pictured herself and her father. You could see small wrinkles on his forehead and around his mouth, laughlines as he liked to call them. It didn't help that his moustache was nearly all grey, along with his sideburns and the little bit of hair he had left. Lane had tried to convince him countless times that he needed to stop wearing a hat otherwise he wouldn't have any hair at all. Her dad was asubborn man though, and he didn't care whether or not he had hair on top of his head. The time at the top of the screen read 7:00PM, so Lane gloomily got up from the bed. She would have to face the night at one point or another, and she had already told Aubrey that she would come down to eat anyway.

Lane hadn't really paid much attention to the hallway on her first walk to the room, and now that she was alone she noticed that the walls were fairly bare compaired to the stairwell. Nothing had been placed on the walls, there wasn't ever holes were a nail should be to hang a picture. It was just maroon paint all the way down to the floorboards and all the way up to the ceiling. Down the staircase and to the left Lane found the kitchen and everyone in it.

"She's alive!" Mr. Torrent joking said, and the whole family chuckled at the mocking joke. Lane couldn't help but to smile at a little at his attempt to lighten the mood from earlier. "It's nice of you to join us dear, the last bit of dinner just finished cooking so you're right on time." Mrs. Torrent spoke as if the family meeting had never happened and Lane had lived with them her whole life. Is this how it's going to be now? Just pretending nothing ever happened? Instead of saying anyting Lane just sighed and grabbed a plate before sitting between Eli and Aubrey.