Clarity // p.l

004

"Say no."

Mark's head slowly lifted to reach his daughters, pulling the glasses from his eyes and running two fingers over them. "What?"

"These people from school asked me to go over their house and I need you to say no."

"Why would I do that?"

Elise let out a deep breath, leaning on the table and resting her forearms against the hard wood. "Because, something's fishy about them and I don't want to be caught in their pool of fish. Just say no so I have a solid excuse instead of I just don't want to go."

"Fishy how?"

"Like how they're all supposedly adopted yet they all have the same color eyes and not normal eyes like brown or blue or even green, they're like yellow or gold. It's weird and way too abnormal to just be a coincidence, not to mention they're ridiculously beautiful, unnaturally beautiful."

Mark's brow creased as he took in the words he was being fed. "How many of them are there?"

"Five, not including Bella, her eyes are normal and she's just average."

Her father stood quickly, forgetting about his books and papers that he was writing on. Instead, he dashed up the stairs without another word.

"Dad? I need an answer."

"No, definitely not."

Elise let out a sigh of relief, pulling out her phone and texting Alice that she wasn't going to be able to make it. In seconds she got a reply, the petite female on the receiving end accepting the answer, but promising that they'd have to raincheck soon.

"You disappeared after school," Asher pushed through the front door, tossing his backpack on the ground hear the shoes. "You go with those Cullen's?"

"No," She moved to the fridge, pulling out the food she planned to make for dinner. "Pork chops or chow mien?"

"Chops," He took a seat on the table as he watched her cook enough for the family. "Why didn't you hang out with them? Did something happen?"

Elise shook off, her feet moving swiftly around the kitchen as she put the meat in the pan, sprinkling with seasoning and let them cook. "Nothing happened, I just don't have a good vibe about them. If they're all adopted and dating then how do they all have the same color eyes?"

"Contacts."

"No film," She retorted. "I stared very hard, they're real. I don't know, Ash, something's wrong with them."

Believing the concerned tone lacing his younger sisters voice, he came up with a plan. "Find out what it is, they must be hiding something and now we have no choice but to figure out what it is. So, you pretend to be friends with them, hang out with them, go to their dumb little sleepovers and search everything until you figure it out."

"That plan would be great if I hadn't already told Dad I had a funny feeling about them."

Rolling his eyes and cutting up the vegetables she'd placed before him, he answered. "Why the hell would you tell Dad?"

"They wanted me to sleepover tonight and you weren't here to talk to me about this yet so I had to make him tell me no so I had a good excuse."

"Tell him you made a mistake, that you're probably imagining the whole thing because you hate the town and you felt obligated to hate the people in it too. Bullshit it, El, but you have to go over there."

Elise groaned, flipping the meat over once it browned and let the other side cook. "What if they're killers or something? I'd literally be sharing a bed with a killer like in those Lifetime movies."

"Then don't go in the kitchen, those stupid girls in the movies always are killed in the kitchen and are dragged in some closet or the basement. Stay around doors and big windows so the neighbors can see you if something goes wrong."

She soaked up everything like a sponge before trotting up the stairs to her father's room. "What's wrong now, Ellie?"

"Nothings wrong, I was actually just wondering if you would let me sleep over at the Cullen's house. I think I was being a little judgy earlier because I don't really like this town and I needed even more of a reason so I just started hating the people too."

"I don't know, you seemed really worried earlier."

"Please? I promise I'll text you if anything goes wrong and Asher said he'd stay up until I fell asleep."

One of her father's brows raised as his glasses rested low on his nose. "How would Ash know if you were sleeping?"

"Brother-sister telepathy, Dad. Please?"

"Don't do anything stupid, Ellie. And please for the love of God drive safely on the roads."

She nodded and kissed him on the cheek before bounding down the stairs to her brother. "He said yeah, so now I have to tell Alice I can after all."

"I already did," Her older brother handed her phone back showing the short conversation between her and the pixie haired teen that sealed the deal. "Plans in motion."

"I have the car tonight then, I'll be up in time to pick you up for school."

"Don't bother, Tyler's going to get me. We have football tryouts after school."

Elise's freshly plucked brows furrowed together. "Football? Ash, you're supposed to be going into soccer for your scholarships, they've been watching you for that."

"Yeah, I know," He quipped back, using one hand to push his hair away from his face. "I've been thinking though, maybe I should do multiple different things so I'm more desirable since my grades are ass."

"Don't say that too loud, Dad will kick your ass." She warned, her right blue eyes looking up to the door at the end of the hallway. "Which class do you need help with?"

Ash sighed, resting his head on his arms while he answered her. "English and History. I'm basically failing."

"You do my Math and I'll do both of yours. Those are my easy classes."

"I'll pay you," He jumped up at her declaration, hope filling his brown eyes. "Are you playing with me?"

Elise turned the stove off, dishing the food off onto desperate plates and setting them on the table. "Your future isn't something I'd play with. Mom's funeral and movie out here took up a lot of the funds and saving every penny would help Dad out."

Asher agreed with a hum in the back of his throat, picking up his fork and eating the food provided for him. "If the Cullen's actually are serial killers, can I have your room? Your window really is good for sneaking out."

Loud laughs emitted from the older boy at the look his younger sister threw his way, the way her face had morphed was a spitting image of their mother, the fond moment adding another good memory to tuck itself away in the safe confines of Asher's mind. "That's not funny."