Chapter 1
Summer Vacation isn’t all fun and games

I am that no so popular girl, that loser that no one would ever want to date. That girl that sits in the back of the class and raises her hand whenever she knows the answer to something. My name is Veda Torez, I am a straight A student, I am a senior this year and I don’t have many friends; or at least that’s what I thought until last summer my family and I went on a vacation. My mom and dad wanted me to get used to wearing contacts so that’s what I did that summer, my mom and I are practically best friends, my dad would rather spend more time with my brother and talk about football. For my last birthday my mom took me to a spa and I got a small makeover. I don’t really like makeovers so I kept my look pretty much the same. I’m that kind of girl that will spend a week locked in her room with a laptop playing online video games. I’m that girl that does everything with her twin brother because there is no one else that wants to ever really hang out with her.
My brother’s name is Caleb Torez, he’s actually the more popular kid at school but he still makes time to hang out with me when I need it. He wears letterman jackets, tennis shoes, and jeans. I wear overall shorts with a “video games for life” shirt under it with some old black converse, my glasses most of the time, braces, and my hair up in a messy bun. Caleb got his braces on a year before I did so he got them off just last year, I still have to wait another week. So I’ll have to wait until we get one week into the school year. School hasn’t started yet but I’m just counting down the days till I get to be pushed around in the halls again for another year.

Anyways back to what happened over the summer; we went to a beach last summer for a getaway vacation a week after I got my makeover. My parents left me and Caleb to go have some fun while they laid on the beach. Caleb and I were walking around when he bumped into this really pretty girl and they began to talk for a while and I went to go find a bathroom somewhere around here. I stopped at this small little mini bar to see a really good looking guy there sitting in a seat drinking a smoothie. He noticed me looking and he smiled at me, I rubbed my arm shyly with a smile to look up and notice him walking over. “Hi, are you new around here?” I nodded my head still rubbing my arm. He smiled with a wink. “I thought so, I would remember seeing an angel at the beach.” I laughed teasingly. “Wow, nice pick-up line. I’ve heard it before but no one’s ever used it on  me.” he smiled before laughing along with me. I stuck my hand out for him to shake. “Hi, my name is Veda.” he took my hand and shook it gently. “My name is Lucas.” he smiled one more time and I looked at him, he was really cute. He has blue eyes and short sandy brown hair, his jaw looks to be perfectly chiseled. And he was wearing a shirt that only parents would make their kids wear on vacation. I laughed once I saw his shirt. “What’s so funny?” “Let me guess, you’re on vacation with your family too.” I looked at his shirt again. “Yeah, my parents told me and my sister to have some fun while they waited in their hotel room.” “Oh my gosh that’s almost exactly what my parents told me and my brother to do except my parents are on the beach and my brother was just talking to a girl that he ran into.” I turned around searching for him and when I spotted him I pointed at him, laughing and talking to the girl. I walked to him with Lucas following, once we got over there he was already making out with the girl.

“Jeez Caleb, are you serious? You just met her and you two are already making out.” I laughed and he pulled away from the girl to look at me. He glared and the girl blushed. “Hailee this is my twin sister, Veda. Veda this is Hailee.” I smiled and stuck my hand out for her to shake, she took it and smiled back as she shook my hand. “So are you just here on vacation?” “Yeah my mom and dad wanted to come to the beach so here we are.” She smiled. “Where are you from?” “Um well I was talking to Caleb and we go to the same school, my parents have home schooled me since third grade when we moved here. This year they decided to let me go to public school, so I'm going to Rushmore High.” I nodded my head with a smile. “Well I have to go find my parents, I'll see you around sometime Caleb. It was nice meeting you too Veda.” And with one last smile and a kiss on Caleb's cheek she left into the crowd of people on the beach.

“Caleb this is Lucas, Lucas this is my twin brother Caleb. Not to mention practically my best friend.” I put Caleb in a headlock and ruffled his hair laughing with him. I let him go and he shook Lucas’ hand. “Well Lucas maybe I'll see you around but we have to go find our parents.” he nodded in understanding and went onto the beach tossing his shirt off and running into the water. “Looks like we both met someone that we like. I like Hailee and you like your new lover boy Lucas.” I punched Caleb on the arm jokingly with a smile. “Who's to say that I like him like that, he's a new friend, that's all.” Caleb laughed at me teasingly. “No you definitely like him more than that. I can see the blush in your face.” He was right I felt my cheek with my hand and it was getting hot and I shrugged my shoulders. “Okay so I like him, and you like Hailee. She seems really nice too.” “Yeah she is.” “Hey, we didn't come here just to sit around and talk all day, let's go have some fun.” I ran through the crowd with Caleb following close behind me. We both raced up the beach and onto a dock both laughing and jumping into the water making two big splashes of water scatter making little ripples as they fell glistening in the sunlight. “Wait a minute this is the perfect sunset to get a picture of. Let me go grab my camera real quick.” I quickly hopped out of the water and ran to where our mom and dad were with our beach bags. I quickly opened one of the pockets and pulled out my new waterproof camera and ran back to the dock kneeling down and getting a beautiful picture of the sunset with the water glistening in front of it. While I was taking some more pictures something grabbed a hold of my arm pulling me in the water. Once I rose to the top with my camera I noticed Caleb laughing at me just a few feet away. “You are so dead.” I laughed as I swam under the water and rose to the top again splashing him with a bunch of water. We both swam under the water and swam further away from the beach, I got a ton of amazing pictures while we were under the water. I got a few fish and some more of the sunset. Once Caleb and I made it back to the beach the campfires had all been started by now. Everyone was separated into their own little groups of family and friends sitting around the warm fire. I stopped at a few of them and got some pictures on the way to our parents.

When we finally got there Caleb and I both grabbed some towels and dried off before covering ourselves in the towels, I was still really cold but I was getting warmer from the heat of the fire. I was showing my mom the pictures that I got when I felt a small tap on my shoulder, I turned around to see Lucas standing there with a smile on his face. “Nice pictures you got there, Veda.” He sat down next to me and wrapped his blanket around me. “Thanks.” I kept flipping through the pictures with a smile, I looked up to see my mom and dad both smiling at me. I cleared my throat which caught Lucas’ attention. “Oh um, mom and dad this is Lucas. Lucas this is my mom and my dad.” “Hello, and I already met Caleb a bit earlier today.” He smiled at each of them. “Well it's nice to meet you too, Lucas. Isn't it Darrel?” She tapped on my dad's chest who was looking oddly suspiciously at Lucas. He made a grunt nose and nodded his head still glaring at Lucas. “What intentions do you have for my daughter?” He stroked his chin suspiciously. “Darrel, be nice to the poor boy.” My mom whisper shouted at my dad. “Uh sir well we just met today, I have no intentions besides becoming a new friend of hers. She is a nice, smart, and if I may add beautiful girl that looked like she needed a friend to talk to.” I blushed once I heard him say the words “beautiful girl”. My dad still nodded his head and glared at Lucas. “Um well I just stopped over here to say hi to you all. And I would like to ask Veda and Caleb if they would like to attend a beach party tomorrow night that is thrown. There will be chaperones and there is definitely no drinking, smoking, or anything illegal sir.” Lucas smiled proudly. “We’d love to come. Isn't that right Caleb?” I picked up a small pebble and tossed it at Caleb's leg without anyone else seeing it. “Hey what was that for?” He rubbed his leg. “What was what for?” I nodded my head over at Lucas coolly, he looked at me weird before looking at Lucas again. “Oh yeah man, we'll come to the party.” My mom smiled happily at Lucas. “Cool, I'm gonna go find my family. See you guys later. It was nice meeting all of you today.” And with that he got up and walked off to find his parents. “I'm mom, I'm gonna go watch the fireworks. I'll be right back.”

I got up and grabbed my camera walking onto the beach and up one of the docks sticking my feet in the water. I took some pictures and when I was looking at them I noticed Lucas walking up the dock and he sat down next to me. A rush of cool air blew past me making me shiver. “Hey are you cold?” I shook my head but he looked at me like he didn't believe me, he took his sweatshirt off and placed it over my shoulders. “Thanks.” I looked down at the camera feeling a little embarrassed. “No problem, I'm not a jerk that will let a girl freeze while I'm all warm wrapped up in a sweater.” I laughed and looked up at him to see him smiling. I noticed that he began to lean in, his lips made contact with mine gently. I heard loud bursts and looked up at the sky to see fireworks, I smiled and looked back at Lucas. He leaned in again and kissed me gently as if he did any harder I would shatter into a thousand tiny pieces and he slowly placed his hand on my cheek. It felt like I had butterflies in my stomach, it felt like the sun was shining over my head and a rainbow rose above me. When we parted we both smiled and I looked up at the fireworks, Lucas wrapped his arm around my shoulder and I laid my head down on his shoulder. I couldn't help but feel that this was the best day of my entire life, I found someone that I like a lot and so did my brother, I had my first kiss ever, and I got invited to my first beach party.

When we parted again I smiled and bit my lip before the two of us laughed and looked down at our feet. “Veda!” I turned at the sound of my dad calling my name. “I'm sorry Lucas but I have to go.” He nodded his head in understanding and rubbed the back of his neck shyly. I smiled before getting up and running towards the beach to find my family. Once I found them I sat back down still smiling. “What has you so happy all of a sudden?” My mom smiled as she passed out a blanket to me. “Oh um nothing.” I lied, I turned around to look at the water and I could see Lucas still sitting there watching the fireworks as they burst into a thousands of colors in the sky.

The rest of the night we talked, watched the fireworks, my mom kept trying to get me to sing and dance. I took dance lessons since I was four and I’ve been singing in choir since I was twelve, so she thinks that I could become a singer and dancer. But as many times as I’ve told her she won’t face the fact that I like photography but she wants me to do something more than hiding behind a camera, she wants me to be the first thing you would see in front of the camera.

An hour later Caleb went to go find Hailee and talk to her for a while, my parents went to get some food for us to eat. I’m a vegetarian so I told my mom that I wanted a salad and a water. She usually knows exactly what salad I want, with cranberries, honey roasted nuts, mozzarella cheese, and salad dressing on organic kale leaves. It may sound weird but it actually is really good, most people think that I’m a freak for eating something like that. I sat by the fire looking through all of my pictures on my camera with a huge smile plastered on my face because my mind kept wandering off to thinking about Lucas. When my parents got back with my salad I grabbed it with my water and took a few sips of the water before opening the salad up and taking a few bites of it. I set it down next to me and listened to my mom and dad talk as I took a few more sips of water and looking down at my camera. “Sweetie, why don’t you sing us a song you have a beautiful voice. Sing ‘I will always love you’ by Whitney Houston.” I rolled my eyes with a smile before clearing my throat. “Fine mom, one song that’s it though.” she nodded her head and leaned forward using her elbows to prop herself up on her lap and watched me as I began, I closed my eyes and imagined I was just at home singing by myself.

“If I should stay
I would only be in your way
So I'll go but I know
I'll think of you every step of the way

And I... will always love you, ooh
Will always love you
You
My darling, you...
Mmm-mm

Bittersweet memories –
That is all I'm taking with me.
So good-bye.
Please don't cry:
We both know I'm not what you, you need

And I... will always love you
I... will always love you
You, ooh

[I took a small pause for what would have been the instrumental and sax solo]

I hope life treats you kind
And I hope you have all you've dreamed of
And I wish you joy and happiness
But above all this I wish you love

And I... will always love you
I will always love you
I will always love you
I will always love you

I will always love you
I, I will always love you.

You.
Darling, I love you.
I'll always...
I'll always love you.
Ooh
Ooh”

By the time that I was done singing I opened my eyes and a whole bunch of people were surrounding me and my parents as they listened and watched me sing. I immediately froze where I was and my jaw dropped open. I scrunched my eyebrows and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, everyone began to clap and cheer around me. “Veda.” I turned around to see Lucas making his way through the crowd making his way closer to me. “You didn’t tell me you could sing like that, you were amazing.” I was still standing there with my jaw dropped and frozen in fear. I quickly ran past everyone on the beach and I began to run as fast as I could, which wasn’t very fast given that I was nowhere close to being an athlete.

The next thing I knew I was walking on the sidewalk with no idea where I was and no idea how to get back. I passed a restaurant and I could see in the windows little kids in the booths with their parents as they arm wrestled each other, and babies with food all in their hair as they sat in their seats and giggled splashing their hands around in their food making it spill everywhere. I smiled at the sight of them having fun with their parents and a couple of other kids whining to their parents that they wanted more dessert. I walked past a few allies and when I was just about to pass the fourth one I felt a cold hand wrap around my mouth pulling me into the dark, damp, alley. I tried to muffle a few screams but I already knew that no one was ever going to be able to hear me. “It’s okay princessa, no one’s going to hurt you.” he kissed the edges of my ear lightly, my reflexes got the best of me and I stomped on the invaders foot and bit their hand as hard as I could before running out of the alley faster than what I thought my legs would ever be able to carry me.

I ran until I was gasping for air, until my lungs couldn’t take it anymore and my knees were aching. When I finally stopped running I leaned up against a building I looked behind me to see if I was still being followed by the person from the alley. I looked all around me to see if there was anyone around that could give me directions. I began to walk again but this time I was more careful, I was watching all of my surroundings, I came past a motel and went inside. I went to the front desk where there was a middle aged woman working the desk. “Excuse me can you give me directions back to Darling beach?” she nodded her head before going behind her desk and pulling out a small folded piece of paper and a marker. “This is where we are now.” she circled it on the paper and unfolded the paper one time. “Darling beach is quite a while away from here kiddo, it is twelve-thirty right now you should be able to make it back there by one-thirty. You got lost?” She said as she circled Darling beach and drew a line that lead through the streets back to the beach, I nodded my head still a little out of breath from running. “You have no idea, I ran from the beach and I began to walk once I made it about a mile away and then I was walking past an alley and someone tried to kidnap me but I escaped and ran practically the whole way here. I need to exercise more if I have to run like that ever again. My brother is a jock but then I’m a video game dork. Most of the time it’s usually the other way around where the girl is a hot popular cheerleader and then her brother is the lame video game dork.” I smiled kindly grabbing the map from her hand. “Thank you.” she nodded her head politely and I walked out the building. I was walking and looking down at the map when I felt someone’s hand on my shoulder. I slowly turned around and noticed that it was Caleb. “Oh my gosh, Caleb you scared me so bad.” I dropped the map and pulled him into a tight hug. “Where’s mom and dad?” he didn’t refuse the hug. “They’re back at the beach waiting for me to bring you back.” I smiled and pulled out of the hug. “Let’s go, this place honestly gives me the creeps. Some weirdo from an alley grabbed me but thankfully I managed to get away.”

“What someone hurt you? Where are you hurt?” I giggled. “I’m not hurt, but he had a familiar voice and he whispered something in my ear before I got away.” “Well, what did he say?” “He whispered “Don’t worry princessa, no one’s going to hurt you” and then he kissed my ear before I ran.” Caleb’s jaw clenched revealing how angry he was, his hands clenched into fists and it seemed like his green eyes turned almost black. “Caleb are you okay?” I placed my hand on his arm but he was staring up at the street. “Caleb?” he quickly looked at me and the anger was released from his heart. “What?” “Are you okay?” he nodded his head. “Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s get back to the beach.” “No, are you hiding something from me?” he looked at me for a few seconds before answering. “No, now either we forget this and walk to the beach or I can carry you back.” I shook my head and he quickly picked me up and tossed me over his shoulder. “Caleb, put me down. Just because you’re my brother doesn’t mean that I won’t kick your butt.” he ignored me and kept walking with me draped over his shoulder like a beach towel or a empty sack.

I stopped resisting in the hope that he would set me down and let me walk on my own but he never did until we got back to the beach. When I made it back my mom was crying into her palms. “Darrel, what if Caleb can’t find her? What will happen to our little girl?” my dad spotted us and quickly got up and pulled me into a hug. My mom looked over at us and ran to me still sobbing, my dad moved out of the way so that my mom could be the next one to pull me into a hug. “Oh my gosh, Veda are you hurt? Did someone touch you?” she pulled me away and grabbed onto my shoulders twisting me around to look at my arms and my face. “Mom I’m fine, no one did anything to me, I’m fine.” she looked at me again and pulled me into another hug, she was hysterical by now. She was sobbing, smiling, and laughing all at once. Tears threatened to pour out of my eyes but I did my best to fight them back. I didn’t want to cry in front of everyone on the beach, I think that will be super embarrassing. She pulled me back to look at me again and smiled before she spoke. “Why did you run off like that?” I shrugged my shoulders lightly so that her hands wouldn’t fall off and make it seem like I did it on purpose. “I guess once I saw all those people standing around me I caught stage fright. Mom, I told you before I am not meant to be on camera I’m meant to be working the camera getting all of the pictures. I’m just not ready to be in front of it.” “I promise, you’ll get your moment to shine, but for now we have to work on that stage fright of yours. We will schedule you therapy meetings, anything to help you get over the stage fright.”

“NO, MOM. YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND. I DON’T WANT TO BE A SINGER!” I took a deep breath trying to think about what I just did. I just snapped, I yelled at my mom. That was the first time I’ve ever done something like that. I looked around and more people began to surround us in concern, probably thinking that there was going to be a fight. I began breathing heavily and my throat felt like it was swelling from the inside, I was gasping for air. Everything around me began to blur, I took a few steps back and put my hand to my chest trying to find the beat of my heart. I couldn’t feel anything, my body was going completely numb. “Veda.” I turned to see Lucas standing there in front of the crowd right next to me. I swung my arm out and he grabbed it carefully trying to keep me from falling. I took one more look around before I fell and pain ran through my head as it made contact with the ground and darkness consumed my body.

Caleb’s POV

I ran to the front of the crowd as fast as I could once I heard Veda yelling. Once I made it to the front of the crowd I noticed Veda looking around at the swarm of people standing around us. Lucas came up to her and she swung her arm out grabbing onto his shirt, clutching it in her fist with her other hand on her chest. He grabbed her arm carefully before she collapsed to the ground and her eyes shut. I gasped and ran to her. I kneeled down at her side and lifted her head into my arms. “VEDA! VEDA, WAKE UP! VEDA PLEASE WAKE UP!” I shook her body lightly trying to wake her up. I put my head to her chest to listen for a beat. I heard a small beat, she was still breathing but barely. “WHERE’S THE NEAREST HOSPITAL?!” I looked around at the crowd of people. “Come on, I’ll drive you.” Lucas came to my side and lifted Veda into his arms. “I can carry her, you need to bring your car here. Hurry.” he nodded his head and placed her into my arms before running off grabbing the keys from what I assumed was his dad. I carried her a little ways through the parking lot before he pulled up and ran out to the side to open the doors for me to put Veda in one of the back seats. I set her down next to me and sat down closing the door behind me. Lucas ran back around and got in quickly closing the door and driving off. He drove as fast as he could without breaking the speed limit to the hospital. Once we got there he drove to the front doors and parked. I quickly climbed out and lifted Veda back into my arms and ran through the front doors.

“SOMEONE HELP MY SISTER, PLEASE!” two nurses came quickly with a stretcher and quickly rolled it to a room. “What happened?” one of the nurses said as she began to hook tubes up to Veda. “I don’t know, she just fainted.” the nurse checked for a pulse. “She’s still breathing, luckily. But she barely has a pulse.” they began to run with the stretcher rolling right beside them. “Wait in the waiting room, sir. Your sister is in good hands.” another nurse came to me and placed her hand onto my chest trying to push me back gently. “No, that’s my sister and I want to be there for her.” “Sir, she is in good hands. The best thing you can do right now is call your parents and wait.” I pushed her hand away from me and turned around walking angrily to the front desk. “I need to call my parents.” the woman there handed me a phone and I quickly dialed in the number, once they answered I told them where we were and that Veda was going to be okay. She has to be.