✧༺♥༻∞ Chapter One ∞༺♥༻✧

The rain crashed down on Demi's messy, blonde hair as she ran through the puddles with a sense of urgency. She breathed in the summer's day petrichor, admiring it but not letting it distract her. There was nothing quite like that gorgeous, outdoorsy scent, particularly after two years locked up inside.

The pace of her run began to slow as she grew more and more tired. Staying indoors all day, only communicating with a few similar minds had been more tiring than it sounded. Despite her exhaustion, she had to get further away from the hospital before she could slow to a walk entirely.

Demi jogged along the beach; deep footprints forming in the wet sand. The rain trickled down her fresh face, blending in with her freckles and the clouds had faded into the grey sky. It certainly didn't look like the sun was going to come out anytime soon. It wasn't an unusual summer's day in Brighton, or so she could remember. Her memories were hazy these days and sometimes it wasn't easy to differentiate between her dreams and reality.

So many days Demi had sat on her bed in the hospital creating stories in her mind.

Her nickname on the ward had become 'daydreamer' because it was all she ever did. The other patients couldn't understand it, but Demi thought it was because they didn't have her level of intelligence. 'The more intelligent minds have the most to think about,' she'd tell them.

The others would laugh at her. It made her feel like she was back in school again, even though she was actually twenty-four years of age.

Despite panting like a dog, eventually the drenched woman reached her destination.

Bute Street. It was a small house crammed with five university graduates, one of which was her twin sister, Ewelina. They weren't identical, but you could tell they were related. The main difference was their eye colour. Ewelina had blue eyes, but Demi's were green with a hint of blue. They changed colour based on the lighting around her. They shared the same freckled faces and tall bodies. Everybody would always comment on how they had good genes.

Ewelina's address was one of the few memories Demi had in tact and she could only hope her sister was still living in the same place. Who could forget that little, blue house on the most colourful street she'd ever seen. It wasn't glamorous, but it made her feel at home. Trees smothered the corners of the street with rubbish trailing out of some of the houses. It looked like the bin men hadn't been in a while.

After a small smile had crept up on her lips, Demi reached out her dripping hand and knocked hard on the door. On her back was a backpack full of all of her belongings. It was scary throwing herself back into the world with so little, but it was better than staying stuck in a mental hospital for another two years. She had all of the necessities for now.

Admiring the familiar street, her eyes suddenly flicked back to the door when she heard it squeak open.

"Who are you?" a man questioned. "Do I know you?" He was decently built with a small amount of facial hair and kind eyes. It took a couple of minutes for Demi to register who he was.

"My sister used to live here," the woman choked out, attempting to sound more confident than she felt.

"Yeah but...who's your sister?" Caleb spoke with an accent that sounded half like a Londoner and half like he was from the West Country. It wasn't very charming nor posh. In fact, it was quite the opposite and common accents had never been Demi's thing. It made her ears sting and her bother cringe.

The blonde's eyes exchanged glances with Caleb. "Ewelina. You definitely lived with her because I recall seeing you here before. Thanks for forgetting me, Caleb."

It took a few seconds for him to register. "Wait, Demi? Sorry, I didn't recognise you. You're not meant to be here. And you look like a drowned rat." He paused and looked up to the stairs. She didn't know what he meant when he said she wasn't supposed to be there. What had her sister told him? "Oi Ev. Baby, come down, yeah? You gotta visitor."

Baby?

Demi felt her insides squirm and not in a good way.

Did that mean he was dating her sister now? Demi didn't comment on it out loud but she couldn't help but wonder what caused such a disastrous duo to unite.

It was typical of her sister to take a stupid amount of minutes to do as she was told. The awkward and silent contact with Caleb was killing her.

Eventually, Demi gained sight of her sister's blonde waves and pushed her fist to her own cheek to wipe away some accidental and sudden tears.

"Anyway, I'm off out to meet the boys. Nice seeing you, Dems." Caleb couldn't escape the awkward atmosphere quick enough.

Sighing at her boyfriend, Ewelina rolled her eyes and stepped forward to greet her guest. She'd imagined it would be one of her irritating colleagues, or even just somebody trying to sell her something but oh no, this was going to be far more than that.

Ewelina's eyes jetted directly up to her twin's. Both of them stood at a tall 5'10, although Demi's posture wasn't having the best of days.

The two women stared at each other for a second or two before Ewelina stepped forward to wrap her arms tightly around Demi, too shocked to think of any words.

"They let you go?" she breathed out, closing her eyes to savour the hug just in case it was all just a weird dream. Ewelina took a step back again to look her frail sister over.

Demi's stared at her with a wild expression in the back of her eye. "They didn't let me go."

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Author's notes:
Just a short chapter to set the scene. In the next chapter you'll meet William! Please note that this book is a first draft.

Interactive question:
Do you live with your family/friends or alone?