Welcome Home

Walking home from school was still an extremely new experience. Aylin shivered, pulling his raincoat tighter around him, looking and seeing Lucca held an umbrella over the two of them.

"I recommend getting some rainboots," Lucca said, looking down at Aylin's soaked sneakers. He held out his umbrella, "Take this so you can get home. Are we going to work on the project at my place or yours tonight? Mother's fine either way."

"I'll ask Grandma, and I'll text you the details. Does spaghetti for dinner sound okay?" A nod from Lucca, who waved and ran in the direction of his house, 

"See you in a bit!"

"Bye, Lucca," Aylin smiled a bit, looking up at the navy umbrella, the gesture of kindness bringing his pause, his brows furrowing before he shrugged, content to grab the kids from where he noticed them playing on the outdoor recess toys.

"River, you really shouldn't attempt the monkey bars," Ember warned, trying to convince her adopted brother to not try that in the rain. River just looked in her general direction and stuck his tongue out before trying it anyway. Aylin cringed, already knowing where this would go.

Sure enough, River missed a bar and slipped due to the water still under the bars. Aylin dove forward and caught him, and River just pouted, crossing his arms.

"You'd let Noah or Ember do it." River muttered, and Aylin sighed, ruffling the boy's messy blonde hair,

"It's wet, River, and that's risky. I don't want any of you getting hurt. Come on, let's get home. I need to ask Millie if Lucca's staying over or if I'm going over to his place."

"Can Lucca stay over?" Noah asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet, "He's so cool!" Aylin rolled his eyes, grabbing River's hand to make sure he didn't run off.

"He'd be staying over to help with the project. We probably won't be playing many games."

"Oh come on," Noah whined, "You gotta take a break sometimes!" 

"Which project?" Ember asked, quizzical eyes staring up at her older cousin. Aylin looked around the park as they walked, seeing River had released himself and was jumping in a puddle. Nobody seemed to be around, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

"A lab report in Chemistry. We were working together with some copper sulfate, and we need to finish the papers explaining the process. Then I need a little help on the English paper." Of course, they had much more important things to work on, but schoolwork was still relevant. He looked down at his iPhone and noticed a text from Millie, saying she was going out for some groceries.

Getting home, Aylin instantly realized something was wrong. Millie wasn't here, but the door was unlocked. She always locked the door ever since he had started to suspect something was off about this town, so why would things be different now?

He checked a shingle near the door and removed it, pulling out the box which had the spare key. The blush he had used was disturbed, meaning someone had used it, and it had been recent.

"Aylin?" River looked towards him, "What is it?"

"Someone's in the house." He whispered, digging into his pocket and pulling out his switchblade. "Okay, kids, I want you to stay out here until I say so. If you hear me shout, run to Eyla's house." The three young children ran down the stairs and hid behind a bush as Aylin went inside, closing the door behind him. Once he was sure nobody in town could see him, he dug into his backpack and pulled out his pistol, the safety still on, but that could change at a moment's notice.

He slipped off his shoes, walking on the balls of his feet to keep quiet, going up the stairs, his breathing shaky as he looked around the hallway before finally coming up on his own room. Instantly he realized the pencil lead he kept in his door to see if anyone had come in was broken. 

His blood ran cold. Had someone besides Lucca figured out who he actually was? He flipped the safety off the gun, entering the room and noticing the window was open, chilling the entire room, which was undoubtedly not how he had left it.

He was about to check behind him when he heard a voice, "You prepped a lot for if someone goes through the front door, but you did a piss poor job prepping for someone going through your window."

Aylin spun around, ready to fire, but had the gun knocked out of his hand and slid under the bed. He got a look at his supposed attacker, only to relax instantly, and his nerves were replaced with frustration, looking on the amused face of his twin brother. 

"Ryu, what are you doing here?" He asked, and Ryusei shrugged,

"You called saying you needed my help, and here I am."

"I said I needed some information on who you might know in your shady line of work," Aylin retorted, "I didn't mean for you to come down here. How did you even know where the key was?"

"I've actually been in Kammont for three days." Ryusei lounged on the bed as though he owned the place, "You know, looking for some targets. I was thinking of having a body pop up as a little 'surprise, I have arrived!' thing, but opted against that. I spent a couple nights at the inn. They know I'm your brother, but I just said that I was at boarding school, but flu season made them close for fear of the coronavirus, so I gave y'all time to prep for me at the house instead of dropping in." He looked up from where he had been examining his nails, "So, how are you doing?"

"I was doing fine until you just about gave me a heart attack. I'm guessing you had a 'job' here and just decided to stop by?" Ryusei sat up and dramatically placed a hand on his chest,

"I am offended, Lune. Do I really need to be fresh off a job to visit my brother and help out? You're in America for the first time in years! Of course, I want to come visit! Besides," he laid back on the bed again, "Because of the virus, they are putting up facial recognition cameras starting in Seattle and spreading through all of Washington, which is going to make kills there that much harder."

Aylin examined his brother, who he hadn't seen in person in years. They talked on the phone often, but there was something about seeing him in the flesh that made tears well up, even if it was just in frustration. There was no denying which of the twins was more attractive as years of being an uncaught killer made Ryusei very lean yet muscular, and his soft brown hair fell gracefully, framing his face in a very flattering way. Of course, Ryusei needed to be more attractive for his line of work to be as successful as it was. 

Looking at him, it was almost hard to believe that this teenager wearing a pastel sweater with a cat on it was the most successful serial killer of all time. Aylin huffed, 

"It's good to see you again, but could you next time please let me know ahead of time?"

"Next time? Aylin, I'm flattered!" Ryusei got up, holding out his arms, "Come on, where's my hug?"

"Fine," Aylin walked over and hugged his brother, "For the record, you're watching the kids tonight. I have a friend coming over, and I need to work on projects." 

"Oh, right! So," he had a fiendish grin, "Who's your boyfriend?" Aylin instantly took a step back, his eyes widening,

"Nobody!"

"Then, who gave you the umbrella?"

"My friend." He put his hands on his hips, puffing his cheeks out a little in his frustration, "I can have friends, you know."

"I mean, you've been hiding in your flat in London for ten years, so excuse me for being a little shocked." He walked towards the door, leaning on the frame before turning back with a grin, "It's nice, seeing you again in person. I was starting to worry it wasn't going to happen. Now come on, let's go get the kids before they run away."

Ryusei strolled down the hall, and despite himself, Aylin couldn't hold back a smile, no matter how much of a disaster tonight was going to be. Maybe Ryusei would finally settle down, and they could be a real family.

"Welcome home, Ryusei..."