Lena Matthews

"Werewolves!" I nearly shouted, slamming my new library book on the kitchen table.

"What is that?" Mom asked, disgusted by the graphic illustration. "Aurelie, you can go upstairs." she added when my sister tried to peek over her shoulder.

"Dad, the first people who lived here were werewolves, and they could still be here. We'll wait for the next full moon, set up cameras by the woods, and then search for fur and send it back to the Agency for testing. Then we'll have the first piece of evidence. One step closer to that lab! Our own Floridian division!" I had expected Dad to be a lot more excited about my discovery. Instead, he just sighed.

"That's a drawing, and an old one at that. The Native Americans were probably drawn like that to dehumanize them. I bet it made the settlers feel a lot more entitled to steal their land. I'm glad that you're trying to help me with the case, Lena, but that's not your job. Please let the real agent handle it." Dad instructed.

"I am a real agent." I protested. "You gave me a card and everything."

"The card designates you as an associate, not an agent. You have your mission, and I have mine. I need you to blend in. If you go all Nancy Drew, it could make the family seem suspicious." Dad explained.

"How would you have reacted if Finn had told you the exact thing I did?" I asked. "Would you have taken it seriously then?"

"That's not fair to your father or to Finn," said Mom gently.

"You didn't answer my question." I snapped.

I already knew the answer, but I wanted to hear Dad say it to my face. It's never been spoken aloud, but deep down I knew that Dad would give anything to have Finn become an agent, and not me. It would horrify him to have his legacy resting on a girl, not his firstborn son. I've noticed the way Dad tends to look down on any woman that isn't Mom, but that's not surprising.  After all, he never knew his mother. I've thought a lot about Grandma Matthews, and why she decided to leave. But her negligence was not my fault.

"Right." I said, trying to conceal my disappointment when no one said anything else. "That's what I thought."

I walked outside to collect myself. My feet moved of their own accord, dragging me into the backyard and away from my parents. Gravel crunched under my feet as I walked past the fire pit and towards the dock that overlooked the river. I didn't stop until I was at the very edge, gazing at the water and the forest that lay just beyond it. I sat down, letting my feet dangle precariously close to the frigid river.

Hesitantly, I reached into my pocket for my card. Lena Matthews, it read. Associate to Agent Matthews. I couldn't believe that I hadn't thought to read it until now. 

"Lena?" Finn asked. He sat down next to me, following my gaze into the distance.

"What do you want?" I asked, looking down at my reflection in the water. I hadn't realized I was crying until now.

"I wanted to talk to you," said Finn earnestly.

"Well, I don't. I'm done with you being the perfect one." I replied.

"I never asked to be," said Finn. "Dad wants me to be like him, and he doesn't care about anything else." Finn pulled out his card. Finley Matthews, it read, Agent.

"Are you done bragging?" I asked.

"I was never bragging about anything," said Finn. "Lena, I don't want to be like Dad." I looked up at him, surprised.

"Why not?" I asked. "You don't want to be the hero?"

Finn shook his head. "That's not for me. I don't want to risk my life and be away from my family all the time. Besides, if anyone's going to save the world, it's you. Dad just doesn't realize that yet. Don't take it personally."

"How am I supposed to not take it personally?" I asked.

"First, don't do anything crazy." Finn advised. "Let Dad do his job."

I sighed. "You're right." I laughed weakly at my tears, and tried to wipe my eyes. I pulled the hair tie I wore off my wrist and tied my red hair out of my face. Without saying another word, I got up from the dock and started walking back.

"Where are you going?" Finn asked.

"I'm going on a walk. I need to clear my head." I said passively.

"Don't go too far." Finn warned. "Do you want me to go with you?"

"It's fine." I muttered. "I'll be back in a few."

I strolled along the river, past my house. As I walked along the water, I didn't see any other residences. The backyard faded until it was just me in the middle of the woods. I couldn't even see the dock behind me as the wilderness thickened. I stepped onto a fallen log, holding my hands out for balance. As I continued, the woods became a bit sparser. Maybe there were some houses nearby.

I headed closer to the river, and noticed that there was a beach. I had assumed that beaches only existed by the ocean, and curiosity pulled me onto the sand. I didn't realize that I had been feeling claustrophobic until I stepped into the openness of the shore. I ran across the sand, stopping just short of the water. Smiling, I sat down on the shore and closed my eyes, taking in the calmness of my environment. It was moments like these that I could forget that monsters existed.

"Help!" a voice called. I opened my eyes and scanned my surroundings. There was no one here. I stood up and looked around.

"Help!" the voice repeated desperately. I could hear frantic splashing. Someone was in the river. I stared at the endless body of frigid blue, searching for the victim. Suddenly, I spotted a pale hand jutting out of the water, fighting to stay above the water. I rocked back on my heels, trapped in the debate between running into the river like an action hero or sprinting back to the house to call the police.

I wanted to work for the Agency. If I couldn't handle a little water, then maybe I deserved to be an associate.

"I'm coming!" I yelled to the mystery victim. I hurriedly removed my jacket and glasses and sprinted into the river.

To say that the water was cold was an understatement. Still, I had expected it. What I did not expect, however, was how the fabric of my sweater and jeans dragged in the water. I felt like I was swimming in concrete as I made my way to my rescuee. As I got closer, I recognized him: Carter.

I grabbed Carter's arm and flung it over my shoulder. Struggling to keep myself afloat, I managed to turn him onto his back so that he could breathe. Determined, I gripped Carter by his shoulder and kicked through the water as hard as I could. Carter tried to help, but he was a terrible swimmer. When I could finally feel sand beneath my feet, I sighed in relief. Wearily, I helped Carter stand and walked him all the way back to the beach.

I flopped onto the sand, exhausted. My body curled into a ball, shivering uncontrollably. Carter seemed shaken by nearly drowning, but he didn't seem as cold as I was.

"How are you not freezing right now?" I managed to ask between shivers.

Carter shrugged. "I'm not sure." He seemed ready to go, but glanced at me and stopped. "Listen, I live really close to here. I think we have a lot of blankets and some dry clothes."

"Sold." I said automatically, hopping up despite my exhaustion. I fumbled in the sand for my glasses and put them on. Now that I had rescued him, Carter seemed a bit nicer. He held out his arm to help walk me back to his house. I continued to shiver, but Carter seemed completely fine for someone who had almost drowned a few minutes ago.

"What happened?" Carter's mom demanded the second we walked in the door. I recognized her as Jessica, the nurse from my checkup. She seemed way too young to have a kid Carter's age, but I didn't question it. Jessica moved at a nearly superhuman rate as she placed me in a chair right in front of a raging fireplace. She hurriedly checked my temperature, and confirmed that I would be fine.

"Carter, why on earth did you think it would be a good idea to go swimming?" Jessica asked.

"That wasn't my intention," said Carter. "I was drawn there by something."

"That doesn't make any sense." Jessica protested, exasperated. "You know that you could drown-"

"Or freeze." I added, still shivering.

"Right." said Jessica, not as concerned about hypothermia as I was. Jessica threw another blanket on me and left, promising to return with some dry clothes.

"So," Carter began, handing me a glass of hot chocolate, "We don't talk about this. Ever."

"You're lucky I was there to rescue you. You weren't much help at the library earlier." I pointed out.

"If I recall correctly, you were the one who refused help." Carter stated matter-of-factly.

"Touché." I replied, leaning back in my chair. "I won't say anything if you and Rowan keep your mouths shut about the library." Carter glanced at me distrustfully. "I can keep a secret. Promise." I vowed.

"Okay, then." said Carter, shaking my hand. "Deal."

"I'm not sure if this will fit, but it's the first thing I found." said Jessica, descending gracefully from the stairs. She was holding a dress that looked like it was probably decades old. It was long, with a faded white fabric and golden beads embroidered along the end. Jessica tossed me the dress casually, as if it didn't look like it belonged in a museum. I jumped up to catch it, accidentally spilling my hot drink on the blankets in the process.

"I'm so sorry." I apologized, looking down on the stained blanket. The dress, luckily, remained unharmed.

"It's just a blanket." Carter assured me. "Go ahead and change. I got it." Carter pointed me to a restroom and turned his attention towards the mess I had left by the fireplace.

I walked into the restroom, shocked by the exorbitant amount of luxury in something as small as a half bath. Pristine white tile lined the floor, and the mirror was framed with an expensive-looking gold border. I felt guilty as my soaked clothes fell onto the flooring. I put on the dress, which fit me surprisingly well. Whoever owned this must have had the same body type as me. When I stepped out of the bathroom holding my wet clothes in a scrunched ball, Jessica looked at me like I was a completely different person.

"Where should I put this?" I asked, awkwardly holding up my clothes.

"Oh." said Jessica, snapping out of her spell. "I can take those." I passed my clothes over to her, and she walked upstairs, offhandedly saying something about the balcony.

"Wow." said Carter, seeing my dress. "I didn't see it before, but the resemblance is uncanny."

"What?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Let me show you something," said Carter. He walked back over to the fireplace and grabbed a picture that had been sitting on the mantel. He gave it to me so that I could see it for myself.

"That's me." I whispered quietly. I have never posed for a picture in some vintage photo booth, but the girl who smiled at me through the picture frame had my exact face. Even though the photo was black and white, I could tell that her hair was a strawberry blonde, like mine. She was wearing the same dress I had on now, and was in a full flapper costume with a headband, feather, and heels.

"It's not." Carter clarified. "It's my sister, Rosie." Rosie. That explained why Jessica kept on staring at me, and why the dress I was wearing fit so well. Rosie was my doppelganger.

"Where is she?" I asked.

"It's a long story." Carter deflected.

"But now I really want to know." I insisted.

"Well, she was murdered." Carter paused. "I guess it's not really that long of a story. I didn't know her. Jessica adopted me after she passed."

I had no idea how to react. "That's awful." I said sympathetically.

"Life goes on." Carter recited as he placed the picture back on the fireplace.

"Did they ever find out who did it?" I asked.

"Yeah, but they got away with it and called themselves the heroes." said Carter, not offering any more exposition.

"Oh." I said quietly. "They sound terrible." We fell into an awkward silence.

"Listen, I'm sorry if I offended you before in the library. I didn't mean to insult you or anything." Carter looked like he wanted to say something else, but in the end he held it back. "Well, I guess we should start over, Ivy Scott. Friends?"

"Friends." I agreed.

A/N: It looks like Carter and Lena are starting over, which could be a good thing. Let's see how this new friendship will go. Fun fact, the beach picture I used in the graphic is a real beach that I used to go to when I was little! It's one of my happy places. My brother and I would always insist on swimming in the river, even during the winter. Anyway, please let me know what you think about this chapter, and leave a vote if you enjoyed!

QOTD: Do you have a celebrity lookalike/ doppelganger?