Seeing Double (The Perception Trilogy Book 1)

by Alyssa Lynn

  Twenty minutes from Chicago, the group was sluggish from the amount of food and alcohol they had consumed on the flight home. Being that Demo had never had alcohol in his system before, it only took two fresh piña coladas for him to trip over his own feet when he went back and forth to the restroom.

  “Where do you land this thing?” Ava asked.

  “On the landing pad in the backyard of my house.”

  Kaycie smirked at him, “It’s such a nice house. Wait until you see it! The foyer is like something you would only see in a magazine!”

  The plane hovered overtop a large L-shaped building before landing on the concrete pad behind it. As they all exited the plane, they couldn’t help but to stare at the large mansion that sat in front of them all. Big white pillars stretched from the perfectly decorated steps, up to the perfectly lit porch ceiling. Flower pots were scattered throughout the entrance in front of the large, glass-paned front door. None of them had ever seen grass as green as Ethan’s, and they were stunned at the amount of floral designs that sat in the front yard.

  Ava dropped her bags when they reached the front door. “Are you sure we’re allowed inside? I mean, it kind of feels like the FBI should be waving a wand over my torso to see if I have any guns strapped to me.”

  “Yes, it’s safe,” Kaycie said, laughing. “Nobody is going to cuff you and take you away. Not today anyhow. Unless there’s something you’re not telling me. Do you have a cocain sack stuffed up your bum? Is that why you’ve been so tense lately?” Ava ignored her comment and picked her bags up off the ground where she dropped them.

  They walked through the front door to a spacious foyer. Directly in front of them was a large staircase which stretched up to a balcony that overlooked the entire first floor. Ava had never seen something like this and couldn’t help but think it was the most amazing thing she had ever seen, aside from the clone of her best friend, of course.

  Once the shock from the amazing house had worn off a little, Ethan took everyone up to his floor so they could formulate a game plan.

  “We need to remain on the down-low for a while and hope that they don’t figure out we came to Chicago.” Ava said, pacing Ethan’s bedroom.

  Ethan held up his hand. “Actually, if we’re going to party it up, we may want to do it today or tomorrow. It should take a while to find us, and we wanted to give Demo a taste of Chicago, but we also don’t want to be cutting it close.”

  “Maybe we could all crash here until we think of another plan? I’d rather have all of us together anyhow. If they figure out who you are, then they will start digging to find out everything they can about you; if they haven’t already. Where you live, who your family is, what you do for a living. The last thing you need is for those psychos to go to the research lab and cause a scene trying to find you. Hell, I don’t want them coming after me either, considering I’m sure they’ll figure out who your roommate is,” replied Kaycie.

  “Demo, what kind of people do they have working there? Cops? Detectives? Scientists?” Ava asked.

  “All of the above, actually. I mean, I wouldn’t call them cops, but they have a type of security. Their detectives are used for compiling the backgrounds on the individuals they use for DNA so they can cover all tracks that would lead to their plant, and I’m sure they can be used for cases such as this one. The scientists are used for the main purpose of creating and maintaining the clones.”

  Kaycie looked nervous, “So, you’re implying that we’re pretty much screwed?”

  “I’m not sure I completely understand the meaning of the question, however, I believe the answer is yes.”

  There was a low grumble from the group. “Well, like Ethan said, I believe we will have a little bit of time before they come looking for us,” Ava said. “So, instead of us waiting around to be captured and turned into minced meat; how about we go enjoy ourselves? Maybe show Demo how we do things here in the city?”

  “Yes please!” Kaycie said, jumping up to her feet. “If Ethan is okay with housing some fugitives, Ava and I can run back to the apartment and pack up what we will need to get us by for the next week or so.”

  Ethan nodded, “You two go get what you need. I have plenty of room here and Demo can hang tight with me until you get back. He will be safe here.” Seeing the look on Ava’s face, he continued to ease her mind. “Seriously, I will take care of him. I will position my guards at each entrance and inform the hierarchy that there may be trouble. I can do so without giving them any information. We will be fine, I promise.” Before Ava could argue, Kaycie grabbed her by the arm and asked Ethan to call them a cab. “No cab, Kaycie. I’m having my personal driver take you both to the apartment and bring you back. I want to make sure you’re both safe.”

  Kaycie dropped Ava’s wrist and ran over to Ethan, jumping into his arms and wrapping her legs around him. She put her hands behind his head and pulled his mouth onto hers, kissing him as hard as she could.

  Demo looked over at Ava and held his arms out, but Ava raised an eyebrow at him. “That’s not how everyone says ‘goodbye’, Demo.”

  Demo, confused, dropped his arms to his side and stood silently. Ethan placed Kaycie back on the floor and she ran over and dragged Ava out the door. Ava looked over her shoulder at Demo and grinned as she waved goodbye.

  CHAPTER eight

  K aycie opened the door to their apartment and wandered back the hall while yelling over her shoulder to Ava. “So, next time you decide to go inside a death trap, can you at least blow the place up afterward so they don’t come after us?”

  “There is no way they can find us here in Chicago. It’s not like I have a GPS tracker in my skin that they can trace.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “No.”

  “That’s comforting,” Kaycie said as she made her way down the hall. “Real comforting!”

  Ava followed Kaycie into her bedroom and flopped down onto her bed while she watched Kaycie empty her entire closet into her suitcase. “Remember what I said about making better traveling choices?” Ava asked, pointing to the seven pairs of high heels she was cramming into her already filled bag.

  “These are my ‘just in case’ heels. You never know when you’ll need a fancy outfit.”

  “I’m pretty sure I can tell you exactly when I’ll need a fancy outfit.”

  “Well, you’ll definitely need one tonight. We need to give your gorgeous clone the full Chicago experience. You know what that means.” Kaycie said, giving Ava a corny wink.

  “Coming from you, yes, I know what that means.” Sighing, she climbed down off of Kaycie’s bed and went to the living room to grab Icarus before she began packing. She placed her little chameleon on her shoulder and headed for her bedroom.

  She couldn’t help but to think of what demo said. What if they knew who she was and where she lived? She blew a few bubbles for Icarus and watched his little arms reach for them.

  “Oh, Icarus. What have we done?” she asked her little green friend.

  Throwing her suitcase onto her bed and opening the closet door, she stared at all of her clothes hanging from the hangers. She made sure to pack clothes for work as a just-in-case, even though she knew Kaycie wouldn’t let her step foot into the lab any time soon. Grabbing her silver cocktail dress and black pumps, she held them up against herself and looked in the mirror. Dissatisfied with the combination, she grabbed the red cocktail dress and repeated the process.

  “Perfect,” She said, draping it across her suitcase. Throwing in a few additional choices for club hopping, she moved to her dresser and picked out a handful of casual outfits. She grabbed her makeup from the vanity and her toiletries from the bathroom. Zipping up her suitcase she yelled a five minute warning to Kaycie.

  “You can’t rush perfection!” Kaycie yelled back.

  After putting her things by the front door, she went and stood in Kaycie’s door way. She couldn’t help but to think of Demo; how much he resembled Jett. Her stomach even filled with butterflie
s when she was around him, almost as easily as it did when she was around Jett. She thought it was crazy how similar her emotions were when comparing Jett to Demo. Twiddling her thumbs in the doorway, she let her mind wander to what it would be like to touch Demo; to feel his wavy hair run through her fingers. She could feel her eyes sinking shut as her mind allowed her lips to press against his. To have his body press against hers and feel his breath on her neck.

  “I know you feel an emotional connection to him,” Kaycie said, doing the same mirror pose that Ava was doing only a few minutes before.

  “Huh?” Ava replied, trying to drag herself from her daydreams.

  Walking away from the mirror and placing her club dress on top of her suitcase, she put a hand on her hip and stared at Ava. “Oh, come on. Don’t play stupid with me. You know you can tell me these things.”

  “There’s nothing to tell. He’s the clone of my childhood best friend. What exactly could come of that?” Ava asked, dropping her hands to her waist. “Not that there is anything there anyway.” She fidgeted with her fingers and avoided eye contact with Kaycie.

  “He’s still human, Ava. He’s still the replication of your childhood crush. You’re getting your chance with him now, and you should take it.”

  “It wasn’t like that with me and Jett. We were just us, just friends. He was basically a brother.”

  “Bullshit. I see the way you stare at him. Like he’s right in front of you, but so far away. Like you want to run over and grab onto him and scream something in his face, but you’re unsure of what will spill from your mouth.”

  “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Right. And you’re standing in your defensive pose because, why? It’s comfortable?” She asked, gesturing toward Ava’s now tightly crossed arms.

  Dropping her arms back to her side she mumbled, “Yes, for your information, it is comfortable to stand like this.”

  “There would be no harm in getting close to him. We are going to find a way to get everyone out of this mess and figure out a way to incorporate the new Jett into our lives. We will ask around for potential side jobs that he could do, which would kick the necessity of him getting a real job. That way, he won’t be in the system, but he’ll still be able to help support you two.”

  “You’re talking like we’re already a couple. What would I do with all of the other obstacles? It’s not like he can have kids or get married.”

  Kaycie smirked, “So, you wanna marry him and make him your baby daddy, huh?”

  “I’m going to punch you in the head,” Ava said, putting her hands over her face and groaning. “That’s not what I’m saying at all. I’m just thinking into the future. Hurry up and pack your shit so we can go.”

  “You’re adorable when you’re all twitterpated.”

  “I hate that your mom taught you that word,” she said, turning on her heel. “I’ll be in the living room waiting.”

  Kaycie was stuffing the last bunch of her chosen outfits into her suitcase and yelled after Ava, “You know, he looks at you the same way!”

  Ava’s cheeks flushed pink as she stomped down the hall.

  ~

  Pulling up to the mansion was just as shocking the second time as it was the first time. Just the sheer size of this house was enough to make someone fall to their knees. The girls couldn’t imagine leaving here. They would never have to go out to a club again. Everyone would flock to their house and it would be ten times better than cramming in a tiny booth. Their drinks would be endless and the waitresses wouldn’t be snobby.

  “I still can’t believe you caught this guy,” Ava said to Kaycie.

  Opening the back passenger side door, Kaycie looked at Ava and smiled. “I didn’t catch him. He caught me.”

  “Well done, bestie. Well done.” They made their way up to the house and the guards let them inside. Ava looked at Kaycie and whispered, “He wasn’t kidding when he said he would keep us safe.”

  A man in a blue and gold suit strutted across the entryway toward them and held out his hand. “Good evening ladies. May I take your bags up to Mr. Stronan’s spare rooms?”

  The girls looked at each other with stars in their eyes. Kaycie couldn’t speak, but nodded in confirmation. She was still getting used to be being catered to, but could definitely say she was enjoying it. Ava noticed Kaycie’s dazed look, so she chimed in with additional instruction, “Kaycie and I will be in the same room,” and smiled at the man who was reaching for their bags. Feeling a little demanding, she followed up with a quick, “Please!”

  “Very well,” he said, and loaded their bags onto a large metal cart. “I will see that these are placed in the upstairs bedroom. I hope you enjoy your time here.”

  Softly squealing, to each other, they linked hands and jumped up and down like little girls before heading up the stairs.

  When they opened the door to Ethan’s bedroom, Ava almost fell to the floor with embarrassment. “What are you doing?!” she screamed.

  Kaycie picked her up off of the floor and felt weak at the knees herself. “Ethan! Babe, you can’t be showing Demo these kinds of things!”

  “What? You said he needed to learn about the real world,” Ethan said, shrugging his shoulders like a scorned toddler before shutting down the internet browser.

  “Giving him false hopes that a flight attendant will take him into the bathroom to start a branch of the Mile High Club is NOT teaching him about the real world!” Ava yelled, still trying to gain composure. “What the hell were you thinking?!”

  Demo stood up to argue, but Ethan pointed out the fact that he shouldn’t be standing. Embarrassed, Demo dropped back onto the ottoman and folded his hands over his lap.

  “Alright, let’s all calm down,” Kaycie said, putting her hands up in between everyone as if to break up a fist fight. “Ethan didn’t mean any harm by it.”

  “But-,” Ava started, but was cut off.

  “I know. I’m getting there. Now shut it,” interrupted Kaycie. Looking at the other side of the room, she continued, “Ethan, you can’t be doing these kinds of things. He barely knows what’s out in the city and if you’re showing him that, he may think that kind of behavior is acceptable.”

  “Excuse me,” Demo interrupted, attempting to stand again, but awkwardly returning his seat, “I do believe I have some sense of decency. I understand that it is not socially acceptable to answer the door and immediately cup the woman’s breasts. That may result in a physical altercation of some sort. And I apologize for the way my body is reacting to this activity.” He continued to adjust his pants.

  The group stared at the floor with flushed cheeks. Ava, thankful for the majority of Demo’s input, felt some of the tension release from the room and let out a low chuckle. Taking one glance around the room, Ava decided it wasn’t worth the argument and it was nice to have their minds focused on something other than their current catastrophe. “Just please don’t do that again,” she added, nodding at Ethan.

  Ethan raised three fingers on his right hand and looked at Ava, “Scout’s honor!”

  Ava patted herself on the chest and took a few deep breaths while Kaycie leaned over Ethan’s shoulder to bring up the sites and get a closer look. Ava cleared her throat and Kaycie quickly spun around and threw three fingers in the air. “Yeah! Me too!”

  Rolling her eyes, she grabbed Demo’s hand and dragged him away from the computer screen. “Ethan, will you take Demo into your room and get him something to wear for tonight? You two look to be about the same size.”

  Ethan turned the computer chair around and gave Demo the up and down. “Yeah, no problem! What kind of look are we going for tonight, ladies?”

  “We probably should ease him into things. I mean, it is the city. How about we take him out to eat somewhere and grab a few drinks; spend some time here afterward and relax tonight,” Ava suggested.

  Kaycie let out a puff of air, but nodded in agreement. “She’s right. I’m actually pretty tired from th
e last forty-eight hours we’ve had. I could use a relaxing night in with some friends. We can get crazy tomorrow night, I guess.”

  “That sounds lovely, actually. Where do you grab your drinks from?” Demo asked, now able to stand upright.

  Ethan started to wrack his brain of the local cuisine. “There’s a nice restaurant on the outskirts of town. I’ll have the driver ready for us in about an hour. Is that enough time for you ladies to get all dolled up?”

  “Perfect amount of time, babe,” Kaycie said. She leaned in and pressed her lips to his. Demo watched them and looked over at Ava. He was unsure of why he was feeling the urge to do the same.

  “We’re going for fancy. I hope you’re ready for this, Demo.” Ethan said, nudging him in the side and winking at the girls. “You two go get ready. I’ll have him shining like a diamond by the time I’m done with him.”

  The girls ran off and Ethan led Demo to his walk-in closet. Running his hands over each outfit he had hanging up, he looked over his shoulder to see what would go best with their evening plans. Ethan chuckled when he saw the look on Demo’s face as he gazed around the room.

  “Our closets looked nothing like this,” he said.

  “Believe me, I didn’t grow up with a closet like this.”

  Demo walked around, taking in everything laid out in front of him. Shelves upon shelves of shined up shoes and walls lined with fancy suits and button-up shirts. There was even an entire wall dedicated to accessories; such as hats, ties, and even gold chain necklaces. Between the sky-lights, a chandelier hung in the center of the closet, overtop a white and gray marble counter-top that was used, he assumed, for folding the laundry.

  “This is quite a magnificent space you have here.”

  “Eh, it does the trick,” Ethan said. “Now, let’s get you all dressed up. Do you have a preferred color?”