eep! Beep! BEEP!

Wren woke up to the sound of his alarm, groggily blinking his eyes to somehow get rid of the sleepiness that overtook his body. He has never been a morning person, and he doesn’t believe that it is ever going to change. 

Wren and his younger brother, Jacob, had recently moved to the small town of Bradbury after their parents had died, and everything was going okay so far. It is his first day at his new job, a café called “Sweets”, and he is a little excited.

As soon as their parents died, Wren had to take the responsibility of taking care of his younger brother. Though they were given a great inheritance, he wanted to work and keep putting money back. 

Rolling out of bed, Wren groans as he runs his hand through his messy hair, sighing. Ren is a beautiful man, there is no doubt about it. Men and women alike were jealous of his delicate looks; it was almost a sin.

At only five-six, he is more on the lean side with a curvy waist and a bigger butt that most guys. His skin is fair and clear of blemishes or scars. His beautiful, shoulder-length blonde hair is as golden as the sun, and his green eyes were like emeralds. 

He can make anyone jealous.

Wren is twenty years old, and before his parents had died, he was going to college to be a veterinarian. Unfortunately, he had to push it back a year so that he could get everything settled, and Jacob would be able to go to school with him.

Taking a quick shower, Wren washes his hair and body. Never liking to stay in the shower too long to not waste water, he is out in five. Drying off his body, he put extra care into his hair because he hates having wet hair. 

It drives him crazy.

Walking back into his bedroom, he gets dressed.

Wren settles on black briefs; a silk, long-sleeve black t-shirt; and black slacks with a pair of black sneakers. Wren pulls his hair back into a ponytail and puts on a little bit of makeup. He doesn’t go crazy, only some mascara and lip gloss. He likes the way it looks and feels.

Glancing at himself in his body-length mirror, he made sure that everything looks in place before he heads downstairs. Immediately, he saw Jacob sitting at the kitchen table, texting whoever on his phone. 

Today is also Jacob’s first day, but it is actually his final year of high school. At eighteen years old, he is much different than Wren could ever be.

At five-eight, he is still on the leaner side, but he is much more muscular than Wren. Jacob has a bit more of a tan as well from being outside and is covered in scars from his times of playing sports. 

Jacob has short blonde hair and pretty grey eyes. He has always been on the rougher side than Wren was after their parents died. He kept getting into fights and messing with the wrong crowd. Wren had moved them to Bradbury to get Jacob a fresh start.

Wren just hopes that this time, Jacob does the right thing and doesn’t get into fights.

“Hey, how did you sleep?” Wren asks Jacob, putting his phone and his wallet into his pocket, “I was thinking that we can grab some breakfast before you go to school. Does that sound good?”

Jacob shrugs his shoulders, a slight frown on his face, “I’m not that hungry but I could go for a cup of coffee.”

“I’m not sure you need coffee but sure, let’s do that.” Wren murmurs as they head for the door.

The coffee shop is only a few blocks from their house; easily accessible. Wren could tell that there was something off about Jacob, but he didn’t want to pressure it out of Jacob since he needed time to process his grief. Wren made it very clear to Jacob though that if he ever needed anything, Wren would always be there for him.

Arriving at the high school, Jacob turns to Wren, a smirk on his face.

“Okay, you can go now,” Jacob teases, patting his brother on the head like a child, “I don’t need you to walk me into school like I’m your son. I’ll be fine.”

Wren pouts a little bit, “fine. Message me if you need anything. I get off of work at four so just be home so I can make us dinner. Okay?”

Jacob rolls his eyes, “yes, father.”

With that being said, Jacob turns around and heads to the school. Wren ignores the stares that he is receiving and heads a few blacks down to the bakery. It isn’t too busy as he walks through the door, but the few people inside stop what they were doing to look at him for a few seconds, almost mesmerized.

He has gotten so used to being stared at that it didn’t bother him anymore.

“Hi, I’m Wren,” He murmurs to the man standing behind the counter, “today is my first day.”

The man looks up, and his whole face lit up, “hello! I’m Nicholas Davis, and I am the owner. I’m so glad you’re finally here! I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. I hope you’re ready to start!”

Nicholas is a handsome man, Wren could not deny that. He was about six-two with a muscular body that was prominent beneath his fitted clothes. His short, wavy brown hair is slicked back away from his face, and his eyes were the color of moss. It is a strange color, but very pretty.

Nicholas is the kind of guy that Ren would normally go for…

It’s too bad he is the boss.

Ren got behind the counter and began his first day.

He had no idea how messed up everything was about to get. 

By six-o-clock, Wren was finished with work and was truly exhausted. He had to stay a lot longer than he originally thought but it is good money. He knew he was going to like this job, but it could be really tiring. 

Wren walks out of work and pulls out his phone. He frowns when he notices he had four missed calls and two messages from Jacob. I wonder if something happened, he wonders to himself, slightly worried. He opens up his messages and his body froze at what he read. 

From Jacob 12:09 PM

Hey, Wren. I’m going to go and hang out with some friends that I just met at school. I promise that they are decent teens, and you don’t have to worry too much. I’ll be home in time for dinner so don’t worry about it. I’ll message you if I need anything.

          It was the next message that made his blood run cold.

From Jacob 4:50 PM

Ren, I know you’re at work but answer the phone. I need help. Go to this place called the Underground. Don’t call the police. HURRY!