Alyssa's POV

We all froze, panic spreading round the room like an airborne virus. Who on earth was at my door? Surely it couldn't be Ivy? I suddenly sucked in a sharp breath.

"Cody! Don't answer the door!" I shot out of the kitchen, slamming the doors as I went so no-one would be able to see into my house or notice anyone else around. The house was eerily silent as each room fell into a quiet, almost frozen state as I went to work out who was outside my house.
As I ran down to the front door, Cody was already there, his fingers around the door latch as he opened it and revealed a woman I had never seen before. "What have I told you about opening the door when I'm not there?" I spoke to Cody in my calmest voice, although everyone could notice the strain behind it. I glared down at Cody who's face saddened as his shoulders drooped. "It's okay, just please remember for next time. The TV is still on, make sure you turn it off it you don't want to watch it anymore." I said as a hint, which Cody luckily took as he headed out of the hallway and shut the door behind him which internally made me smile. He had no idea how much shutting the door was going to help as I turned my attention back to this random woman. "Sorry, can I help you?" 

"Hi there, I was just looking at houses in the neighbourhood and just wanted to get a feel of the area" This redhead stood before me, her acting skills enough to fool most but not someone as suspicious as me. My eyes narrowed at her slightly, but I made it look as though it was because I was thinking.

"Oh amazing!" I smiled fakely, "Which house was you looking at? I've been here for years now. I didn't think anyone was moving." She seemed taken aback by my question as she looked behind her, to her left and right, trying to guess the best way to tell me.

"Oh, umm, a house down there?" She pointed to her left. "Owned by an old couple." She lied and I knew it. The old couples that lived down there had no intention of moving, I actually spoke to them regularly. 

"Rita and John?" I quizzed, making up two names on the spot.

"Yeah, that's right." She giggled, nodding enthusiastically. My stomach dropped. Whoever this woman was, she was a liar.

"Well, you'll be pleased to hear that it's actually okay living here. I mean, if I could, I'd choose somewhere better because this place can get a bit busy with the younger residents having parties and stuff. Other than that, it's lovely. I'm sure Rita let you know." I lied back to her, feeling a sense of excitement as I tried to work out this woman who had just turned up unannounced at my door. 

"Oh yes, she did say something similar. She says it's a very friendly area which seems to be correct, seeing as I'm talking to you now... Sorry, I didn't catch your name?" My stomach dropped as she enquired further into my life. My phone began to buzz in my pocket, a call from Luke who was still hiding in the kitchen. I quickly pulled it out.

"I'm so sorry, I need to take this." I lied as I hung up, flicking my camera on and setting it to video, holding it in front of my face pretending it was a video call. "Hey mum, can I call you back in a minute? I'm just talking to someone." I pretended to hang up, switching the video off as I shoved it back in my pocket. "So sorry, you were saying?"

"Oh, I just asked your name." She grinned like a Cheshire Cat. 

"It's Maria." I lied fluently. "You? Just in case I see you moving in soon." I smiled sweetly at her.

"Maria." She repeated, nodding. "I'm Lucy. And did I hear you call your kid Cody?" My throat dried up instantly as I realised she had more information than she needed already. With that, if she was Ivy who was lying about her name, she'd be able to find my son and in turn find Luke and Kira.

"Brody." I corrected confidently. "Brody. He has a bad habit of opening doors to strange people." I insulted her carefully, quickly checking the time on the clock in the hallway. "Anyway, Lucy, it was lovely to meet you but I need to call my mum back. She's a stickler for time." Once again the lies flew. I didn't even speak to my parents that much as they were living in Portugal now. We would videocall once a month just to update but in all truthfulness, we were all too busy to do it any more regularly.

"No problem Maria." She said, emphasising the name with a hint of mistrust. "It was nice to meet you. You have a lovely son too." I awkwardly waved her off and shut the door quietly, trying to make it look like I wasn't bothered by her. I locked it and pulled the chain across, storming into the front room quickly. Everyone had now gathered there, all waiting for me to come back and explain what had happened and who it was. 

"Cody, did you want to show Kira your tablet?" I pulled it from the cupboard and handed to him as his eyes lit up. I didn't often let him on it, for fear I'd never get him off it, but right now I didn't want either him or Kira to hear my worries. Cody grabbed Kira and ran to his room, shouting about his favourite game on it. 

"Shit. It's bad then." Michael sighed, running his hand through his hair. Everyone seemed to shift uncomfortably. 

"Whoever she was, she was a good liar. Just not enough to trick me, I've lived here long enough and been surrounded by enough of them to know. I managed to video her." I pulled my phone out and held it out. Luke remained frozen, his gaze off into the distance as he shrunk into himself.

"I'll check." Ashton offered, standing beside me as I pressed play. His legs seemed to turn to jelly as he put a hand on my shoulder to keep his balance.

"She said her name was Lucy and that she was looking at houses in the area. She wanted to ask more about the place. I know no-one is moving." I explained as Ashton rewatched the video, seemingly fascinated.

"Its her." He said sadly. "She knows we're here."