𝒜 𝐻𝒶𝓅𝓁𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝐸𝓃𝒹𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉

5 - 𝒮𝒽𝒶𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝑀𝑒

"So you used to come here a lot, then?"

"All the time. I guess it was just the perfect place to...hang out without being watched and interrupted by adults." She shrugs, her feet dangling past the large tree branch as she gazes down idly into the wide body of water below the two of them. Its surface is glistening with sunlight, and she imagines schools of fish, small turtles, and fresh tadpoles to be swimming underneath. She had forgotten how peaceful it was here, away from society; a place where she's allowed to be alone with just her thoughts.

"That's understandable. It is a nice area. Really quiet." He leans his back against the trunk of the tree, his eyes shifting up to the sky currently overcast by fluffy clouds as he keeps half of his concentration directed at his task. "You liked solitude, then."

"What do you mean?" She glances at him curiously, and he meets her eyes for a short moment.

"You came here alone all the time, right? So you must've liked solitude."

"Oh, well, I mean—" She shakes her head, trying to collect her words and say them in a sensible manner. "No, I didn't come alone all the time. Mostly, I had Wyatt...with me..." Her voice lowers the more she talks, and she feels a wave of grief wash over her, once again. She knows she won't be able to successfully hide her emotions, so she turns her head and tries to compose herself. There are a few seconds of silence before Jack speaks.

"...Wyatt?" There's a sense of recognition in his tone, and she curls her knees up and into her chest instinctively, holding back a tear. "Wyatt...Colson?" Her eyes dart to him, her expression molding into one of consternation.

"...How did you know that?" It doesn't cross her mind that murder and a teen's disappearance draw attention from all places, and that word spreads fast. She also isn't aware that he, among others, keeps tabs on mysterious and abrupt events such as that one, and he knows the names by heart.

"Uh, w-well"—he replaces his startled expression with one of veracity and oblivion—"he was the guy that went missing, right? Heard it from...my mom." He seems unsure, and she furrows her eyebrows though doesn't comment on it. There are more important things to fret over.

"Yeah..." The word comes out as a mere whisper as her eyes flicker down to her hands. "I guess...I guess he is."

"You were close?" he asks, leaning forward vaguely. She brushes a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Um, y-yeah, I mean...he was my cousin."

"Oh..." His gaze softens as he absentmindedly fiddles with a loose thread hanging from his hoodie, tilting his head to the side. "That's unfortunate... Sorry." A forlorn sigh travels from between her lips before she can stop it, and she shakes her head lightly.

"Yeah, well...there's nothing you can do about it. Things happen."

"If it makes you feel any better, I lost my dad when I was just a kid." Her eyes move up to meet his curiously, and he glances down. "Car accident. It crushed my mom, I don't think she ever really got over it." Sympathy shines in her eyes, and she replies.

"Wow. I'm sorry."

"Eh, don't be. It was a long time ago, I hardly even remember the guy." Changing the subject, he leans toward her and asks another question. "Do you have any other family down here?"

"Besides my grandparents? No." A serene breath flows out of her nose as she watches the leaves in the trees rustle and feels the breeze glide through her hair, giving her an inkling of solace. "I used to have a couple of friends that I played with sometimes. Lord knows where they went, though."

He nods in understanding, squinting his eyes as the sun's bright beams reflect off of the water and hit him straight in the face, screwing with his impaired sight. Perhaps this isn't the best place to be sitting at the moment.