Two Years

9.) Ryan's Flashback

Two year earlier:

It was yet another chilly Northville day. The inordinate snowfall had finally ceased, and Northville citizens had returned outdoors, sledding, shoveling, and several other winter activities. Ryan was trudging slowly next to the sidewalk, attempting to avoid the thick layer of ice that shielded the pavement. He noticed that his black snow boots were almost completely submerged in the thick white powder, but he decided to ignore it and focus on the treacherous task at hand. Earlier in the day, Ryan had told his father about a plan to embark on a trek to the local library, throwing around some of his father's favorite words, including study and midterms. The actual plan however, was to visit Shawn and the rest his friends at the Holland residence, about two miles further than the library.

Shawn's mother had contacted the kids the night before, after she discovered her son had been viciously attacked in the school parking lot. She was nearly hysterical, but informed all three that he was going to be alright. Sure, not including the six stitches to his forearm, he had managed to escape nearly unscathed, but being physically unscathed and emotionally unscathed were two separate categories.

The harsh winds blew yet again, and the bitter cold stung Ryan's skin. He could feel his lips become dry and cracked, threatening to split at any moment. In a nearly useless attempt at evading the cold, he changed his pace from to casual to brisk, but before he even reach the end of the street, he heard a deep voice bellow from behind him.

"Hey, Ryan!"

Ryan crooked his neck and glanced in annoyance, his trek interrupted. He saw a towering figure in a black down jacket and brown knit beanie jogging towards him. He didn't recognize the mysterious figure's identity, that was until he spotted the tuffs of brown curly hair flowing from underneath his hat.

"Seth?" Ryan said curiously.

"If only Jade were here." He couldn't help but think to himself and smirk in amusement.

He would be the first to admit that he didn't quite understand Jade's distaste for Seth. The kid seemed like a nice enough person, and his mother was even friends with the Headon family, but he assumed Jade must've had a good enough reason for her contempt. Because of this, he kept his distance, which wasn't a difficult task; Seth rarely, if ever, made any attempts to converse with Ryan, unless it was school related.

"I just wanted to ask, how is Shawn?"

Ryan made eye contact with him, bewildered.

"How could he already know?" Ryan questioned internally.

Then it occurred to him. Seth was one of the four sons of Jeffrey Headon, the town police chief. Seth spotted the suspicious look on Ryan's face and his eye widened. He was quick to explain himself.

"My dad told me, I swear." he stated placing both of his hands in the air, mock surrendering, "He's lucky he got away, did you hear that there was another murder at the school last night? I couldn't even believe it when my dad told me."

"Another murder?" Ryan practically yelled in pure shock, things like this weren't supposed to happen, not in Northville.

"Never thought I'd live to see the day when this kind of shit started happening here," Seth stated with a sigh, "I guess it's just the state of the world now, or some bull."