Duskwood: And Beyond

30. Signs of the Past

ORYN

I set up three boards. The first one was related to Richy, the second one was about the mysterious flower guy and the last one was about my file. I was done with the first two but I couldn't bring myself to actually read my file. For some reason, I believed it was all connected. I just had to find out how. Phil was already investigating the boards and I decided to get some liquid courage before reading my file. I knew it was stupid, alcohol never solved anything but I decided to go for it anyway.

I made my way to the bar and only then did I realize how empty Aurora was. Everyone left Aurora which meant it would only be us. To be honest that was my favorite time here but it was usually later than this.

"Yeah, I closed up early. It was a quiet night anyway."

I must have been staring at the empty place since Phil felt the need to explain. I smiled and started pouring whisky for both of us. As I finished pouring, I heard the door open.

"Make that three," Jake said.

"Uhm, there are six of us," Anabelle immediately responded.

I giggled and started pouring some for them. I handed them the drinks and hugged each one.

"So, what is all this about," Dan almost whispered.

"Well, I am investigating my stalker and that Ashton guy. And you guys are the only ones I trust." I tried my best not to overshare. Everyone was shaken from the past events and I knew returning to investigating would be triggering.

To my surprise, everyone agreed to help me. We all went to the investigation room.

"We should have a name," Dan suggested.

"For our group?" I asked.

"Yeah, that would be cute," Lilly added.

"Okay, like what?" Anabelle asked.

"I guess we have to think about it," Dan said causing everyone to laugh. But we agreed that we would use a code for our secret dates.

We decided to share the work, Lilly and Dan decided to look into Richy since they knew him the best. Phil and Anabelle decided to investigate the flower guy and Jake agreed to go through my file with me.

I already assumed he knew pretty much everything on that file but I still felt a bit nervous about sharing all that personal information. I loved Jake and we bonded over the events but I still didn't know much about him. I decided to pull him aside.

"Hey, I think you already know everything on that file but it feels weird," I didn't know how else to start the conversation.

"I know some things. I don't have to read if you don't want me to."

I thought about it for a second.

"I think it would be better if you helped. I am just nervous about what we will find."

Jake took my hands in his and smiled softly at me.

"There is nothing on that paper that will make me love you any less."

That made me feel so much better. I took a deep breath and started taking out the papers. I took the first ten pages and Jake took the last ten.

The first couple of pages were basic information. Then there was information about my parents. Looking at their photograph and reading their background information made me tear up. Jake squeezed my hand softly. I wiped the tears and continued reading.

The following page was about my hometown, The schools I went to, the house I lived in, my neighbors, and Anabelle. Ashton gathered very detailed information about our past. I noticed some information seemed impossible to find so I decided to mark that page.

I looked at Anabelle and Phil. They seemed to be focused on a book together. They actually looked cute. Phil was righting some things and matching them with flowers.

Black-eyed Susan - Justice / Purple Columbine - Resolution/ Snapdragon - Deception

All of these flowers were unusual to buy as a bouquet. It meant that whoever left them for me was going through a lot of trouble to deliver a message. I just didn't know what that message was. 

I decided to focus on my task at hand. The last couple of pages of my bundle was about the accident. It included the official police report and some additional research. I couldn't handle it anymore so I decided to get another drink.

I rushed upstairs and calmed myself down a bit. It was getting harder to breathe but I managed to keep everything under control.

"You never talk about them."

I jumped when I heard Jake. I wiped my tears and turned to him.

"Some day, I will. But not today."

He nodded silently.

"Well, Ashton is pretty obsessed with them. My pages were full of cross-references,"

"Cross-references with what?" Why was this guy so interested in my parents?

"All the times you, your parents, and Richy traveled. He printed them out and started investigating." That was so stupid, I met Richy in Duskwood.

"Well, did he find anything?"

"Actually yes. You and Richy both visited Colville on the same day. But that's about it."

That was obviously a coincidence. I only went to Colville once when I was in college and that was for touristic purposes. I only stayed two days and returned to my dorm room.

"Oryn, I believe he is looking for a connection," Jake stated.

"Well, he is not going to find any."

"I know that," he didn't sound so convinced when he said that. I felt like he was keeping something from me.

"You can just tell me." I hoped he would.

"Well, you only have one coincidence with Richy. Your parents have a few."

I couldn't understand what he was saying. It was as if he was my brain refused to process that information.

"How many?" I forced the question out.

"Too many to call them coincidences"

He showed me a photograph of my parents. My parents liked to travel and they did quite often. My mother always took photographs and this was just like those. It was taken by a third person. My mom and dad were hugging, both smiling at the camera. The background featured a beautiful lake. There were some people fishing or laying under trees. Behind one of those trees, there was a figure with a cap. The cap looked exactly like Richy's and the figure's posture looked similar. But the figure was too far away so it was impossible to see his face. Knowing that my parents visited the same places as Richy made it easy to realize that it was Richy in that photograph. My vision started to blur from all the tears that were about to roll from my eyes. Did Richy know my parents? Why were they meeting in foreign places? What was their relationship? I was overwhelmed with all this information. I poured myself another drink. Jake joined me.

We drank our whisky fast. I was about to go back when he hugged me.

"We will get to the bottom of this. I promise you, everything will be alright." He whispered. It made me feel better but I knew I had to find out more about this.

I took his hand and lead him back to the group. Dan and Lilly were focused on their task. Anabelle and Phil were going through some books, giggling and blushing. Phil was whispering something in her ear when Anabelle noticed me.

"What happened?" she jumped up from her seat, looking worried.

"We have to go back," I couldn't say home. It felt like I knew nothing about my life there and my parents. There were so many questions to be answered.

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