Duskwood: And Beyond

40. Close to the Truth

ORYN

"Okay. Meet me at the library tomorrow." Thomas nodded and walked away. He didn't even question what I was doing.

I returned back. Mr. Donfort was talking about Hannah and Lilly when they were kids. I approached my seat which was next to Jake but he pulled me onto his lap instead. Hannah was sitting across from him and I could tell she was not happy with his move.

Did she still have feelings for him? I doubted that. This was about me. I noticed Mrs. Donfort was severely under the influence of the wine. She had been drinking non-stop through the night and I could tell she was getting more and more frustrated. Mr. Donfort turned to Hannah and started a conversation with her. I turned to Jake.

"We should go," I whispered.

"What did you do?" Really, Jake? That is your first reaction?

"Nothing, I just..." I couldn't tell him that Mrs. Donfort was about to make a scene. I was cut off by the sudden angry outburst.

I knew Mrs. Donfort was not happy about Jake. I understood her. But I didn't realize she also didn't want to be part of this reunion. She started yelling at her husband, then at Hannah - who apparently forced her to host this barbecue. She then turned to Jake and reminded him how he ruined her family, even though it was her husband who did that. Lastly, she turned to me. She was about to say something but she stopped and walked inside. I got up and walked after her. I was trying to grab my belongings to go but she thought I was coming after her.

"She is not my daughter." She whispered.

"What do you mean?" I was not expecting that reaction.

"She changed. She is different. I can't explain." With that, she stumbled away to where I assumed her bedroom is.

I grabbed my bag and joined Jake who was excusing himself and apologizing for some reason.

"It's not your fault. It's theirs." Lilly said walking away from Hannah and her father. She came towards me and grabbed my arm and led me outside with her. She looked broken and the minute we reached the car she burst into tears.

Jake joined us within seconds. I couldn't tell how he was feeling. We drove Lilly home. I tried to console her but she just kept crying. Eventually, she calmed down and we dropped her off. We drove home in silence. I texted Anabelle and informed her about our arrival. She was waiting at the door with a cup in her hand.

We walked up to her and she handed the cup to Jake.

"Oryn and I have this thing." She started. She already planned the movie.

"Whenever one of us is not doing so well, we make some hot chocolate and put on a slasher." She continued as she led Jake to the sofa.

"And when we are ready to talk, we talk." She sat next to him and handed him a blanket while taking one for herself. I sat on the other side of Jake and tucked us both under the blanket. We started the movie. Jake focused on the movie until his hot chocolate was done. Then he turned to Ana and started telling her about our night.

This was one of those moments where I was glad Anabelle was my friend. She always knew how to get people to talk about their feelings. That was one of my favorite things about her.

Anabelle was listening to him talk without interrupting or looking at me. She listened until he was done summarizing our time with the Donforts.

"Well, I can see this affected you," she commented.

"I knew I would not be just welcomed but it all started to well and I was hopeful," Jake said while he pulled me close to him. I realized he was doing that when he felt uncomfortable and I also realized he was not very happy with Mr. Donfort talking about Hannah and Lilly. He talked about the Donforts and how he should have never told them the truth and how he would never be welcomed. Ana was doing her best trying to respond but Jake already made his decision about never going there again. He then excused himself and went to take a shower.

I told Ana about Thomas and our meeting tomorrow.

"Well, be safe and I still wouldn't trust him." She responded.

"First of all, we should be safe, because you are coming with me. And second of all, I missed you." Anabelle and I haven't been on good terms recently, that rarely happened.

Ana hugged me telling me she missed me too. She then told me about her relationship with Phil.

I was happy about her. I could see how much Phil was trying ever since he was released from prison. We decided to do a double date tomorrow night just to get Jake and Phil talking.

We decided to call it a night and I joined Jake, who was already in bed looking at his phone. I turned off the lights after getting in bed and he cuddled me. We both drifted off to sleep.

The next morning Jake was already gone when I woke up. I decided to text him.

Oryn: I am going to meet Thomas today. He wants to talk. 

Jake: Good morning. Be safe. 

Oryn: We also have a date with Ana and Phil

Jake: Oh. Okay.

I joined Anabelle who was already making coffee. We had breakfast and left to meet Thomas.

We arrived at the library and Thomas was already there reading a book. What I was not expecting was that Hannah was there too. Thomas noticed us and gave us a look that made me realize she was not invited. We walked to the men's bathroom without Hannah noticing us. Thomas joined us shortly.

"It is so weird to talk here." He said.

"Yeah, we should hurry before someone needs to use the bathroom," Anabelle responded.

"Okay. Well. I don't know how to say this... Well-"

"Just get to the point," Anabelle exclaimed.

"Okay, okay. I think Hannah is in contact with Richy. And I have a feeling she was not kidnapped. There I've said it." He looked at me desperately as if he needed me to give him approval.

"I will look into it. Can you do me a favor and not be home tonight?" Anabelle understood exactly what I was saying and she giggled.

"Okay. Just don't let her know that I put you up to this." He left after saying that. We waited for a few minutes before leaving as well. We rushed out and called Jake.

To my surprise, he wanted to meet back at home quickly. And that's what we did. Jessy, Lilly, and Phil were already at the door.

"Oh Oryn, what happened?" Jessy rushed to me.

"I don't know. Why are you here?"

"Jake called us and asked to meet," Lilly explained.

Anabelle unlocked the door and let everyone in. Shortly after, Jake, Ashton, and Dan joined us. Everyone was on edge when Ashton walked in. He sat and we all sat across him as if we were interrogating him.

"I guess I should tell you a bit more about myself," he started to tell us his story.