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˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
CAUTIOUSLY PLACING ONE foot in front of the other, Madelyn made her way through the trees, still trying desperately to find Jameson. She was never a fan of the woods surrounding the Hawthorne estate. Something about it just rubbed her the wrong way. Every time she entered them, she had this chilling feeling that something would happen. Nothing ever did, but that didn't stop her mind from running wild.
Perhaps it was because the woods were so isolated, far away from any civilisation. You would have to walk at least five minutes straight to get to them from the main house.
For the first few minutes of her treck, the only thing she heard was the occasional bird flying over her head or the wind gliding through the tree branches, causing them to rustle from above. Sometimes, the snap of a twig underneath her foot. Then, the faint sounds of voices coming from ahead. One of those voices was a one she would recognise anywhere.
Moving with haste, Maddy caught up to the pair in front of her, not at all surprised that Avery had seemed to find Jameson before her. "Where the hell have you been? I've been looking for you for hours now." She spoke up, announcing her presence.
Both Jameson and Avery turned around, "I am sorry," he replied, "I could not stand being at that table for a moment longer."
"You and me both," she retorted as Jamie sent her an apologetic smile.
"Did you know Xander and Thea dated?" Avery asked suddenly, interrupting the exchange. Madelyn's eyes flicked from Avery to Jameson sceptically. Why would that concern her I any way?
"I mean, kind of," Her nose scrunched as she thought back to their so called 'relationship'. It was a mess, to say the least. "If you call what they had dating, then yeah" Maddy shrugged, watching as Avery took in what she said before turning to look at a different tree. "What exactly are you doing inspecting trees?" She asked them.
"Trying to see if there's anything carved into them -" Jamie began before he was cut off by Avery hollering over to them.
"Jameson! Maddy!" They turned around to face the girl, who was waving them over, her hand pressed firmly against the tree. As they got closer, Jamie got out his torch, shining it onto the bark, where a few words were engraved into the wood.
Madelyn squinted, trying to decipher what it said. With the darkness and no glasses, it was nearly impossible. "It says Tobias Hawthorne II" Jameson informed her, seeing her obvious struggle. She nodded in thanks. "The 'II' at the end are roman numerals," he added, running a hand through his hair as he leant against the tree. He could almost feel the judgement in Maddys eyes as she stared him down, a breath laugh falling from her lips.
"Yeah, well, no shit Jamie."
He rolled his eyes, elbowing her in the stomach. But just as his skin touched her clothes, the crunch of some leaves echoed through the bitter evening air, a loud bang shortly after. Only when bark from the tree came flying towards their faces and Avery was sent backwards did they realise what was happening.
