Map to Redemption

Day -25 (Part 3)

They walk hand-in-hand to the house and step inside. Hannah, Amy, and Richy all sit quietly at the table together. Lyra and Jake join them, with Lyra sitting between Hannah and Jake. Jake is seated at the head of the table, with Amy and Richy on his other side.

There is an awkward hush in the conversation as they join the group. Hannah looks uneasy, while Amy and Richy both are tense with nerves. Lyra and Jake settle in their seats, waiting for someone to talk. They are curious as to what might be said next.

When no one speaks, Lyra breaks the silence. First, she looks at them with a gentle smile, trying to radiate calm and compassion.

"I've spoken to each of you separately. We're here because of what happened ten years ago. Jennifer Hanson died, and you all have been carrying that secret with you since. It's affected all of you differently, but none of you was unscathed."

She meets each of their gazes. She is tired, but she tries not to show it.

Each of them is hesitant to respond at first. Hannah looks down at the table, while Amy and Richy try to appear as if they aren't nervous. There is a brief pause before Amy finally speaks up and responds to Lyra.

"Yes...yes, we are carrying that burden with us every day and have been since we buried her body. I have been having nightmares and bad thoughts since then..."

Lyra nods sympathetically.

"I can understand why. I don't think any of you are bad people. But you did make mistakes, and they've been haunting you ever since. Jake and I are worried that if you don't finally confront what happened, it will continue to eat away at you."

Amy nods slowly as she keeps looking down. Richy hesitates, but begins to speak for himself, his voice faltering.

"I... I don't really know how to describe what's been happening to me since Jennifer died. I'm always so anxious, and these feelings have...have been weighing me down a lot..."

Lyra nods, listening. She looks over at Jake, who is deep in thought and clearly going to let her take the lead. "I can tell," she says to Richy gently.

Richy looks at her, surprised, and his face falls a bit. "Really? I thought I was doing a good job if hiding it, at least today." He seems to be thinking harder, and she can see the questions behind his eyes.

She realizes her mistake, and pauses a moment before responding. Internally, she is cursing her fatigue for this slip-up. "You put on a brave face, but I sort of have an intuition about things."

Jake grins, which is so uncharacteristic for him in public that it catches everyone's attention, and they turn to him questioningly. He flushes from the attention and clears his throat. "It's true," he says with a warm smile directed at Lyra. "She picks up on things very quickly."

Richy looks between the two of them, chuckles, and shakes his head. "Man, you're a goner," he says to Jake.

Jake's eyes widen, and his cheeks get even redder. Amy presses her lips together, trying not to giggle. But Hannah can't help it. She bursts out laughing. The others look scared for a minute, but then Jake scratches the back of his head and lets out an embarrassed chuckle. "Yeah, you're right."

Hannah and Amy both say "aww" while Richy snickers. Lyra reaches over and touches Jake's hand, trying to comfort him. He just smiles at her, squeezing her hand. Then his face transforms back to seriousness. "Yes, well. Let's get back on track, please."

Everyone else smiles and nods, and Lyra looks at Jake thankfully. He winks at her. She represses a giggle and looks back at the others.

"If you had your preference about what to do to resolve your feelings, what would it be?"