Separate Entities//Miss Peregrine AU

Chapter Two

"I was fifteen at the time. My grandpa had been going off his rocker lately, but my parents and I didn't pay any mind to it and sent him to the doctor to get pills. They always threatened to put him in a home, but I hated that idea. I was closer to him than my dad ever was.

"As a child, Abe would tell me these... these stories, all about his life before moving to America. I was awestruck at the time. He had pictures, too. Levitating girls and skinny boys who could lift entire boulders over their heads. A guy with bugs inside of him and invisible boys and one boy who made living dolls. It was all so amazing to a five-year-old.

"And then there was their headmistress, 'a wise old bird who smoked a pipe', he told me. And they lived on an island where the sun shone every day and it never rained and they all ate like kings at every meal. It seemed like paradise for a kid who'd never left Sarasota County.

"It wasn't until I was older that I realized that this place wasn't a paradise, but a nightmare. When I was seven or eight he told me how they were actually trapped on the island by terrifying monsters that smelled like rotten fish and had several black tentacles instead of a tongue. Every time he told me these things, he would add a horrifying new detail.

"Then he told me that after he left at the age of sixteen, he went to fight the monsters that kept them in captivity for so long. I thought he was a hero, but when I started boasting about my epic grandpa at school, I was called Fairy Boy. It was stupid, and that day after school I told Abe that I didn't believe in his stories anymore.

"The night of his death, I got a phone call at work. I worked at Smart Aid back then, too, by the way. He wanted the key to his gun cabinet, but I thought he was being delusional. He kept claiming that they were after him! They were after him! but I didn't believe him. After work, I went with Ricky to see him, make sure he was alright and all. Well, what I saw when we showed up fueled my nightmares for months.

"His entire house was a wreck. It was obvious that he had put up a fight against whatever it was. The long scratches in the back door's screen were the 'proof' that wild dogs got him, and the trail of blood lead in into the woods behind his house seemed to confirm it even more. But that wasn't the case at all.

"I found his body nearly torn apart in a clearing. I distinctly remember what he told me. It's stayed with me since then, in either dream or nightmare form. Usually, it's nightmares, though. 'Find the bird. In the loop. On the other side of the old man's grave. September third, 1940'. It was terrifying to hear it coming from him in such a shaken up state.

"After that, I had nightmares so bad I had depression and anxiety and insomnia. My mom made me see a counselor, Doctor Ainsley. She was nice enough, and after seeing her for a while I was almost back to normal. It's been four months since I've last seen her. But the nightmares still come sometimes. There's no way to stop them forever. But I've really been trying.

"It had been almost a week since I'd thought about Abe, but then you showed up at Smart Aid this morning and honestly, for a moment I hated you. But I just... I had to know what was up with you. I guess I'm just a curious person. And that's it, I guess."

All I could do was stare at Jacob. He had been so raw and open, tears were streaming down his cheeks, and yet he said the whole story as if it was nothing. I crouched down to his level before sitting down next to him and wrapping him in a warm, comforting hug. I was half expecting him to scoot away, but he stayed.

Finally, I was able to muster up something to say. "Wow."

"Man, Ghost Girl, I can't handle all these questions at once, slow down." His laugh was supposed to be happy, but instead, it came out strained. He tried a sarcastic smirk that only came off as a sad half smile.