Come For Me With Green Apples And Honey (MXM)

Chapter 5

Micah sat totally paralysed as Nel continued to speak. He was ice cold. And it wasn't getting any better as she spoke.

"Last Monday, I was on my way over here and I saw some creep standing at the tree line of the forest and watching the house. Like he was studying lab rats or something. He was so into it he didn't even notice me ride by on my bike." she was saying, looking quite frightened herself. "I usually let myself in. So that's what I did. I came straight through to the kitchen to find out what he'd been looking at. I saw Nat standing by the window and washing dishes and realised he must have been staring at her. I looked out the window but he was gone."

She stopped to catch her breath. Micah decided it was best not to interrupt. She looked tormented by whatever memories were going through her head as she stared unfocused at a point over his shoulder. It seemed it took a lot for her to come this far.

"I... I told her about the man. And she lost it. I mean really lost it. She was like hyperventilating and whispering something over and over." Nel said, her eyes brimming with tears. "Julian had to come home after I called him cos I couldn't calm her down. He told me to go home for that day and that he'd call me. I was really scared and confused about the whole thing. He called me that night to tell me everything was ok and Nat felt bad for scaring me. That she had PTSD and they should have told me since I come over so much. I talked to her too. Everything seemed fine. Julian said the man was probably just a hunter or something.

"So, you know, I just figured he must be right. I overreact to stuff a lot. The man was probably just passing through. I didn't see him again so that must have been it. I mean, I didn't even remember to bring it up when the cops came by two nights ago." She took a deep breath and looked down at her intertwined fingers resting on the counter top. Gravity pulled a few tears down and they splashed on the inside of her glasses. She didn't bother wiping them and instead continued talking.

"Yesterday, I saw him again. The man. I was sitting out on the porch at my house. He had just walked passed on his way here when you drove by. He saw you turn into the driveway and he stopped. Like he doesn't expect to see you. And he just watched as you carried Caleb in. Then he just went off the road and into the woods." Nel paused again as the tears from earlier started to fall down her face. Micah struggled to keep composure for Nel's sake as she herself started to come undone.

"That's when I knew that he wasn't just a hunter or a hiker. He really was staring at Natalie that day." she continued as her voice became thick. "He must have done something to them. It's too much of a coincidence. I should have tried harder to convince them. The way he was looking at her just wasn't right." She broke down and started sobbing softly, clutching her chest . Micah himself was feeling a bit like crying. He got up and walked over to her then gently urged her into a hug. She immediately melted into his grasp, clinging to the front of his sweater like lifeline.

Micah was grateful she accepted the hug because he needed it just as much as Nel did. What she just revealed was terrifying. He had handled cases like this of course, but it had never been his own family. He had held on to hope that it was really just an accident. That was gone. It was obvious someone had planned to kill either Natalie or Julian. Maybe both of them.

Nel's sobs slowly subsided as she calmed down and pulled out of Micah's arms gently. "I'm - sorry." she said, hiccuping between words and adjusting her crooked and smudged glasses. She seemed really embarassed and was looking down again.

Micah pulled up the stool next to her and sat. "Nel. I'm not going to tell you not to cry. Cry as much as you feel is necessary. That's the only way you can process everything you've had to go though. No teenager should ever have to deal with what you're dealing with right now. So please, cry.
But know this. You have nothing to feel guilty about. You have nothing to be sorry for. You did the best you could to protect your friends but whoever did this had the benefit of months - possibly years - of planning. We were all blindsided. None of this is on you."