Bridge To Terabithia 2: The Last Time - Part 1 || ✓

Chapter 13: Unexpected stay

Jess quietly closed the door behind him, not wanting to attract any noise as it was already 11 pm. He'd figure that everyone was asleep since the lights were out and there was no sound at all.

He dropped the keys to the table softly and started making his way up the stairs.

"Jess...!"

He looked up in alarm, only to see May Belle in her pajamas.

"Why are you up so late?" He whispered sharply.

"Was gonna get some milk..." May Belle rubbed her sleepy eyes and yawned. "Why'd you only come home now?"

Jess shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't sure whether Leslie would like him giving out the details without her permission. "It was a long ride," he patted her head. "Hurry up and go to sleep."

May Belle nodded and hurried down the stairs.

The hall that divided his room and the others were filled with an awful noise of snores, most likely coming from his sisters and his father. He tip-toed to his room and quietly went in, gently closing the door. He threw his clothes on the ground and pulled out a plain grey t shirt and some red track pants.

He collapsed on his bed and rolled over his stomach, looking through the window where he could see Leslie's room's lights still on, which meant that she was probably still awake. The memory of Leslie standing up and cussing flashed in his mind. It was the first time that he had ever seen her like that. He didn't even expect her to be like that, ever because he always thought of her as a goody-two-shoes though she could also be as devious as she wanted to be at times.

They had always played harmless pranks on those who made fun of them. Once, they even played a prank on Brenda and Ellie just for Jess's sake so that just for once, he could watch his father scolding them.

His stomach suddenly grumbled. He had just realized that he hadn't gotten anything for dinner yet since he just came back. Hungry, he pulled himself up and left his room, going down to the kitchen to get something to eat.

He took a seat and started eating his cereal while using his phone. It'd be weird if he was just staring at nothing but the dark while eating. His phone had a lot of messages coming from countless people, most of them invitations to parties. It then occurred to him that he didn't have Leslie's number. Did she even have a phone? The chance of not having one was high since Bill didn't even allow her to have a TV in the house. He should ask her about it tomorrow.

As he continued eating and messaging some other people, footsteps came down from the stairs which made Jess look up to see who it was. His father, Jack, emerged from the shadows. "Why are you still awake."

His question sounded more like a command. Typical father of Jess.

       "I just got back."

       Jack looked at him blankly and then made his way to the fridge and got a glass of milk.

       There was a long silence between the 2 as the son used his phone while the father stared out the dark night, drinking the cold milk.

"Leslie..." Jess suddenly started. "Did...did she ever tell Bill and Judy what happened to her?"

       Jack stared at him for a minute. "They said that she won't say nothing 'bout it."

       "Why, did she tell you something?"

Jess opened his mouth. But if Leslie hadn't told her parents yet, that meant that she didn't want anyone to know. He shook his head and continued to eat. "No... No."