Under His Roof

chapter twenty-three

As they drove down the stone path to the monument, the many memories Kimberly had from the place began to flash through her mind.

Marty's liquor & magazine shop had been gone for about a year, the feds had closed it once it was discovered they sold to minors, and she was pretty sure Marty was behind bars somewhere. Good riddance.

The once rundown park was also looking better than it had the last time Kimberly had been around. It had been months since she'd been back there, but after the authorities weeded out all the shady businesses around the area, things began looking up. It was good for people who had enjoyed coming to the park, but it was bad for Kimberly and her friends because now that there were more people coming around the area, their secret place probably wouldn't be a secret for much longer.

They drove out into the clearing where the monument and shack stood, still untouched by time .

"We're here!" Cam turned off the car and Aveline pulled a plastic bag out from under her feet, holding it up as she jumped out of her door.

"And I've got the good stuff," she said.

"Of course you have," Cam said. "It's your fucking turn."

Ava made a mocking face at him and flipped him off, swinging the bag in her hand as she walked away from the convertible.

The rest of them got out of the car and nobody said a word as they all walked around and looked at the place that they hadn't been to since October. Once it got cold, the place became more miserable than tranquil, and they had learned that the hard way sophomore year when Cameron dragged them out there mid-January and there was snow up to their thighs and wind cold enough to make someone lose a finger.

Now that it was the end of March though, the weather had warmed up just enough for the place to not be a damn tundra, but still cool enough that they could comfortably be in the sun.

"You stressed out?"

Kimberly turned and saw Elize smiling at her. She chuckled and then nodded, "A little," she admitted. "It's been a weird few weeks."

Elize eyed her for a moment, before nodding and looking back towards the forest. "Yeah, it has," she agreed. "For you especially."

Kimberly looked out at Elize from the corner of her eyes and could tell by the small smile on her lips that Elize knew more about the situation than Kimberly had told her.

That was something that Kimberly both loved and hated about Elize, because Elize was a very perceptive person - more so than any of her other friends - and she could quickly draw conclusions to situations that she didn't know much about. That made her easy to talk to, and somebody Kimberly liked to confide in, but it also made keeping secrets around her hard. And it was ironic, because it wasn't like Elize had a big mouth or anything, she was probably the best person to tell a secret to in the entire group, but there were some things that Kimberly just didn't feel comfortable getting past herself or Melitta.

"I'm feeling better now though," Kimberly said.

"About the accident or about the man?" Elize asked.

Kimberly rolled her eyes and sighed. Of course Elize knew about Julian. Although she wouldn't have had to be a genius to figure it out since Kimberly had admitted in Miami that they had sex, but it seemed Elize could tell it was more than just sex. Still, a smile found its way onto Kimberly's face as she nodded. "Just the accident," she admitted.

Elize nodded slowly and let out a breath, "Well obviously I don't know everything that went on back there, but if it makes you feel any better there's really nowhere to go from here but up. You just made it out of a car accident alive, and you had an amazing break - save for the accident - with a man who I hope was worth it. Maybe it was only meant to be for those few weeks, but heartbreak only gets better with time, never worse."