Dear Adelaide,

22

I'd ridden back home as fast as the spokes of my bike could carry me. Everything I thought I'd known about Cottlethorne was a lie. I'd had enough with lies. I'd had enough with secrets. And I'd had enough with the name I don't dare mention. Not now, not so close to her home.

The second I stepped across onto the property, the wind started up again, growing less and less rampant as I ran towards the house. Towards the shed. Towards finding the answers to the questions that pooled warm confusion out my ears.

I dropped the bike in the grass and tore across the lawn. The sky was settling into night-time and the air was quickly washing into a navy haze. Before I reached the shed, a figure darted out of the shadows beside me.

"Olivia! Stop!"

I halted in my tracks to find Alec, chest heaving, and beads of sweat glinting down his forehead.

"Alec!" I grabbed him by the forearms. "They're lying to you, Alec! Bernie's...Bernie's been lying to you! They all are! None of this is....None of this is real!" I tried to fight away from him to reach the shed but he stopped me.

"Wait! Olivia, please!"

"No! Please! Please believe me, Alec!" I paused and whipped around to face him. "ALEC! You're name's not Alec! It's-And their names aren't- But you're not Alec, Alec! You're Thomas! You're name's Thomas and their names are..." I backed away from him suddenly. "Oh my God... You're one of them aren't you? What-...What ever they are...You...You've been lying to me too, haven't you? All this time and I thought you cared about m-...But it was all a lie all along. A lie all a-"

"Olivia! Olivia! Shh. Shh." He tightened his grasp around me.

"Let me go! Let me go! Who are you?! What are you?!"

"Olivia. I know!"

I stopped my struggling a moment. He spoke again.

"I know...I'm not supposed to but I do..."

"Not supposed to? What do you mea-"

"Olivia, please...we can't talk here. C-Come with me Olivia-" He began pulling me along behind him into the line of leaves.

I writhed to pull from his grasp. "No! No! You're tricking me! Wha-What are you going to do to me?!"

"Nothing! Olivia! I'm just trying to protect you! Listen to me! I know you're confused. I know you're afraid. And I am too, but you have to trust me, alright?" His voice calmed, and his eyes grew solemn. "Do you trust me Olivia?"

His eyes were deep, dark like the trees. I could feel the night settling around us. They were wide and pleading. Still, there was something in them that made sense to me.

The only thing that had ever seemed to make any sense at all. I nodded slowly.

"Come with me." He dropped my hand and I gave up the urge to flee. He sank into the first layer of foliage and I followed him in. I recognized this path, even in the darkness. Soon we would come across a rock, one that sat over a pond.

Once we were deep enough into the shadows he began to speak again. "Look...Olivia. ...I know I'm not him. I'm not Alec. I've known that for some time now."

"What...what does that even mean?"

"Well, see it's just, it's a bit more complicated than that."

"What's so complicated?!" I was fed up. Through with this. All of this. "Either your name is Alec or it's Thomas!"

"Olivia! Can you please keep your voice down?" He continued as he led me through dark crunching underbrush. "Hm. Thomas huh?...Yes, that sounds about right. Tho-mas... You know that for sure?"