The Safe Place (Bridge To Terabithia) || ✓

Ch. 3 - Explanations

The following morning, Jess woke up from habits of waking early just to do his chores and found him to be leaning on the edge of the sofa, Leslie's head resting on his lap both of them covered in a big, soft and cozy blanket.

He had gone over to his friend's house to look for comfort, and that was exactly what he got, although he only planned to stay for a couple of minutes. Nonetheless, he didn't feel any regret or whatsoever about staying for the night with his best friend accompanying him, but rather pleased for having her at his side when he needed her.

Footsteps came sounding down the stairs and Jess raised his head up, looking at the father of Leslie who seemed not surprised to see the best friend of his daughter to be present so early in the morning. Jess roused himself up, blinking a number of times and letting out a yawn before carefully and gently removing Leslie's head from his lap and pushing a pillow under her to act as a cushion, covering her with the blanket. He slowly approached the parent, unsure of what to say.

"Good morning, Mr Burke." Jess began awkwardly, pulling a small smile and even giving a respectful nod when he reached the kitchen.

Bill smiled and patted the boy's head. "Morning, Jess." He then went to take a bowl and turned to the boy asking, "do you eat cereal?" To which Jess nodded shyly. Bill placed two bowls at the table and went to the fridge, bringing out a carton of fresh milk and a box of cereals from the cabinet. He shook the box to the bowls and filled the bowl with cold fresh milk and then handed the other bowl to Jess before taking a seat. "So, do you mind if I ask what happened?"

     Jess managed to explain to him the details of the event last night without sounding too bitter to his parents and even joked at it to lighten up the mood. Bill could only pity the boy.

     "Listen, I know it may not be right for me to say this, but as you know from Leslie, we aren't exactly a 'religious' family and don't really attend church."

     Jess could only nod. He respected their opinions, although it took about a month for him to stop questioning Leslie and her family's beliefs.

     "But a person should not be ashamed if he or she has an attraction to the same sex," Bill showed a gentle smile. "Clearly you're not one of those people because Leslie has told me about Miss Edmunds." He chuckled at the last part.

     Embarrassed, Jess gave an awkward smile and looked down, eating his cereal. It was always easy to talk to Leslie's parents, especially Bill who seemed to treat everyone fair whether they were a kid, a teenager or an adult. Unlike his father of course. Jack always favored his daughters more than his son.

     "Morning Dad..." Leslie came entering the room, rubbing her eyes and her usual messy hair even messier than usual. She looked at Jess and gave a warm smile, walking to him and then patting his head before joining them for breakfast. Judy joined them half an hour later.

     As usual, Leslie's parents discussed about things that Jess deemed as not 'normal' for families to talk about; French politics and string quartets, saving wildlife and then world history all of a sudden. For a time, Jess thought that string quartets was a box made of string until Leslie explained to him that it was actually a musical ensemble consisting of two violin players, a cellist and a viola player. Jess was pretty sure that families don't go on about those things.

Only when it turned noon did Jess decide to go back home, but only after Bill offered to walk him back with Leslie as he knew the boy's father had a temper from his casual drinks with the man. He knew that it would probably be best if he explained to Jack how Jess felt after last night so it could ease whatever tension there would be between the father and son.