Dark Løve 2 | Jake Fitzgerald (Complete)

Chapter 19: The Carnival

It was Lakewoods 100th anniversary.
The Carnival presented how great lakewood has done through all the struggles.

Zoe and Natalie sat in back stage doing their make up.
"This little make up thing lifted up my grief...but just this whole pageant...trying to act normal just feels-"
"Like the most abnormal thing in the world."
"Exactly."
Zoe turned with two shots of vodka.
"Zoe..."
"What. It always helps."
She grabbed one and drank them.
"How are you doing?"
"Eh..."
She shrugged putting down the shot glass.
"Wow this just got a little more exciting."
Natalie smiled as her brother walking in, all suited up.
"Noah...what are you doing here."
Zoe said.
"I came here to support my favorite lady of the lake and uh you Natalie."
Natalie smiled.
"I thought you needed an outfit that matched and needed a date. Bowtie dedicated to my sis and the rest is for you."
Zoe kissed Noah on the lips, placing her hands on his cheeks.
Zoe giggled.
"Yeah...so."
"Thank you."
Zoe grabbed the cotton candy flower bed Noah got her and they started walking out.
Zoe waved goodbye.
"Catch ya later."
She smiled at them.
She was alone and she just looked at where Zoe and Noah left, wishing for Jake to walk through it.
Something moved near the clothes rakes and Natalie looked to see Stavo.
"Hey..."
She smirked.
"Hey, How'd you get back here?"
"Throught you need some company. I Sure I would want some."
"You can't. Only lake wood days girls can be back here."
"Then let's go."
"What."
"Us. Let's just go."
"I can't Stavo."
"Why not."
"I'm a girl in the pageant. I can't just leave."
"Your doing this for you mom cause she told you to. Just leave she'll be fine."
"You think I'm doing this for my mom...not anymore."
"That's what you said."
"I say alot of things. I'm doing this for me and that's it."
"Seriously. Cause this is the stupidist thing lakewood could do...after everything thats happened."
"Okay. Stavo...nothing happened to you, you just moved here so you don't know shit. Some of us do things cause we want to. Not because we have to."
"Whatever."
Natalie stands up from her chair.
"Whatever? You don't even know what it's like. You know when your searching us up did you ever think about what we feel after these things happen to us. Having a carnival is fucking stupid but it cheers people up. Makes them feel like they aren't in a town full of death. If you think you can't except it then leave...we all have our reasons."
"Fine."
He turns away and leaves.
Natalie looks at the chair she sat on and pushed it over. She grabs her hair, pulling at it and breaths loudly. She started to cry and drink some water she had in her purse.

...

Zoe walked in after doing her speech.
She stopped and saw her friend looking in the mirror.
"Zoe. How was it."
She saw she was crying.
Zoe grabbed her purse, got a tissue and whiped Natalies mascara off.
"I'm sorry."
Zoe said to her.
"You don't have to go out there if you don't want to you."
"NEXT lastly Is Natalie Foster."
Mrs Handafield yelled from the stage.
"That me!"
Zoe fixed Natalies make up and hair.
"You sure your okay going out there."
"Zoe. I need to say things and if I don't say them now I'll never get to say them."
"Okay."
Zoe watched her walk out on stage.
Natalie walked up to the microphone and smiled at the crowd.
"Hi...I'm Natalie Foster. Look at us! All happy and having fun at the lakewood carnival."
Natalie saw Audrey, Noah and Emma looking up at her. She also saw her mother right under her with her friends.
"I was suppose to be here with me Boyfriend, Jake Fitzgerald."
She grinned. Her mother frowned.
"But everyone knows how that turned out right?"
She chuckled and saw people go sad.
She sighs.
"I miss him so much...like you don't even know. I didn't even get to say goodbye, he only just fell on me ya know...I guess that's a different way to say it."
She grabbed the microscope and smirked.
"Jake had such a great sense of humor and he'd love this because this carnival is a freaking joke! Happy birthday lakewood. Happy 100 years of lying to yourself."
She yelled into the microphone.
"You know I nearly died, multi times actually and-"
Mrs Handafield walked up and tried to take the microphone.
"No. I'm not done!"
She pushed her away.
"You know what I saw...Nothing! Black, empty nothing."
Tears started to run down her face.
"And thats where Jake is right now! Instead up here with me! Where he belongs. He'd be standing with you all and I would of made an actually speech but hey, that didn't happen did it!"
She gripped the microphone.
"One day all of lakewood will realize how horrible this town really is, how many people have died but then it will be to late cause we will all turn out like Jake! So I hope everyone has a lovely evening in murder town, honestly if I were ya'll I'd leave now...before your life turns into mine."
She dropped the mic and she walked back into the back stage.
"I did it!"
Zoe didn't move or flinch.
"Nat."
She saw her friends behind her.
Her tears ran down her face.
"I had to do it. Lakewood has to know how fucked up this town is."
"I know."
"What was that!?"
Teresa walked inside with Acosta.
"Do you not care about your reputation. Your definitely not wining now."
"I don't give a shit mom."
"Language."
"Oh my god mom. I don't give a shit about a stupid pageant anymore! I've lost everything anyway! Zoe can win it, her life isn't as screwed up as mine."
She frowned.
"You don't understand how I feel do you!"
"Stop, just stop it!"
"You just cleaned my boyfriends body and stiched his body back up because he got murdered! My boyfriend! The love of my life."
"I do know...your father-"
"Whoever you said is my father isn't! Brandon James is and you never fucking told anyone! You didnt care about Brandon at all! Brooke was my sister and she went over the edge because you treated her like your treating me right now! You're a fucking monster and I hope you burn in hell!"
Natalie stormed off grabbing her phone.

She kept running and saw Jakes house in the distance. She started to walk to it and she rang the door bell.