Rekindle

5

Life was paradise.

I fought Tom for practice once in the afternoon, and the rest of the day's activities were all up to me. I embraced the internet, searching first for Elk City (which was a near four and a half hours away, no surprise) and any news on my search. They were still at it. The online newspaper had written a very emotional tragedy piece in my honor that took up the whole front page, probably because nothing else ever happened in that po-dunk town. And in all actuality, four and a half hours wasn't that far. Eventually they could find me, but I figured Bridget could work out a way to fake my death or something, so I could continue to live in peace. Unlimited TV, unlimited WiFi, unlimited food, unlimited boundaries, everything was at my disposal. I thought about trying to find Alex and Asher's apartment on Google maps as well, but I had better things to do than dwell on the past.

Of course, the thoughts never really left. Bridget said she didn't kill Ash, and I was constantly fighting myself on the matter. Good because I knew he was home safe, and Alex wasn't worried or out for blood, but I resented myself for being comforted by the fact he was still breathing. Deep down, I still expected to meet him again someday. I threw more knives than anything and took my hand-to-hand practice seriously. Was it so I could prove myself when the time came?

I forced myself to quit thinking about him, because all that was just a memory. I hated him from the beginning, and I should've hated him then with everything he'd put me through.

I caught up with Bridget in the meantime. We ventured outside and hung out in trees like we used to, and she told me her story in installments.

"It started about the last month or two I was with you. My parents were fighting a lot after Dad found out about Mom's drug addiction. That's why I was sent to my grandparent's every weekend. He really tried to get her to quit. I had no idea it was even going on, because she seemed completely normal, but after a long time of quarreling and fighting and bickering, Mom eventually split and took me with her. Turns out she wasn't only addicted to drugs, she was having an affair too."

"Oh wow," I interjected, shocked. "That's...intense."

"Yeah, intense is an understatement," she grumbled, tearing a twig off a branch and throwing it. "She didn't let me ask questions either. We moved into his shithole of an apartment and lived like pigs while they shot up every hour of day. I fucking despised it, because they tore me away from you, for one, and because she tore me away from Dad and everything I'd ever known. I went to school, but Mom transferred me to a different one so Dad couldn't pick up on her trail. It was abhorrent."

"How'd you get out?" I questioned. I was actually allowed to ask questions then. Wow. No knives at my head for questions was nice.

"A very risky plan that only was successful by a stroke of luck," Bridget said with a small smile. "Long story short, I shot her dealer. Within a year, I'd worked my way up in the business, killed the kingpin, and now own everything you lay hands on."

The last part was rather rushed and vague, but I disregarded it and reflected on what I knew for a couple moments. But as I picked the dead leaves off the tree branch in silence, I couldn't help becoming increasingly bothered by the holes in her story. Yeah, I guess she just killed and backstabbed her way to the top, but how? I was a probably a sociopath, but she was still normal when I left her. And she remained friendly, adventurous, and brave throughout the years, maybe just in every corrupt way possible.

Before I could question it she hopped down and took off toward nowhere, calling for me to follow. I jumped down and had to sprint to catch up, losing my train of thought as I weaved and ran. Eventually we arrived at whatever our destination was. I scanned the perimeter, although the place looked like any other cluster of trees in the forest. "What is this, exactly?" I asked.