Begin Again (Lukesse)

the tree with ribbons

Lukas's PoV

I stared at the sunset, feeling a bit worried. "Don't you have to go home?" I asked Jess. She frowned. "I don't know. I can go home whenever I want. And besides, I'd rather spend time with you." Jess said.

I blushed, making Jess nudge me. "Come on, we already know we like each other. Why are you still so shy?" she asked. I shook my head and my eyes drifted over to a tree, far away on another hill.

"Hey. Do you see that?" I asked, squinting at the tree. Jess narrowed her eyes. "It's just a tree?" she said. I shook my head, starting to climb down the tree. "It looks weird. Let's go check it out." I said, jumping to the ground and helping Jess down.

**********************

"I don't know, Lukas. We shouldn't be here." Jess said, climbing over the fence. I ignored her, wanting to check the tree. I remembered seeing it somewhere before. But where?

"Whoa." Jess said as we stared at the leafless tree, which was covered with blue and orange ribbons. "Have you seen a tree grow ribbons before?" Jess asked but I shook my head. "It's not grown, dummy, someone tied them to this tree." I said, reaching towards a ribbon.

"Lukas!" Jess pulled me back, making me stumble into her. "What?" I asked, irritated. "Look." she pointed to the ground. "What-?" we stared at the grave, right beneath the tree. "It's just a grave." I said, kneeling down to look at the name.

Dakota Elise Jackson. "Petra's mom?" I said, stepping back. Jess stepped back as well. "Lukas, I told you we shouldn't be here.!" Jess whispered. "I remembered... when Petra and I were arguing, she was holding a blue ribbon." I muttered, staring at the grave.

"There's proof. See?" Jess said, pointing to the marble headstone. "Beloved Dakota Elise Jackson, wife of Diesel Jackson and mother of Petra and Ivor Jackson. You will be missed and loved forever." Jesse read.

Jess looked up at me. "And Ivor doesn't even remember her." she said, tearing up a little. I took Jess's hand and pulled her up. "Lets go." I said as the sun disappeared behind the horizon.

Somehow, we made it through, wandering the streets, thinking about what we discovered. "Don't ever go back there." Jess was saying when we hit right into someone.

"Hey!" I rubbed my head, looking up at.. Axel. "What happened?" I asked, noticing his panicked face. Axel swallowed.

"Have you seen Jesse around? Anything?" he asked. I looked at Jess. "No. What's wrong?" I asked.

Axel clenched his fists. "Jesse's missing."

-End