How to Kill a Man in Thirty Seconds

Chapter 30: The Unexpected Allegiance

My brows furrowed in confusion, but he stopped and didn't look as if he intended on elaborating so I questioned no further.

The greenery surrounding us had given way to an open landscape as we walked, a large lake appearing to our right, its black waters stretching out as far as the eye could see, before disappearing behind a valley of hills in the distant horizon. Far off, on either side of the lake, its banks gave way to sandy shores that were hidden beneath a canopy of forest cover.

I stopped, diverting off course as I jogged towards the deck that stood over the edge of the lake. It was a place I frequented on the way home from school, especially when I needed a place to think.

"Charley," Adrian started disapprovingly.

"It won't take a minute," I insisted, "Come. Trust me, you won't regret it."

Looking awkward, he inched towards the edge of the deck and sank to the floor beside me. Crossing my legs, I closed my eyes, a smile coming over my face as the slightly chilly breeze blew past me, lifting the tousled ends of my hair. When my eyes flickered open, I realized Adrian was watching me, looking completely baffled and utterly uncomfortable.

I frowned, "What? You've never seen a lake before?"

"You gave me your lecture on multiverses in front of a lake, remember?"

I shot him a sideways glare, to which he responded with another twitch of his lips. Ignoring his answer, I turned my attention to the vast expanse of water before us, "This place is really beautiful in the summer. Oliver, Brian and I-we- pretty much live out here then. It's a great place to swim in."

"There was a lake just like this outside my home once," Adrian replied, deep in thought, "My friends and I used to spend every day of the summer there too."

"But?" I egged him on.

He cast me a questioning look, "How'd you know?"

I shrugged, "You're frowning right now and your face has gone pale. There's definitely a 'but' coming up."

Adrian shook his head, but even he couldn't help the reluctant smile that tipped one corner of his lips upwards by just a fraction of a millimetre, "You're just impossible to fool, aren't you, Charley Green?"

Struggling to suppress the cow-sized grin that now filled my face, I shrugged one shoulder, "You learn fast, Adrian Hunt."

Shaking his head at my unabashed cockiness, he turned his gaze back towards the waters, "It was a beautiful lake, Charley. But one day, something happened, while we had gone down there," he swallowed, and I watched as the smile slipped from his face and was replaced by unconcealed fear, "and, after that, I guess I could never look at the place in the same way again."

I frowned over the demented look that had come over Adrian's face, "What happened?"

He chuckled humorlessly and shrugged his shoulder as casually as he could, "It was a long time ago. I barely remember it all now anyway. And it doesn't matter anymore." It sounded as if he was trying to convince himself more than he was me.

My brows furrowed in confusion but I let it go, "Well, I promise you this lake is different." And when the tormented look still didn't leave his face, I added, "You should come with us this summer, when we go swimming. I'll prove it to you."

His forehead wrinkled, "Aren't you mad at me? After everything I told you?"

I glanced away from him, sighing, "Should I be?"

"I... don't know. Are you?"

I swallowed, my tone impassive, "Are you sorry?"

"Yes," the answer was immediate, "I am... sorry."