About Time

Chapter II

I had my dirty blonde hair pulled into a bun. I was looking through some old files. I was wearing cargo tan shorts and a black tank top with a greenish-grey camo jacket. I went outside, after getting too warm. I pulled a cigarette out and a lighter. I leaned against the railing, watching the water, and smoking.

"Hey, don't think I didn't recognize you from before." I heard Nathan say from behind me.

I sighed and stepped on my cigarette, putting it out. "Nathan, I was stupid. I got into the wrong group... Besides, you wouldn't understand."

Nathan made me look at him by grabbing my left shoulder and turning me towards him. "I'm not gonna tell Elena. She'd be distraught. You're lucky that only I recognized you. Nice touch on the wig and accent. Pretty convincing, I'll give you that."

I softly scoffed at the thought of what I was like, "Years of acting, and drama classes. Also, learning foreign languages help."

Nathan chuckled. "Once again, you remind me of somebody."

I knew I was going to regret asking, but I was going to do it anyway. "If I'm allowed to ask, who do I keep reminding you of?" We both leaned against the railing, watching the water softly swaying back and forth.

Nathan looked a little surprised but shrugged. "You have a right to know. You remind me of my older brother. He passed, though."

I bit my lip. I knew how hard it was to talk about things like that. I looked at the water. "I'm sorry to hear about that. I bet he was a good man though," I said softly.

"If you don't mind, I don't wanna talk about it. I've taken too long to keep that away from anybody," Nathan said as he started looking out at the water.

I knew how he felt. "Perfectly fine. I understand actually."

Nathan looked at me, "Understand? What's your story then?" I shrugged.

"Older brother, too. I hardly ever talk about him or this story. He did everything he could to protect me from all evils of the world as he would say. That usually meant our fighting parents or bullies. One day, he picked me up from school, this was when I met Elena, and he told me to wait in the car. He always did that, just in case, our parents were fighting. I did so, and the next thing I knew, I heard a gun go off, and I raced in the house. By that time, I heard two more gunshots. I opened the door... Jared looked like he got shot first, then Mom, and then Dad shot himself. I couldn't have cared about my parents. I ran to Jared, in tears. He had just enough life in him to say, Live life to the fullest and avoid all evils of the world. And with that, I saw the life drain..." I didn't realize I was crying before I saw Nathan hold out tissues.

I chuckled softly and took some. "After that, I became a total wreck. Sorry to get all emotional on ya." I patted the tissue to where the tears were.

Nathan shrugged it off. "It's alright. I... I can understand that kind of emotional strain that puts on ya."