❝In which two people call up a helpline in order to find someone just as broken as they are. ❞
"Does...does it bother you that my dad's in prison for murder?"
"Well, judging by the fact that I moved away from America to get away from the memory of a...
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"This makes me feel like such a dodgy teenager," Elliot said with a laugh as he pulled himself up onto the top of the swing set. "I remember coming here with my dad as a kid and being absolutely terrified of all the big kids on the swings, even though one of them was my older brother. It just looked so cool to be all grown up and I couldn't wait to be like them. But now it doesn't seem all that great." He used his nonexistent muscle to haul himself up onto the final bit and then sat himself down next to Isabella who had already climbed to the top of the swings so gracefully that he could have sworn evolution was working backwards.
Isabella's laugh filled the cold night air as he stared out at the trees surrounding them and he found himself wishing that he had worn something other than his older brother's hoodie. "Judging by the swarm of beer cans, I would say that we're not the dodgiest teenagers to ever have been here." In the distance, a siren's wail cut through the solitude, reminding Elliot of the tall, bright lights that were barely hidden behind the thin tree line of the park.
Elliot didn't want to be reminded of that, so he tilted his head back to look up at the night sky instead, fixing his hands on the bar so as not to fall off. "You come here often?"
Isabella laughed again at that, almost making him die of panic when she almost fell off from too much hysterics. "That's like the most overused pickup line of all time."
Elliot felt his cheeks redden, heat pooling in his face as he turned to look back at Isabella. "That's not what I meant."
She shoved his shoulder lightly, but not enough to make him fall off. "I know. It's just fun to see your reaction." Elliot almost wanted to ask if this was actually Isabella, because the girl he knew stuttered and faltered and wouldn't dream of teasing anyone in her life. But then he remembered the girl who had enough courage to write a blog about her worst nightmare, and was reminded of just how brave this girl was. And what an inspiration she had become. "And to answer your question, yes, I do come here often. It's not much but it's a way to get away from the big city lights for a while."
There was silence for a few seconds. Just him, her, the swing set and the stars before she spoke again.
"Back in America my dad would always say how lucky we were not to live in a big city, because without the big lights we could see more of the stars." There was more silence after that, and he saw her long blonde hair spill over the darkness as she tilted her head back to look at the stars. He watched her get lost in her thoughts, and felt like he had to ask. Maybe as a way of asking her to ask him the same question.
"Do you miss him?" He didn't need to say who.
"Yeah." Her voice was so quiet that it was picked up by the sound of an obnoxious car engine and carried away as an extra passenger. "Yeah, I miss him a lot."
Elliot shifted a little closer to her, because he was in the mood for physical contact. Perhaps he was cold. But he knew better than that. "I miss mine too."
She rested her head on his shoulder, and he proceeded to pull her closer by wrapping an arm around her body. And he felt something that he never felt with Maddie. Or with anyone, for that matter. And it made him feel guilty. But he couldn't seem to pull away.
He told himself that he was cold.
"What do you miss most about him?"
"Everything."
"Me too."
"He wasn't perfect but he...he was my dad, you know? And I...I can't help but overlook his faults because I miss him so much."
