An Outlaw's Suffering (Collaboration with DaRealFifiho)

An Outlaw's Suffering

Chapter 2- A Day For Comfort

    Jennifer dashed around trees, jumped over rocks, trying to catch her shortened breath. She didn't really use the map; her instincts were the only thing to actually help her navigate. She couldn't let them see how shaky and scared she was. She sat on a boulder, pushing her backpack aside. She let the tears slip out of her eyes, dripping down the smooth rock and down to the damp earth below. Jennifer let her feelings spill, the quiet sob in the forest echoing within the area. The morning rays of sunlight peered through the leaves and shone on her. The shadows were light and not too heavy with darkness.

    I can't let them see me now, the voice in her head spoke. The old memories are coming back. Maybe I shouldn't have come here with the boys. This was all a mistake.

Brayden looked at the direction she ran off in. He didn't know what was going on, and felt overwhelmed. Being the calm and collected person that he was, he was surprised by how worried he was, getting over Jennifer's odd behaviour. He put a handful of potato chips in his mouth, deep in thought and worry.

"Are we going to chase after her... or what?" Karl remarked, also looking off into the distance, where she fled. On his face was an expression; mixed with confusion, worry and tiredness.

"I think she might need some time for herself," Brayden muttered. Karl nodded in agreement.  The two quietly ate chips together, while occasionally glancing back at the space that she disappeared from. They made small talk together and waited patiently for her to return. She did not.

Jennifer sobbed as she desperately tried to pull herself together. She knew for a fact that crying wouldn't help the situation, but she couldn't help but let a few tears escape. The poor girl felt so unlike herself and she couldn't stop weeping. It was uncontrollable. All the memories she managed to stop earlier came rushing back to her as she cried. More and more tears flooded where she was sitting. She was desperate to stop the thoughts and her crying, but once they started, they just wouldn't stop.

"I feel worried about her-" He'd blurt, letting the words fly out of his lips. "We have to check on her, right?" It had already been an hour since she sprinted away like a maniac. He shivered at the thought that she might be tied up, arrested, or even anything horrible would make him lose his calmness.

"Hey, chill out! You can go in a few minutes... You can go check on your 'girlfriend' if you want, but I'm eating the rest of these if you don't come back fast enough." Karl countered, letting a laugh escape from his mouth.

Brayden almost choked to death on the spot, which was odd, considering he kept his chill at most times. He looked at Karl in an unexpected way.

"What if she doesn't come back?" He replied, getting up from the area.

"I'll go find her, then." He dusted his grey sweatpants, preparing to venture. Karl rolled his eyes and sat in a comfortable position while he waited for them to come back eventually.

Jenifer was crying, but she caught onto her thoughts and realized something about herself.

This isn't like me. What happened to the girl who had the best poker face around? I shouldn't have broken down so easily today. How could I have let myself get so upset over something so easily? But even after the realization, she continued crying.

She silently hugged her legs towards her chest, weeping. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying for such a long while.

    Right behind the trees, a tall boy with blue-grey eyes and light-brown scruffy hair appeared. His lips formed a soft smile. Brayden waved at her, noticing she'd been crying for a while.

"Are you okay, Jenni?" He questioned, stepping over and walking towards her. He sat down on the edge of the rock and put his arm around her gently. She didn't answer; she was too busy crying and she didn't want to speak. He hugged her tightly, stroking her hair gently. He was very surprised to have seen her cry. She was always so strong, brave and level headed. She pulled herself closer to Brayden just a little bit, and her crying slowed down.

Even though the three of them had known each other for years, they had never seen her cry before. It was odd for them, seeing her cry, but it just proved that even the strongest of warriors in life had emotions. No matter how hard you try, you can never block out all the pain that you have to face.

Meanwhile, Karl was getting tired of waiting so long so he decided to read the comics on a newspaper that Jennifer had been looking at yesterday. He tapped the ground with a stick, whistling as he scanned the newspaper.

"Hmm. These are boring. I really wonder if those love birds have found each other yet." He mumbled to himself, stuffing the newspaper into his backpack. He made sure to clean up the food he left behind and remembered to kick the dirt back in its place from the stick.

"Stupid Karl, what are you thinking?" He criticized himself. "You're going to leave a trail behind!" He got up in a hurry and rushed off into the distance. A few moments later, he found the two sitting together closely. Jennifer was simply crying and Brayden was trying to make her feel better. They didn't run too far away.

    Brayden let go of Jennifer immediately, embarrassed out of his mind. Jennifer put her knees down and rubbed her eyes quickly. It was bad enough just having Brayden see her cry, but both of them watching her weep, curled up in such a helpless way? That was just awkward. 

"Are you... crying?" Karl asked, startled by the discovery. Brayden glared at his unreadable face. He couldn't be that surprised, could he?

"Yeah. I was crying, I guess.." She answered. "I'm fine now though, just trust me."