Everyone can believe in the idea of being innocent until proven guilty but when someone holds the evidence to prove your guilt, how long can you continue to run from your inevitable fate?
After moving to America in an attempt to escape her troubled...
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Chapter 37:
One Last Option
Turning off the ignition and opening the door, the park falls silent.
Unlike the summer, there's no longer any crickets to be heard chirping and the summery haze has been replaced with the winter's chill. As much as I love surprises from Zac, I wish he could've picked tonight's as an indoor one. It's almost December and the days of wearing floral dresses are long gone and instead I'm wrapped up in the thickest, fluffiest jumper I could find.
Walking through the rusty iron gate, my eyes look back in astonishment at the lit path in front of me. As the night has fallen, the lantern's aren't the only thing providing light. The trees have been wrapped in christmas lights and the fountain that sits in the middle dazzles in the flashing illumination.
Although it was still a bit early for the christmas decorations in my opinion, I try to embrace the festivities as soon as I can. Even more so as Thanksgiving isn't something my family celebrates in the same way everyone else does here.
Zac perches on the edge of the fountain, his thick fur coat covers his pink ears. He flashes me a grin, a bunch of amaryllis' in hand.
"What's this?" I question, my pitch rising at the end.
Zac links his arm through mine, leading me on the same path towards the field where my birthday cinema surprise was held.
"Well it's obvious that you've been down recently and it's been a really tough couple of months for you." He says sympathetically before kissing me on the top of my head.
"I hear you reminiscing over the summer all the time, so I wanted to recreate a bit of it for you, to both remind you of how it was whilst also giving you a taste of what's to come after graduation."
Zac pushes the low hanging branches out of the way, walking through the clearing to the field. In the centre of it is a picnic blanket, covered in fluffier blankets to keep us warm. Pillows litter is alongside fake candles, to avoid a fire hazard. Two portable heaters sit either side, glowing a warm orange tint as they produce heat.
Sitting on the blanket feels like stepping into a different season. My body relaxes at the newfound warmth and my mind wanders back to happier days; summer.
"It's beautiful." I say, looking up as Zac as he unfolds the biggest blanket he can find before covering it over my body, protecting me from the biting cold.
"I'm glad you like it." Zac smiles back, sitting beside me.
"You didn't need to do this for me." I run my hand across his frozen cheeks, rubbing my finger across his dimple.
"I wanted to. You needed a pick up and we needed some time together away from school, to clear our minds and act how we used to. I'm worried that your mind's becoming clouded. Plus with election day being tomorrow, it might be a bit overwhelming with Amelia's likely win and party tomorrow night."
