The Other Half ✓︎

F i v e

"I mean this in the nicest way possible. You look like hell," Watson commented.

I looked at him blankly.

"You were crying," he realized.

I nodded.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I shook my head.

"Do you still want to check out that bookstore?"

"Is it okay if we don't go today? I don't think I can handle being around other people."

"Yeah, of course. Do you want to get away from here for a bit?"

"Yes, please. I don't care where we go."

"I can do that," he answered gently.

I looked over at him and saw him looking at me in concern. I turned away to look out the window. The scene passed us in a blur as he drove us somewhere else. I was too tired to talk about anything at the moment.

After I had finished crying, I had felt exhausted. I had showered and curled up for a nap, forgetting that I had made plans for tonight. Watson's phone call had woken me up, and I had managed to throw some clothes on before heading out. My parents had been in a deep discussion when I had left.

"We're here," he announced.

I sat up, confused.

"You dozed off for about half an hour, and I didn't want to wake you," he explained.

"Thank you," I croaked.

I cleared my throat and looked around. We were in a remote area, surrounded by trees and not much else. Even the road we were currently on was a dirt path.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"I come here when I want to get away to think."

With that, I heard him open his door and get out. I followed suit, stepping down carefully. There was a large gap between the step of the truck and the ground.

"We have to walk for a little bit, but we'll be there soon," Watson told me.

I nodded, following him. As we walked, I took my hair out of its ponytail and pulled it into a low bun. The cool air felt refreshing against my skin, and it woke me up.

"How was your week? You didn't show up to training today," Watson said.

"It's been relatively uneventful. I had something to do today, so I took the day off."

"You run this morning?"

"The usual three miles."

"When do you sleep?"

"Early enough."

"And homework?"

"Usually done before eight."

"Nerd."

I let out a laugh. "Is that the best you got, Watson? Because you know I take it as a compliment."

"It's hard to insult you, you know that, right?"

I shrugged.

"We're here," he announced.

I looked up to see that we had arrived at a clearing. We were still surrounded by trees, but there was a small meadow here, and the flowers grew all around it. It looked like it was something out of a book. It was breathtaking.

"How did you find this place?" I asked as I looked around.

"I came here for a run once and lost my way. I ended up here, and it just became a spot I come to when I need to escape everything else."