Since You Been Gone

Chapter 24

Tris P.O.V.

"So, do you ever come out here?" Al asks as we drive to the harbor. As we get closer, the large ferris wheel grows in size with its bright lights. I shake my head.

"I came once or twice in high school. I've thought about bringing Lucas out here one night, but I just haven't. He would probably enjoy the games and mini golf," I say. He nods and keeps his focus on the road. The silence in the car bothers me, but I'm unsure of what else to say.

"So, you've devoted a lot of time to Lucas, haven't you?" Al asks a few minutes later. I nod. By this point, we have gotten close enough to the harbor to see the cars pulling in and out of the crowded parking lot.

"Yeah, I just want the best for him. . . I'll admit he could have had a better life at one point in time, but it also could have been a lot worse. Lucky for me, I had my friends to help me since I had a crazy schedule. The release of the book and taking care of Lucas was hard to balance so they were a big help," I admit. He nods and joins the line of cars waiting to pull into the parking lot.

"Well, I am certainly looking forward to meeting him. He sounds like a great kid," he says. I give him a warm smile and nod.

"He is definitely something else," I reply. He chuckles and moves up in the line of cars. As it dawns on me that it is Tuesday night, I can't help but be curious about what this place is like on Saturday nights. The few times I have been here have always been during the day and those time it had been a light crowd, but nothing this bad.

He finally pulls into the parking lot. We are lucky enough to find aa parking spot in the third row of cars. We both get out of Al's black car. I pull my crossbody bag around me and smooth out my skinny jeans. I meet Al in front of the car and he takes my hand in his as we walk across the parking lot.

We walk up the steps from the parking lot to the oversized peir. Lights shine from all of the booth, illuminating the faces of the large crowd. Some booths contain tee-shirts, hoodies, and coffee mugs with I <3 Chicago wrote on them for tourists. Others have carnival games in them that are impossible to win but still have the cheap, stuffed prizes in the case someone does the impossible.

"So, where do you want to start?" Al asks. I shrug and begin to think over how different the things I have done in the daylight that would be cool to do in the dark. The fun house has always creeped me out so I immediately cross it off my list. The arcade is also always lit so it wouldn't be that fun to go. The only thing that crosses my mind that might would be fun is mini golf.

"Um, I think we should go play mini golf," I say. He chuckles and nods before walking in the direction of the course. It is easy to see it as we approach. It's a wooden shack and field of fake grass on wooden stilts over the lake, making it easy to loose golf balls, something I have done numerous times.

We walk in and Al pays for both of us to play. We both pick out golf balls, me taking a blue one and him taking a black one, and take the appropraite sized gold club. Then, we walk out to the safari themed golf course, where two other couples are playing.

"I go first," I declare. He chuckles but still lets me aim my golf ball for the hippo's mouth first. I hit and it hits the side of the hippo's head and bounces a few feet away. "Dang it," I mumble under my breath. I assume Al hears it because he laughs again.

"I bet I can do better," he says. I laugh, and he does as promised. He hits the ball and it slowly rolls into the hippo's mouth where he makes a hole-in-one. I gasp but don't reply as I put my ball in the direction of the mouth again. After several more tries, it finally makes it in.

"Do you play golf a lot?" I question as we walk toward the next hole. He puts his finger on his chin as if to think about the answer, which automatically causes me to know. "You do! You could have at least told me before we started!" I exclaim a little louder than I meant to.

"Sorry, I thought it would be kind of fun to win," he says. I roll my eyes and put my golf pall down on the spot designated for doing so. I aim my golf ball through the ridges meant to look like the backs of crocodiles and just barely miss the hole.

"Dang it," I curse under my breath. Al laughs again and pats me on the back before setting his golf ball down and hits it straight into the hole again. I gasp again and he turns to smirk at me.

"That's what you get when you play with a pro," he says before walking down to the hole to receive his ball.

§§§

"Thank you for a great evening," I say as he walks me up the steps to my house. He nods and leans against the railing. An awkward silence sets over us as I hug the purple stuffed monkey he won me to my chest. The monkey reminds me of something but I struggle to remember what.

"Well, Um, I guess I should get going. . ." Al says. I nod and he leans in like he is going to kiss me and I immediately freeze up. My mind kicks in and I lean over and plant a kiss on his cheek. "I'll call you tomorrow," he says with a disappointed tone. I give him a smile and open up the door.

I step inside and slide off my boots. I leave them in a pile next to the door and walk through the house without bothering to cut any lights on. I throw my bag on the table before collapsing on the couch. I lay the monkey on my chest and stare at its face. It has a purple body with a pale face, hands, and feet. Then, I realize where I know it from.

It is the same monkey Lucas has. It is one of his favorite stuffed animals that he might have even taken with him to Tobias's apartment. It is the kind of animal you can only win at a carnival booth or an arcade, something Lucas only goes to once a year. That would mean someone else won it.

I won it.

On one of the happiest days of my life.

Dudes, this took me way too long to post. Why it did, that is a mystery to me. Despite the clicheness (Is that a word? I think it sounds cool so now its a word.) of saying I was busy, I am gonna be cliche and say I was busy... I had to finish Paper Towns! And school started again yesterday and teachers have taken that as a sign to make a heavy load of homework so... Yeah, bad editing, I know. Even though there is that problem, I would love so comments and votes!

Disclaimer: The one, the only, Veronica Roth who broke our souls in Allegiant is the one who owns Divergent.

^^^Can souls be broken???