Conspicuous Secrets

Chapter Forty-One

            I ran down the street, making my way toward the dead end, shoving the crumpled piece of paper in my coat pocket. Snowflakes fell from the sky, onto my head and the ground below me. As I ran, snow was layering under my feet and the suspicion of being watched was growing stronger. My heart was racing as if Charles could jump out and grab me at any moment. Nonetheless, I ran. I ran toward the end of the road where a path started into the trees because I knew that Kason was there all alone. And that, at this time, could mean his life.

I glanced over my shoulder just about every ten feet, filled with paranoia. Soon, I reached the tree line and followed the path about thirty yards until I found a teenage boy sitting on the cold, damp ground. "Kason?"

He turned over his shoulder and looked at me. The normal shine in his blue eyes was gone and instead, replaced with redness and tears. "I'm sorry I ran out like that," he apologized immediately, his voice croaky. "I just didn't—I didn't know what to do."

I closed the distance between us and sat down on the freezing ground beside him, wrapping my arms around his trembling self. He leaned into me as more tears streamed down his cheeks. The fabric of his jacket was freezing cold. I didn't know how he was handling sitting on the snowy ground for hours. "Why didn't you answer any of our calls?" I asked him after a few minutes.

He laid his head on my shoulder. I held him tight. "I just didn't feel like talking to anyone."

I nodded. "It's okay. I understand."

For a little while, the only sound that could be heard in the quiet woods was our breathing and an occasional sniff from Kason. "How did you get through it? The death of both of your parents?" he questioned. "I can't imagine what I'd do if I lost my dad, too."

I breathed, tears springing to my eyes. I hated seeing him so broken and defeated. This wasn't the Kason I had gotten to know the past couple of months. "You never get over it, Kason," I told him honestly. "Sometimes the pain I feel is worse than the day she died." I caught myself saying "she," specifically talking about my mom, but Kason didn't say anything about it so I guess he didn't notice.

Kason sighed and closed his eyes. I ran my fingers through his hair, trying to warm up his cold scalp. "When I was little, she would sing me to sleep every night," he informed me quietly. "I was terrified of the dark, and instead of telling me to get over it and face my fear, she would sing a lullaby."

"She was a great woman," I told him, remembering the time he took me to meet her.

"She was," he agreed, trying to hold back a sob. I pulled him further into me and kissed his forehead. We sat like that for a while, until Kason started to gather himself back together. He was no longer crying constantly, in exception of a couple rogue tears.

In the silence, I heard a loud click. Looking around, I didn't see anything. "What was that?" I asked, feeling tense once again.

"It was probably a rabbit," he brushed it off.

I shook my head, my eyes not leaving the space around us. "They should be hibernating by now."

He shrugged. "Then it was probably a bird."

The click sounded again. "It sounds like a camera." I let go of Kason and climbed to my feet, observing the trees around me. I didn't see anyone. He was here. He had to be.

"We are the only ones out here, Lydia," he said.

I looked down at him. "How about we get out of the cold?" I crossed my arms. "You are going to have hypothermia if you are out here any longer."