Rad | Waterparks [Hiatus]

t w e n t y s e v e n

"So, how the fuck are we going to find Palaye Royale?! Tutsine is ten times bigger than our squat town!" I yelled as we all went outside of the gas station.

"It can't be that hard, like the man said, they dress funny, so it's should be easy, right?" Geoff asked calmly.

I turned to Geoff with a 'are you serious' look. "We dress funny, Geoff. Everyone dresses different! They're not just going to be walking around at four in the morning and we're just gonna spot them like we're playing I-Spy!"

Everyone stared at me from my outburst. I took a deep breath before speaking again, trying to calm myself down. "If you guys want to find her the you have to think about the places she would go. If you keep asking 'Where is Alice?' then you'll never find her. She's not going to pop out of no where."

Ivanna sighed. "Otto's right. Knowing Alice, she's probably hiding away from us. She knows we're looking for her."

"So, we should find Palaye to find Alice?" Jawn asked.

"Basically, yeah." Ivanna nodded.

We all proceeded to get into the car but Awsten stopped us. "Wait guys," we all turned to him. "I don't know about you guys but it seems like Alice doesn't want to be found."

"And why do you think that?" I asked, clenching my teeth a bit.

He looked at all of us. "Hear me out. Ivanna?" She looked at him. "She has done this before, correct?"

"Yeah, like I said, she used to do it all the time in our old town." Ivanna informed.

"Was she... happy when you guys found her?" Awsten asked, catching Ivanna off guard.

"What?"

Awsten shifted in his stance. "Was Alice happy when you guys found her or when she returned?"

Ivanna closed her slightly opened mouth and paused. "No..not really. The times we found her, she just got into the car without a word. We just let her cool off for about a week before trying to talk to her."

"What about the times when she came home on her own?" Awsten asked.

She looked at him and then everyone else who stood facing Awsten. "She never came home on her own, we found her every time."

Before he could reply, I spoke up angrily. "Look, I don't know what you're on about but I don't like the thought of Alice with three guys we don't know. We need to stop blabbering and find her!"

"Otto, Alice isn't your responsibility. She's her own person." Jawn said quietly.

Tension quickly rose in between us.

I wasn't having it.

Geoff

Once Jawn said that, I knew something was about to go down. I have never seen Otto get really angry before, so I had no idea what would happen.

"What're you picking sides now?" Otto growled at Jawn.

Jawn looked worried and gave us all a look. "No, I'm not picking sides! I'm just saying that she's old enough to make her own decisions and maybe Awsten is right."

Awsten interrupted Otto before he could argue more. "I know what Alice is wanting, she wants to be away for a bit. Live her own life without everyone telling her what to do or treating her like a baby. She just wants to get away. Considering what I hear from you, Ivanna, you and Jacoby love her very much. But you don't trust her by herself. Maybe it's time you should?"

Ivanna stared at the ground without saying anything. None of us spoke. Then, she sighed at lifted her head. "You're right, Awsten. We'll let her come home on her own terms."

Tension lifted when she said that but set back in when Otto decided to share his thoughts.

"What?! You're just going to leave her out there?! What if she doesn't come home and gets kidnapped? Or those boys take her? Or she decided she's had enough?" Otto started to get quieter and quieter. I could see the pain and emotion in his face. He's never been this torn up before. "...What if she thinks we gave up on her..?"

"Otto, there's nothing we can do. If Alice wants to run then let her. If you love something, set it free." I said and put my hand on his shoulder.

He lifted his head and stared directly into my eyes. With his, he shoved my hand off of him.

"Fuck you, Geoff."