Mirror // Van McCann

45. Thank You for Everything

*Van's POV*

It was a quiet morning and I was sound asleep until my phone buzzed. Normally I wouldn't mind but I actually slept well today. "Well" meaning I got a solid five hours of sleep. I was too comfortable to move but figured I might as well check to see who it was.

I lifted the covers and reached for my phone. I unlocked the screen and saw that I got a text from Bondy. It's 7 AM, what is he doing up so early? I quickly read his message.

Bondy: *Are you up? I want to talk to you about Adam. I'm at the park right now.*

I quickly texted him back, my heart pounding. I wanted to know what he had to say but at the same time I didn't.

Van: *I just woke up. Give me 15 minutes and I'll be there.*

Bondy: *It's no rush, really! I'll be here for a while.*

I didn't even read his text. I jumped out of bed accidentally pulling the covers with me. I untangled them from my leg and threw them back onto my bed. I then quickly brushed my teeth, washed my face, and I may or may not have brushed my hair—it's hard to tell these days. I threw on some clothes and ran downstairs. I was making a lot of noise and hoped I didn't wake Amy up.

I ran into the kitchen trying to figure out what I could eat on the way. I settled on a banana and bottled water, grabbed my coat, and left. I half ran half walked to the park and miraculously finished my "breakfast" on the way to the park. I discarded my empty water bottle and banana peel in the bin. I could see Bondy on the bench in the distance and I quickened my pace.

"I'm here," I said as I reached him, out of breath.

"Jesus Van, you look like you just rolled out of bed. It's not that much of an emergency. You could've at least combed your hair," Bondy said with a hint of a smile on his face.

I laughed lightly, trying to fix my hair. "It's bad, innit?" I asked, sitting down next to him.

"Your shirt is off by a button," Bondy added. I looked down at my shirt and he was right. How did I manage that?

"Christ I'm having a rough morning," I sighed. I looked around the park to see if anyone was around. I didn't want to accidentally flash someone. Luckily it was just the both of us so I fixed the buttons on my shirt and put my coat on. "So why are you up so early?" I asked.

"I couldn't sleep so I woke up early and came to the park."

"Since when did you not sleep well? You can literally fall asleep anywhere."

"I couldn't sleep because of what Adam told us last night."

I turned to look at Bondy and could see that he didn't look well either. His face was pale and he had bags under his eyes. His wild hair was barely contained by his hat.

"What did Adam say?" I asked.

"This is a long story," Bondy started. "Remember a few days back, I told you Adam was trying to get people to join his cause and I told him I wasn't interested? Well I changed my mind and feigned interest to get information out of him and I kind of regret it now."

I stared at him, curious. What did he find out that was so bad? "Why do you regret it?" I pressed.

"I regret it because I'm involved in this shit now and it sucks. Adam managed to get ten people to join him and they're all brainwashed, especially Natalie."

"What about her?"

"I thought she was a sweet girl but my God she's evil. She absolutely hates Jess and will do whatever she can to find her."