Page 117 of A Dead Man's B-Side
I looked out to the greenery around us and shrugged, folding one leg under the other. For one reason or another, it was easier to talk to Paris than it was anyone else. An inkling I had was that it was because she’s never judged me for anything I ever said or did. “I once fell asleep on an active railroad track. Well, collapsed, more like.”
I snapped a twig I picked up from nearby and began playing with the soft, fraying edges of the bark, wanting to find something to do with my hands as well.
“What made you collapse?” She asked, no opinion hidden in her tone.
I thought back to the memory and pulled a blank. A bullet graze? Or was it in a panic because of the man chasing me?
“I’m not sure. But it must have had to do with the sheriffs. Nosy bunch, those ones.”
Paris let out an amused huff of air, another cloud of condensation floating around us. “I’m going to need context here, Sasha.”
I sighed, pushing back to lean against the same tree as her. The memories were becoming foggier with every passing day here. Sometimes, if I tried to recall, they’d only come in flashes; a bright store sign, a family I’d walked past, a dog pissing near a fire hydrant. I was well aware of what had happened, but I couldn’t link the fact to any memory. “I was a runaway… from many things. So, when a pair of law enforcers see a young kid with tattered clothes and a duffle bag, they get suspicious… and I end up running. Except, Bend didn’t have a bus station where I was. It’s a beautiful place when it rains. Big lakes, deep forests.”
Paris pursed her lips into a sad smile, her head tilted as she regarded me. “Sucks you didn’t get to see it properly… Where is Bend?”
Her smile turned pleased when I chuckled. “It’s a… city? If you could call it that. It’s more like a town, in Oregon.”
“Ah.”
“Yeah.”
We fell back into a peaceful silence, only the shuffle of leaves against each other to be heard.
“Were you a runaway because of a crime?” She wondered. Either she was really good at hiding her judgment, or she had seen itall. From what Thaddeus had let on about her, I would have to continue concluding on the latter.
On paper, “I was running from foster care. I was an orphan–am an orphan. I would rather it stay that way than be placed with the people I’d come to meet.”
Paris nodded, eyes suddenly fierce. “You did the right thing. Sometimes the only thing youcando is take matters into your own hands, because this world surely isn’t a forgiving one.”
I couldn’t help but agree, and when the cold had just about frosted the edges of our lungs, we pulled ourselves upright and made the trek back to our dorms.
I couldn’t help but shiver at the warm change in temperature once we’d stepped inside, and Paris wasn’t someone who wouldn’t catch it. She shoved me before I could continue to the second floor. “You were cold and didn’t say a word?”
I pulled my head back and my brows lifted at her audacity. “I give you my coat and that is how you repay me?”
She returned said coat and tightened her ponytail. She paused, took in a breath, and then, with a grateful look, said, “... Thank you.”
I nodded back at her as she walked backgrounds down the hall.
“Looks like the walk did you well. We should do it again.” She winked.
It was only then that I remembered why I asked her to come along in the first place, and from her sparkling eyes, she knew it too.
Chapter Twenty
Alexandr Miroslav
1982
I hadn’t realized how quickly time was passing at Castle Hill, because all I felt I could show for it was Scott Kensington’s heavy eye bags, purple and bruised, and his unkept appearance. I wouldn't consider King’s concern for his brother a plus, as the cleverer of the two seemed to be more suspicious than worried.
Almost paranoid.
He was becoming restless, I could tell. Waiting for this spiteful husk of a spectacle to reveal themselves and confess their motive.
Well, I also had my growing knowledge to show for it. I felt that because my mind had been so void of a proper education, it was able to absorb Castle Hill’s sea of information without too much struggle.
I say that while also trying to ignore the increasing chance of cancer with every night spent studying and smoking.
