CHAPTER 10
Miles woke up in his bed with a cold sweat.
He dreamt about Rachel again. This time she was wearing the summer dress with the flowers that he liked. It always made her look like an angel in his eyes. She smiled at him; he smiled back at her and told her he really missed her. But soon enough the smile turned into sadness and the laughter turned into cries of agony as he saw her once again dangling from the rope.
Miles decided it was time to get up, but he stalled.
Now that Charlie was better and his brother was back to being a pain in the ass, it was time to deal with what was going on. They still hadn't found the person responsible for the explosion at the camp. Even though Connor had questioned everyone who survived, there were still no answers to be found. He figured it was time he helped out.
He looked around his bedroom. He could have slept in the master bedroom but decided it was too big for him, plus, he couldn't handle sleeping in a big bed alone.
Charlie had put fresh flowers in a vase on the dresser everyday. This annoyed him but it sure looked pleasant. It was just the kind of thing Charlie would do, in hopes of cheering him up.
He was scanning around the room just a bit more, enjoying the few moments of quiet before rising for the day until sounds from outside caught his attention.
He carefully got up, crept to the window and moved the blinds so he could see what was going on.
Just across the way was Bass's window. Charlie was on the outside of the window dressed in a big fuzzy robe.
He couldn't hear what they were saying but he imagined that Bass and Charlie were arguing about something, yet again.
Then something happened that forced a brow to rise, concerned. He saw that Bass was leaning in really close to Charlie, too close in his opinion. He was also bare-chested, while Charlie didn't even seem to be bothered by this. Miles squinted and tried to focus, thinking he may be seeing things, but then it was clear. Bass was touching her hand, as though he was caressing it.
What the hell is going on? Miles thought to himself.
Then, it was like the world suddenly slowed down. It might have also been the effect of his late night drinking but he could have sworn he just saw Bass and Charlie kissing through the window.
Charlie was in the kitchen making breakfast. She knew she was a terrible cook but making oatmeal was something she actually mastered.
She caught herself humming.
Thoughts of Bass went through her mind and she was actually smiling.
"Whatever happens, we're in this together." She remembered him saying.
Could it be true? She didn't want to over think it too much because it was pretty obvious that they were going to be in this together for some time as it was… but in her mind, it was a new thing to think about. After everything they had been through, for some reason it seemed right.
Meanwhile, Bass was still in his room.
From looking at it, it probably belonged to a teenage boy once. The walls were painted in navy blue and the bookshelf next to the door had piles of comic books. There were also a couple of faded Playboy magazines that he found under the bed.
One side of the wall had a larger than life Batman poster. Secretly, it was one of the reasons he chose this room as his.
He sat on the bed pondering the inevitable. He knew he could not avoid it any longer.
Eventually he took out the small tin box from the drawer next to his bed.
He took a deep breath and opened the box. Inside was a small engagement ring. The one he had given to Shawna. There was also a small picture and a note.
Jake and Rose Paterson
2378 Walnut Rd. Willoughby, TX
He took out the picture. There was a little girl on it: blonde, blue eyes and long curly hair. She was wearing a dress with flowers and she was holding a plate of chocolate cake. She was smiling.
Bass turned the picture and in the back it read:
Daniella, 10-year birthday party
She looked so much like his little sister who was just nine when she died.
Tears began to fill his eyes as the memories came rushing back.
The phone call from the sheriff...
The ride to the morgue…
Four Funerals...
He decided to push those memories deep down and put away the box for now. But, Bass knew he couldn't hide from it. He knew that if he and Charlie were going to make things work they had a lot of talking to do.
He wiped the tears from his face, got off the bed and went down stairs to the kitchen.