Trust No One
Hello Fallers, how is everyone? I hope you all enjoyed the newest episode of Gravity Falls. I will soon be incorporating them into my story, so I will be adding spoiler warnings to those chapters in question. Thank you for all the wonderful reviews.
Chapter 10: The Letter
Wendy was in her room, curled up on the bed crying. Compared to most girls, Wendy was tough and she didn't cry often. She could only remember crying three times in her life before tonight.
The first time she ever cried was when her mother died from cancer when she was seven. It had been one of the few times that her father had ever cried as well. Her mother had fought hard against the aggressive disease, but she grew tired and soon closed her eyes to sleep, but she never woke up. Wendy had cried, holding her mother's cold hand while her father wrapped his arms around her.
The second time was when she was twelve years old and she was mourning the loss of Adam's parents. The funeral service had been very nice, considering the suddenness and severity of the situation. Everyone in Gravity Falls had come to pay their respects to the boy's family. Both of them had been prominent members of the community and they had been like a second family to Wendy. His mother was an editor for the Gravity Falls Gossiper and his father was a bartender at the bar her dad often frequented. She recalled that it was there that the two of them had met and forged their friendship.
She remembered as they lowered the coffins containing the remains of his parents into their respective graves at the local cemetery, she held his hand and wept. She wept for them, since Adam didn't, instead playing the part of the silent, mature son who stared intently as his predecessors were laid to rest. Even though his hand was warm, a sign of life, one look and Wendy could tell that he was dead inside.
When the third time happened, not even a year had passed. The day Adam ran away, seemingly never to be seen again. She had come to visit him at the police station, to tell him the great news. She was able to convince her father to adopt Adam into their family, so that way he wouldn't have to move away and be in foster care. Having another mouth to feed would have been rough for the family since their father was between jobs, but since she was his only daughter, Manly Man Dan couldn't say no to her. Plus, she was planning to work more at the Mystery Shack to help out.
When she got to the station, she noticed that the activity around the building was more than usual. She found Sheriff Blubs and learned that Adam had disappeared, his father's car had vanished as well, the evidence pointing to him fleeing Gravity Falls. She ran back home, tears leaking from her eyes. She shut herself in her room and flopped on her bed. That's when she noticed it, lying there on her pillow. The letter.
The envelope had 'Wendy' written on it. She recognized it immediately as being his handwriting, from the many times she would receive notes from him left for her behind the cash register at the Mystery Shack when he was off helping Stan Pines with something and couldn't hang out with her in the gift shop. She could remember how fast she had ripped into the envelope to get at the message inside. She read it over and over, just to make sure that it was in fact from him.
While she normally kept the letter hidden in her room, but the past three days she had carried it with her. It brought her comfort, especially when she would storm out of the room when Adam was there. She had felt terrible when she pushed him into that shelf. She had been stunned when he didn't stop her. She knew that he probably didn't mean to do what he did, but she still felt betrayed. She took the letter out of her breast pocket, unfolded the paper and began to read it again, even though by now she had the entire letter memorized.
My Dearest Friend Wendy,
No doubt by now, you have realized that I have run away. I understand how upset you must be at me now. I also understand that you may never forgive me for what I have done. But, its time I left this town. This will be the first and only letter you will receive from me. Please tell Stan and Soos that I am fine and that I will miss their camaraderie as well. I may never see you again. Again, I am sorry Wendy. I didn't want this for either of us, but I didn't see a better alternative. You will always hold a special place in my heart.
Your Favorite One-Eyed Friend,
Adam
Every time she read the note, she could hear his voice speaking the words to her, as if whispering the words sweetly into her ear. With each pass, her anger toward him faded. She yawned, the fatigue from the day getting to her. She went to put the letter and envelope back in its original hiding spot, when something fell out it. She reached down and picked up the object. It was a picture. She had never noticed it until now. It was a picture of them all in front of the Mystery Shack. Wendy recognized it from as the one of the pictures Adam's mom took, when she wrote an article in the Gossiper for the Shack's 20th anniversary. It had Stan and Soos, making funny faces at the camera. To their right was Adam, grinning his signature smile, eye closed as he held Wendy in his arms bridal style, while she wore a surprised face, with her hands above her head balled up in fists, minus her forefinger and pinkie that were extended out. She laughed, the first time in three days. She flipped the picture and there was something written on the back in Adam's handwriting, but they were just a seemingly random bunch of letters that didn't make any literary sense.
It read: LQ WLPH HYHUBWKLQJ ZLOO EH UHYHDOHG.
While she was interested in what it had meant, she was too tired to really care. She crawled into her bed and pulled the covers over her body. She had to get some sleep tonight. Tomorrow was the party at the Mystery Shack.
I wonder what the secret message could be? *wink* I hope you enjoyed this newest installment.