As Caitlyn progressed further into Jinx's diary, she was starting to think it was futile to continue. Because with every new page she turned, nothing new was gathered; and while the entries were still providing interesting glances into Jinx's past life, they were ultimately useless in the grand scheme of things. Nothing about them revealed to Caitlyn any redeemable qualities that Jinx might have, or that Jinx has the potential to be anything other than the criminal she is right now, at least.
Really, nothing beyond the first two entries has provided anything remotely significant.
Those two at least had been confirmed some of Caitlyn's guesses about the girl, as well as revealed some new information, such as the hint the closings gave towards Jinx's real name and the fact that she had attended the same childhood school as Caitlyn-and was taught by Caitlyn's mother of all people at that. And as Caitlyn thought on that fact, calling it a coincidence was almost an understatement to her.
To think, the only thing that had separated the two is the fact that Caitlyn is a year or so older than Jinx and was a grade higher at the time as a result.
She could almost laugh at how close they had been.
But as insightful as that information was, all the entries beyond the first two were more mediocre than anything. Some were completely mundane and borderline tedious to read even. Caitlyn might have gathered a minor glimpse into Jinx's past life here and there-finding a couple entries mentioning herself in them, as well (Jinx had apparently been quite captivated with her for whatever reason)-but nothing of true importance could be learned from them.
And it was quickly becoming frustrating for the Sheriff.
So much so, that Caitlyn had almost set the diary down after reading a fifth insignificant chapter in a row. It was just too much slice of life; nothing consequential. Nothing that gave Caitlyn any concrete answers on why Jinx is the way she is, or what it was that had deeply changed her from the seemingly carefree and innocent child she once was.
She lost track of the number of sighs and groans she let out as she skimmed through more and more entries. But after what she assumed had been two weeks after the second entry-the entries weren't exactly dated so she could only make an educated guess on the actual elapsed time between each one-she finally found a more promising entry. And with it mildly reigniting her interest in the diary, she picked the book back up with a renewed hope of finding some answers within.
...
'Entry 16
Today, I got into a fight with my folks…
Dad lost his job at the railroad station yesterday and was talking about looking for a new one today. At least, that's what he told Mom-he never tells me anything bad. But I was kinda...er-what's the word again? Eavesdrop? Yeah, I think that's what Mom said before. I kinda eavesdropped on them.
He also said that he might have a job for some bigshot scientist and he'll get to work as an engineer again; although he was a structural technician before (I think), and he'll be doing different things now instead of making sure the railroads and trains are good so they can go where they need to on time.
But even though he says that it's a good job and probably better than anything else he can find, since he'll make even more money than he did at his last job, the problem is that we'll have to move and it's in a completely different place: Zaun!
I hate that place so much. I've only been there once-when Dad had to go to a convention and brought me, Mom, and Vi with him-but it was so icky and scary, and it was hard to breathe everywhere. I didn't like it at all.
Mom didn't either, at first, and she talked to Dad about it. She told him that she can make enough money for us to stay here in Piltover until he finds another job. But Dad just told her that he'll make double what he used to make with this new job and that it would be better than struggling off of only her money.
...And she started to agree with him after that.
But I don't want to move, though. I love my classes, and my engineering teacher is my favorite person in like the whole universe. And besides that, I still want to see Hat Girl again. I don't know why but I've been dreaming about her for a while now. We're always the best of friends in my dreams too, and we go to the park and get ice cream and have a lot of fun together every time.
I know it sounds crazy. I mean, I haven't even actually talked to her, yet I'm having all these wild dreams and thoughts about her. But I don't know. She just seems like someone I would have loads of fun with.
Ugh. I want to see her again so much. And I definitely don't want to leave without getting to.
I asked Mom and Dad if we could just stay and I told them that I really don't want to move. But they didn't really listen to me.
Dad just patted me on the head and said things would be better in Zaun and mom spoke to me in that voice she always does when she doesn't want to hear me. She told me,
"Jessebelle, your father believes we will be better off in Zaun and if what he says is true, I agree with him. I don't like it much either, but we're still moving. That's that."
She didn't even listen. They didn't care at all.
It's so unfair!
I even got sent to my room because they 'didn't want to hear any more'!
...Stupid parents.
Stupid Zaun.
And stupid thoughts of Hat Girl. I don't even think I'll be able to talk to her before I leave…
...Maybe I should just...I don't know...run away or something.
-Jessie'
...
Caitlyn closed her eyes.
"Jessebelle…"
She teased the name on her tongue, before repeating it again.
"Jessebelle."
She did remember hearing her mother speak about a Jessebelle all those years ago, but it was odd to finally have a name behind Jinx. Arguably odder than reading about how the girl had spent several nights dreaming of her, even. Although, that was definitely...bizarre by itself and gave her slight discomfort when she lingered on it if she was being honest.
But putting that aside, she wouldn't have expected Jinx's true name to be Jessebelle of all things. It was...unique and somehow, at the same time, Caitlyn felt that it fit the girl in an inexplicable way. But with a shake of her head, she returned to the more important revelations that the entry made known.
Taking the time to focus, she recalled the things Vi has told her about her background. Specifically, Vi telling her that she had been in Piltover since she was roughly 6 years old. And as Caitlyn noted that Vi and Jinx could not have lived in Zaun for more than 2 years-if her guesses about the chronology of the entries is correct-Caitlyn wondered what could have happened in those two years that had left the two orphaned and seperated, and had left Vi an amnesiac in Piltover.
Caitlyn wasn't sure of course, but she reasoned that it could have been the same event; something that had not only taken Vi's childhood away from her but molded Jessie into Jinx as well. Returning to the book in her hands, she knew the only way to find out whether or not it was through more entries.
...
'Entry 20.
Today is it. We finally finished packing and today is my last day in Piltover.
It...really sucks. Sucks more than being grounded or breaking a toy. And even though I hope that maybe...maybe Zaun won't be as bad as it sounds-I think I'm hoping for too much and it will be just as bad as I think it will be.
...You know what-I don't want to think about the move anymore. It makes me too sad to even think, and today was too good to be all that sad right now.
I mean, it even started with one of my teachers giving me cookies! Since it was my last day, he gave me a whole heap of chocolate chips, and I think they were the best cookies I've ever had. They were so warm and soft, and they just melted when I bit into them! Oh, they were so good.
After that, my classmates all gave me some goodbye cards. I was sad to get them at first, but when I read them, I felt happy that all of them cared about me so much. And some of their cards were pretty funny too.
When school ended, everyone said bye and Mom took me to my favorite park one last time. I was sad about it too since it was my last visit, but I was happy to be able to swing again. They were always my favorite part of the park and I think I'm going to miss them the most. Mom said that I'm feeling something called bittersweet. It's not really a fun feeling.
Oh, I saw Hat Girl one last time, too!
She was at the park too, with her dad, and for some reason...I felt braver today. I don't know if it was because I'm moving but I actually went over to her this time and talked to her believe it or not. I actually did it! I even asked her to swing with me. It was just like how I've dreamt it, but she was a lot prettier than I thought and her hat was a lot bigger. She was just as nice as I imagined though.
We talked about things while we swung. Nothing really special, just silly things and things about each other, and I actually learned a lot about her. She told me her name (though I already knew it), her favorite color, and how she wants to go hunting with her dad one day. She told me that she already knows how to use her Dad's hunting gun too.
I told her stuff about me too. She said that she liked my name when I told her it, and when I told her my best jokes, she laughed at every single one. She has a really nice laugh. It was so much fun talking and playing with her. I never spent time with anyone like her and I wish we could have done it again. But we couldn't and didn't have too long to swing together either, since Mom made me leave to pack our things before we left Piltover.
But before I left, Hat Girl asked me if I would be her friend. And she asked if we could see each other again. She sounded like she had as much fun as I did.
...It made telling her no hurt even more.
I even told her why, so she wouldn't be sad. But I don't think it worked at all since she still looked pretty upset. She looked like she was going to cry. It almost made me cry, and even though she told me we'd see each other again one day, I don't think either of us believed it.
...I just wish that I hadn't been so scared to talk to her before. We could have been friends already and we could've swung at that park every week. We could've played games and shared our toys-we would have been friends.
At least for a little while...
-Jessie'
…
It was almost funny.
Caitlyn found herself feeling the same pang of sadness overcome her now just as it had back then. But no laughs were had over the surprising parallel. Instead, a few tears began to well at her vision and she had to set the book aside for a moment.
She remembered the event, of course. It was a memory was so old that she had forgotten most of it, but hearing it easily reopened the long-forgotten scars on her heart deep down.
One might think it would have been a simple thing for a young Caitlyn to ignore, but the rejection had happened at such a ripe and vulnerable age for her that as a child, hearing Jinx-or the then Jessie-tell her that they couldn't be friends devastated her.
After all, she hadn't really been the type of person to make friends easily.
Hell, she still isn't now, even years later and as a grown woman.
So books and other resources were resorted to, in hopes of filling what she had sorely lacked in social skills. But books could never quite sufficiently fill the gap, and as the death of a beloved aunt had also been fairly recently at the time, she had been left feeling far more vulnerable and depressed than a child should ever be. And so, after being rejected the friendship with Jinx, something she had been really excited for, well, it had just been the icing on the cake, to say the least.
Caitlyn couldn't help to dryly chuckle to herself as she recalled how she had cried all throughout that night and how her father had to bring ice cream and watch a movie with her to calm her down.
Looking back on it all now, it was a relatively insignificant blip of sadness in her life, as she had been able to move on past it after some time had passed, and it even had brought along some positive results-since being so lonely and hurt at such a young age had led to her reading her father's law books in her spare time, after having read all of her fantasy stories already. And as that helped shape her into who she was today, the Sheriff of Piltover, she didn't quite mourn anything, nor did she want to alter the circumstances of her life too much.
But still...who knows. Maybe she could have been able to make a difference in Jinx's life.
Her mother had once told her about a promising student in her engineering class way back when she had taught at that middle school for a few years. And that student was obviously Jinx, now that Caitlyn could look in hindsight.
But regardless of whether or not she had known who Jinx was or would become, Caitlyn could have still approached Jinx and befriended her long before that day in the park. Her mother had even encouraged her to do so, claiming that the other girl would prove to be a great friend. But Caitlyn had been stubborn and refused to reach out of her comfort zone, causing her mother to drop the matter. Caitlyn had been willing to be friends with someone, but was utterly unwilling to make the first steps towards such a connection. So she didn't choose to take the chance to know Jinx and that had been that.
But maybe...if she had actually taken the opportunity, and had been braver-she could have befriended the other girl. And maybe, she could have even saved Jinx from whatever had driven her insane.
As improbable as it sounds, being Jinx's friend would likely have enabled Caitlyn to know more about Jinx's family situation earlier than the day in the park. And then she could have tried to get her own parents to help Jinx's family out of their financial situation by providing Jinx's father with a job or something.
But as Caitlyn let out a heavy sigh, she knew that no matter what could have been, there is nothing she can do about it all now, many years later. As tragic as it was, the past is in the past after all.
So instead of continuing to wallow over lost opportunities and poor decisions, she decided to let the thoughts pass and read the next entry in hopes that instead of changing the past, she could manage to change the future by finding a means to grant Jinx a second chance in life. A second chance for them to become the friends Jinx had so longed for as a child.
'Entry 21
I was right.
Zaun absolutely sucks.
And I hate it.
There hasn't been one good thing all day! First, this jerk butcher tried to cheat us and make us pay for meat more than ten times what it was worth. He wouldn't even sell it to us fairly until after dad got on his case!
And then, after that, some stupid kids were messing with us when we got to our new house. One of them sprayed me with water too, and I was soaked for hours! I don't even know if it really was water, either, because it was all greenish and sticky. Ugh.
Our new home sucks too. The heating is out, so it was really cold and it took forever for me to dry out from that stupid prank from those stupid kids. We had candles and the fireplace the house had to keep warmer, but it was still freezing all day.
Ugh, I hate this place so much.
Even the poor district we lived in Piltover was better than this. At least it still had police, so there wasn't much crime or any dumb kids messing around.
I don't think there's a single officer in Zaun. It's even scummier that the poor Piltover districts, and ten times more dangerous too. I was scared the entire time we were unpacking because I thought thieves would show up and steal all our stuff and kill us. I still am scared that something bad like that is going to happen. And even Mom is scared too.
Dad told us not to worry too much and said we'll move to a better location when his job starts paying him so we won't have to stay in this crummy place for too long. But he sounds scared too, so it doesn't make me feel any better.
I just wish we could have stayed in Piltover…
-Jessie'
Frowning, Caitlyn found herself really unwilling to continue reading the dreary words of a practically depressed little girl. So, hoping to get to a point past all the sadness, Caitlyn skimmed through the book hoping for something significant still. Anything that wasn't the countless grievances about Jinx's new life in Zaun that Caitlyn kept seeing.
And while she did see one entry about Jinx's birthday, which a pleasant change of pace, barely even another entry after it, Jinx had spoken about some more problems that the chemical and anarchy loving city had brought her.
Letting out a sigh, Caitlyn only skipped it.
"...Let's see. Something about school. Something about smoky air. Something about Vi, blah blah blah," she muttered in mild annoyance as she went along.
"Something about…"
But she trailed off as her eyes caught the sight of a page entirely different. "Wait...oh...oh dear…"
Caitlyn's frown returned deeper as she examined this peculiar entry, and with her blue eyes narrowing down at it, she couldn't help but think, What...is this?
The page was different from the others, in a very alarmingly disturbing way. It was smeared with some crusty substance prominently displayed in the form of fingerprints across the page. And as Caitlyn inspected it closer, she realized that Jinx must have had blood on her hands as she wrote this entry.
She meditated on it all, wondering why the hell would a young Jinx have blood on her hands. But realizing that just staring at it wasn't going to bring her to the answer, she decided to read the accompanying entry, hoping to find some form of understanding.
As she read, she found that even the text seemed to be a lot angrier in appearance than before. Darker and larger, as if the caked blood wasn't enough of an indication, it was clear that Jinx had been in a bad state while writing this particular entry. Now Caitlyn just had to find out, why?
...
'Entry 42
...Mom.
...Dad.
They're...they're dead. I-I was just with them. And now they are just...gone.
I watched them die too. Saw them bleed to death right there on the ground.
Why?
Why?!
Why did that monster come to our house?!
He broke through the living room window and jumped in and we couldn't even do anything about it. He stabbed Mom with a knife before she could even start screaming-before we even knew what was happening. Dad tried to stop him, but the murderer cut his throat before he could do a thing. And then...they were both dead. Like that.
I...I can't get the sound Dad made out my head. But I don't know what was worst: that horrible sputtering noise he made or the look on his face.
I think he told me to run, but I couldn't do anything but watch him. And when he dropped to the ground and blood started to pour out his neck, the murderer looked at Mom and Dad and just laughed, like they were only a joke to him!
He said something about debts and payment but I didn't hear fully. Once he turned to me with that evil look, I knew he would've killed me too if I didn't do something.
So I did like Dad said and I ran.
I ran as fast as I could. I ran upstairs and went down the hall into my room. Vi was asleep in the room next to mine and I had to protect her. So I ran into my room and shut the door to hide, hoping that he would check it first. Or at least pass by and let me sneak up on him.
After I closed it, I looked around for something to use against him. I didn't find anything I could use at first, but when I saw my lamp I grabbed it and waited for him to open my door.
He was quiet about it, but he ended up opening it after a couple of minutes. And when he did, I hit him in the head with it as hard as I could. It broke on him and he fell to the ground and groaned-but I didn't stop there.
I was too mad and scared to stop.
So I...I kicked him in the face. As hard as I could.
Over...and over again.
He tried to protect himself and tried to stop me, but I think he was in too much pain from the lamp and my first kick. And after a couple more hits, he stopped moving completely.
...I don't know what happened after that though. All I know is that when I got too tired to keep kicking, I was sitting in a red pool and his blood was all over my hands when I picked them off the ground. There was so much blood all over...
I...I'm still sick over how much it was.
But the worst part is...I killed him…and I didn't feel bad about it.
I...laughed when I looked at his body. Like how he laughed, and I couldn't stop. I don't know what was wrong with me. I just didn't feel anything about him. Even when I think about it now, I still laugh. Why?!
He's still lying there because I didn't know what to do with him. All I could do was look at his blood on my hands.
But why did I think it was funny?!
...Mom always said writing helps her feel better when she got down. She told me that this diary would help me feel better too. But I don't feel better at all right now.
I don't think I feel anything.
I'm just scared.'
...
Caitlyn grimaced as she paused to sort her thoughts. The entry was...extremely disturbing to her, to say the very least.
Of course...she has had experience in gruesome murders and the like in the past. Because after all, she is the sheriff of Piltover and a detective; she had to face such things. Witnessing all crimes-even the most grievous acts of murder or the most unfortunate of accidents-it practically was in the job description.
However, this...this was especially horrific, even to the standards she's known.
...and she found that ridiculous considering she hadn't even seen what had happened firsthand.
But somehow, it felt dramatically worse than all the horrible crimes that she has seen in person. Mostly because the event Jinx had described in the entry was an explicit assassination attempt where the assassin had clearly been instructed to leave no survivors. Children included.
And while there have been cases like this before, they were-thankfully- few are far between. Not many people have enough of an extreme vendetta against someone to hire a vicious assassin to kill their entire family, after all.
And personally, Caitlyn has never had to deal with- or even seen upfront-such cases in her career. Nor has she ever had to read about the aftereffects something like a failed assassination attempt could have on a survivor, let alone a child one.
She had to say, it was completely sickening.
...At the very least, she now has rather unfortunately gathered quite a glimpse into the tragic events that had shaped Jinx into-well, Jinx.
The girl was obviously devastated by the assassination of her parents. And Caitlyn couldn't help but feel that the girl's entire life must have been drastically altered, with the mental instability forming as a coping mechanism.
It explains a lot of the mystery surrounding Jinx, actually, and also explains why Vi doesn't remember much of anything revolving around their parents-even with the childhood amnesia she suffers from. But Caitlyn wondered who would have sent an assassin to kill Jinx's family.
It's a reasonable guess that one of the parents had angered someone of power-possibly by racking up debt and prompting the assassin to be sent to collect in blood. And if not that, one of them could have merely crossed someone they shouldn't have and paid a heavy price as a result. Caitlyn had no true way of knowing of course, but both sounded as probable of causes as any to her.
But truth be told, it didn't matter all that much how Jinx's parents died. As horrible as it had been, the event was in the past. What is important right now is that Caitlyn's getting deeper, closer and closer to discovering who Jinx truly is and the events that had shaped her.
But although she's made her long-awaited progress, Caitlyn began to linger on negatives.
Specifically, she couldn't help but ask herself, do I really want to know more?
Because if the last entry was only the first point on Jinx's-or rather, Jessie's-descent into madness, Caitlyn wondered if she really wanted to know the rest. After all, it is alarmingly clear now that Jinx did not just one day snap and choose to destroy everything in the name of anarchy. Instead, Caitlyn is starting to realize that there had been a culmination of events in the transformation the innocent girl named Jessie had been forced through to become the insane terrorist hell-bent on causing mischief and destruction today.
So did she really want to know more?
...
Yes. I'm hesitant to say, but I think I do.
Caitlyn found that as much as it was bothering her, she couldn't help but still desire the rest of the story. Despite her better judgment completely telling her to get out while she still can, the rest of her mind was telling her that she already in the deep end-that she has gotten too far to stop now.
So she wanted, no she needed to know the end of the story. It was too much in her nature to seek all of the pieces to a puzzle, even if Jinx is sure as hell the most complex and disturbing puzzle she has ever seen.
So after letting out a heavy sigh, Caitlyn shook her head.
By no means is she a professional psychologist or anything close to one. She has no clue how to help, or even where to start with Jinx's mind. But she'll be damned if she won't try to find a way, and so far, it seems the best place to start is by piecing together what had happened to Jinx after the murder of her parents.
So reopening the book Caitlyn continued onwards, hoping to learn more.
...
'Entry 43
I can't sleep anymore. It's too hard.
I see them every time I try. I see him every time I sleep. I see him laughing at me. Laughing at Mom and Dad. I hate him.
I want to kill him again.
...What's wrong with me? What kind of person wants to kill someone, even if they deserve it? Mom wouldn't have wanted me thinking like this. She'd tell me that I need to be the bigger person.
I miss her so much. Dad too.
Vi missed them too. When she woke up, she asked me where they were, but I lied and said they went to Demacia for some top secret stuff and they would come back one day. I didn't want to lie to her, but I had to. She doesn't need to know that they're...dead. I don't want her to know.
She cried and asked me why they would leave, but I couldn't tell her.
I didn't know what to tell her.
And I don't know what to do now either. Dad-he would know and Mom would make me feel better even though I don't have any answers. But they're gone. And even though I told Vi they would come back, they're never coming back.
Never.
Even though I still see them every time I close my eyes.
...Dad always told me that when he and Mom died one day that I'd always be able to visit them. That I would be able to see them anytime I wanted. But is this what he really meant? Because it's funny how it sounded so nice back then, but now...now it just hurts.
...I need to start writing about something else. Like...Hat Girl.
I wonder what she is doing. I hope she is happy with it, whatever it is. And maybe she can be happy enough for the two of us, since I don't think I'll be happy on my own ever again.'
...
Caitlyn turned the page, trying to ignore the weight on her heart.
...
'Entry 44
I found some other kids in the streets today. But these guys weren't like those jerks from before.
They were actually really nice and even asked me how my family is doing. And when I told them that my parents are...dead, they didn't tell me sorry or anything, but asked if me and Vi wanted to move in with them. And they said they'll help us out with food and water, and we could join their gang without having to worry about things.
I said yes instantly.
I'm still so glad that they let us come along because I don't think we can stay in our house anymore. We were running out of food and water pretty quickly and I didn't know how I would get them for us.
But now...maybe things will be okay. Maybe things will be better.
I still think about Mom and Dad every now and then, even though it's already been a week since they died. But I'm able to get rid of the nightmares now, and I can sleep again. And I think Dad was right. Even though they are gone, I feel happy when I think about them. Not so sad anymore.
And I don't feel so alone anymore. I have this gang of other kids now and I still have Vi. And when I think about Hat Girl, I can sleep without a single bad dream. She still makes me happy for some reason, even though I don't know why.
I just wish I could see her again. And I really wish we got to be friends right now. I could use a good friend like her.'
As Caitlyn turned another page, she wondered why she had brought such joy to Jinx in her struggles. After all, they hadn't even known each other all that well at the time. But Jinx had still placed such an importance on Caitlyn, that she felt she must have left quite a mark on the other girl.
Thinking back to that note on the wall, Caitlyn could help but wonder if Jinx might have somehow became-dare she say-smitten with her very early on; and with Jinx's young mind at the time, she only understood the feeling as a strong desire to have a friendship. Maybe that explained why the girl still has such a fixture onto Caitlyn nowadays as well.
But with a shake her head, Caitlyn let the thoughts pass.
Now's not the time, she told herself.
As much as I'm curious about the extent of Jinx's attraction towards me, I need to finish reading before spending countless hours thinking all of these...side thoughts, she told herself, returning to the book. But before she could rest her eyes on it, a strong urge from deep in her throat came over her. She attempted to stifle it, but failed and released a deep yawn, realizing that her body was telling her that it was starting to get tired.
She didn't think it was that late in the day, but she knew that a long day of researching had made time easily fly past her.
Fancying the thought of putting the diary away for the night, she took a quick scan of the next entry in the diary. And as she noted that it was another short one, barely a page long, she decided to suck it up and finish one more before heading to sleep.
...
'Entry 45
It's been two weeks now, and things are still getting better.
One of the kids in our gang has even been teaching me about technology and how to build some useful tools. I can't remember his name, but the things he has been showing me are so cool. They even remind me of some of the inventions my Dad would show me in magazines and stuff.
When I first got here, I thought it was weird at first. I mean, they live in a giant warehouse of all places!
But every day, I'm starting to like it here more and more. Even Vi loves it. We have our own room and got to bring a lot of stuff from our house to it. So even though it's not really the same, it still feels like home. Our old home in Piltover.
Though, I think it makes Vi miss Mom and Dad a bit more. I can't blame her, it makes me miss them more too.
But I have to move on for her. We have to move on together. The guys in the gang told me that moving on is the best way to escape sadness.
And they're all so smart, so I'm gonna try and listen to them.
- Jessie.
(I forgot to put that in the last few entries. Whoops.)
Caitlyn smiled as she finished reading the little closing note. That last entry-it was a nice and well-needed change of pace from the previous ones. And she was glad about it for other reasons too.
She was glad that Jinx had found people to help care for her and Vi. And more so, she was glad that Jinx had been able to move on from the devastation her parents' deaths had caused her, even if barely.
But as another yawn took over her, Caitlyn was forced to put both the book and her thoughts away for later. She was much too tired now. So moving the book aside, under the covers with her, she got comfortable and relaxed on her pillow, closing her eyes.
She wasn't usually much of a dreamer, and sleep to her was more a biological need than an escape from reality. But oddly enough, she found herself deep in a fantasy as she drifted off. It was more a memory than a dream, really, but it brought her a smile all the same.
It was the day she and Jinx had spent in the park, and she got to relive the happiness of the day all over again. But when her younger self asked Jinx to be friends, she received a 'sure', instead of the no that she had actually been given.
And as the smile on Caitlyn's resting face grew, she was happy.
Happy New Year's everyone!
I hope everyone has enjoyed the holidays and entered the new year already working towards their new goals. I don't have too much to say besides that, but as always, thank you all for reading this chapter and the rest of the story. And here's to another year of Broken Gears and all of its readers!
