At the park...
"Is that really what happened?" Bridgette asked the goth girl. "Geoff asked you if he wanted more help?"
The two girls had recently gotten themselves food, and are now sitting at one of the picnic tables that were out in the park area. Gwen had an ice cream cone, while Bridgette was holding a pretzel, and a cup of soda. The two of them were sitting there, talking about what truly happened during the night that Trent and Alejandro, and where Geoff came into the mix.
"Pretty much, he joined along wanting to protect you." Gwen explains to the blonde surfer. "We never really asked him if he wanted to come or not, he just allowed himself to join along." Gwen sighed. "And between me and you, you...kind of got lucky with your boyfriend surviving the entire night, while mine..."
Bridgette stared at the goth with remorse in her eyes. She knew by Gwen not saying anything after that shows her that her boyfriend got killed during the process. Gwen tried to keep herself from tearing up at the fact that Trent was no longer with her, until she held it together. She took a deep breath, before finally being able to speak once again.
"I'm...sorry...I don't cry in front of my friends, you know?" Gwen said. "I like to be by myself if I want to cry about something..." Bridgette nods her head, before looking down to the table. "Can we talk about something else instead of relationship problems, please? I rather be talking about something else."
"Whatever you say, Gwen." Bridgette said. "Though...by the way that you were trying to use that crossbow, you know? I was wondering, if you even told me before, how did you learn how to use something like that?" Gwen looked at Bridgette, before she held up a hand. "Hold on, I...think the better question to ask is...how was life with you before...all of this bullshit ended up happening? I think that should make you a little bit happy, right?"
Gwen took a sip of her own soda, before nodding her head. "You know what? Maybe it will try to get my mind off of bad things right now."
"Alright. Go right ahead and tell me how life around here is like. Or...was like, anyway."
Gwen looks at the cup that was in her hands, before placing it down so that she can talk to the surfer girl. "Well...you wanna know a little something about the mayor? You know, Mayor Hatchet?" Bridgette asked the surfer, who nods after that was asked. "Here's the funny thing about him. Before he was even mayor, he use to work at a daycare that I use to go to, because my mom had work, and my dad had work." Gwen smiled, shaking her head at the thought of that. "Man, it seems like all of that is yesterday. It seems like troubles like this was so far away from me, you know?" Bridgette nods her head at that as well.
"I guess when we're younger, things don't seem like they will be our issues when we grow older."
"Agreed."
"Anything else?"
"Well...what I can tell you, when I left that place, my little brother was born." Gwen said, before looking off to the left. "I was still in middle school when my brother was...somewhere in elementary school...and...since my dad and my brother don't always hang out like father and son like most families would, my dad actually taught me how to do a couple things out in the woods." Gwen looks out to the distance, seeing the forest from their spot. "He brought me out into the forest in case I wanted to go out into the wilderness to try to find the next town, since I was actually planning on doing later on in my life, since one day, I wanted to go to Ottawa, or Minnesota, or...maybe Paris one of these days. He taught me how to use a bow and arrow, and how to use the First-Aid Kit. My dad was one of the rangers who usually are out in the forest, hoping that his son would one day grow up to get his job."
"Well that's nice."
"Yeah." Gwen sighed, before looking down at her food once again. "I...I really miss him, you know...my own dad. If he saw how the training he taught to me came to a situation like this...he'd probably say that I made him proud." Bridgette looked at Gwen, before lowering her food.
"Divorce?"
Gwen didn't say anything to Bridgette. It's not to be rude, nor did Gwen not want to talk about it. It's just that whenever Gwen told somebody about her father, she can't go a couple seconds into telling them the details without being close to tears herself. The silence was enough for Bridgette to allow herself to continue with questioning Gwen about that.
"Whatever happened to him, I'm sorry." Bridgette said to her new friend. "I'm pretty sure that your father was a very nice person."
"He...really was." Gwen said, before looking at Bridgette. "So...outside of the divorce that your parents are going through? How was...your life before that? Because that's...really all I know about you, that your parents are divorced, and that you've been...pretty miserable about it for awhile."
"Finally...somebody who wants to know about what happened before everything in my life went to hell..." Bridgette said, before looking at Gwen again. "I-I'm sorry, it's just that...I really want to forget about what happened between my mom and my dad that...I just want to move on without thinking about it again."
"I understand. Just...how was your life before that, and before you came here?"
"What I can tell you is this." Bridgette smiled fondly, before looking down at her drink. "I'm not so sure if I shown you before, but I actually am a surfer from one of the seaside towns of Canada."
Bridgette hands Gwen her phone. She shows her a photo on her phone that showed herself on the beach, holding a surfboard, near the ocean. Gwen looked up at Bridgette as she continued to talk.
"Me and my friends were pretty close back in my town." Bridgette said. "Throughout high school, and college, I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life ever since I entered college. I mean...even my friends gave me a couple ideas before I went out of the college...and to this town." Bridgette giggles, before shaking her head. "Somebody in the school actually asked me if I was wanting to help them at the bakery that they are planning on working at, but...I am not much of a girl who works at the bakery."
"I guess not..."
"Well...a couple other ideas were given to me by my friends. I was said to work as a lifeguard, but I didn't think it would really fit for me. There was the fact that I should work at a vegan restaurant, like either a waitress, or a chef there...since I actually am a vegetarian myself, but...like I said before a couple moments ago, that I don't really know how to bake. I'm learning how to, but I don't know yet." Bridgette then frowned. "However...one idea, was something I was considering when I was coming here...only to change my mind. One asked me if I wanted to be a vet. You know, help out with animals, and be a doctor to them?" Bridgette looks down frowning.
"What made you change your mind?"
Bridgette sighed, before looking down shaking her head again. "Well...I had this one my mind for a bit, since...my dad actually had this job anyway." Bridgette confesses to the goth. "So...I had this idea while I was surfing with my friends, then I was going to go off home than tell my parents that my idea about what job I wanted to do. But then...when I returned home...I heard my parents arguing upstairs in their bedroom, and...then I heard that...my dad was dating one of his other workers...and he did this willingly..." The blonde girl sighed, a tear rolling down her eye. "My...my dad told me...multiple times, by...phone call, by text, and...even once tried to face me, and tried to tell me that it was all...just a mistake...but how can betrayal like that even be...considered a mistake? My dad cheated on my mother, and...he tried to brush it off like it's a mistake when...it really wasn't..."
"I'm...I'm so sorry..."
"It's okay..." The girl shook her head, before sighing again. "...Crazy how my parents decided to have this problem, near the time that all of this bullshit was happening in this town. What are the odds of that?" Gwen sighed, before looking at Bridgette.
"I'm sorry about your dad cheating on your mom, Bridgette. I really wish that there was a way that that could've worked out better in the past." The surfer sighed, before standing up from the table.
"Actually...I think I'm good with wanting to not hear what he had to say about the fact that he cheated on my own mother with one of his co-workers. Besides, my mom saw him kissing the worker at his workplace when she planned on surprising him for lunch that day."
The two girl began to walk off to the trash can, throwing their food out, before heading back over to the sidewalk again. But before the two of them went off to their houses, Gwen looks out to the woods. She looks over to Bridgette, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, I think I should be trying to get ready for the night." Gwen said. Bridgette was confused by that being said. "Because...right now, may or may not be the last time you'll ever see me, Bridgette. Because later tonight, for what has happened to Trent, I'm finally going to stop that guy. Even if it kills me or not."
"You're going to finally put a stop to this guy?! Are you nuts?!" Bridgette asked her.
"You could say that. But I'm doing this to save Duncan." Gwen lowers her arm, before looking at Bridgette once more. "Look, I know it's crazy of me to say, considering that me and you have just became friends now, but somebody's got to do this. Even if it means that they end up killed in the process." The goth turns around, before Bridgette looks down to the sidewalk. The surfer than looks over to the goth one more time, before walking over to Gwen.
"Hey, you...really don't have to fight this alone, right? I thought Noah, Cody, and...whoever else is with you is going to help you out on this one."
"You were furious that I brought Geoff along with me to try to get this guy once. No way am I asking you to come along with me, if you're even going to ask that." Gwen faces forward, continuing to walk away from Bridgette. "Besides, knowing what happened to Trent, I really want him or her to be staring directly into my eyes when I finally have them...either arrested or ended for what they did."
The blonde girl cringed at the fact that Gwen was really planning that final part, if it really came to that. "Look, I don't mean to go against you on this one, but...you told me on the way to Dairy Queen that Chris told you to not be a hero when it came to this problem. You do know that once Chris hears that you've taken down this guy, you're most likely going to be in real trouble with him, right?" Gwen looks forward, giving one more deep sigh, before walking off.
"I know...but it's a chance that I'm going to have to take."
"Good luck then."
"I will. I sure hope so..." Gwen walked off home to get her bow and arrow, as Bridgette walked back off to her own house, completely worried for her new friend to be in danger of this whole ordeal. She really hoped that Gwen turns out alright in this.