Chapter 4

Awkward silence is the tone for the first few minutes of the ride. I can feel Alyson's eyes study me but ignore them as I rest my chin on my hand and drive aimlessly. Finally, Avi pipes up and says, "So how old are you, Alyson? You seem around our age."

"I'm 24," Alyson answers. "I'll be 25 in March."

"Really?" I say, trying to engage myself. "What day?"

"March 7," Alyson answers.

"Shut up," I say sitting up a little, "I'll be 25 on March 11!"

"For real? That's crazy!" Alyson says, a small smile forming on her face.

"Avi is still the baby," I say snarkily. "She's only turning 22 in April."

"And who is the one in this car who has her degree and is using it?" Avi says, raising an eyebrow.

"Ouch, you didn't have to roast me," I say almost sheepishly.

"Me too," Alyson chuckles. "Though I at least have a degree, I'm just not using it."

"You're doing better than me," I say with a sigh.

"Do you have a job?" Alyson asks.

"Yeah, I'm a school janitor," I answer.

"Then we're even," Alyson says. "I had to quit my job at the store I worked at after I found out the owner was my deadbeat dad."

"Ouch," I respond. "I just lost all motivation for anything after my dad died."

"I get that," Alyson says. "Definitely kinda felt the same way after my mom died." She lets out a sigh before turning to Avi, "So miss 'I got my life together' back there, what do you do?"

"I'm a teacher!" Avi says with a smile. "I teach fourth grade at the school Chloe is a janitor at."

"Go Bears!" I shout. "Fourth grade hall is where it's at!" I reach back to high five Avi.

Avi chuckles, returning my high five before saying, "What is your degree in Alyson?"

"Accounting," she says. "I had a couple jobs that fell through after college and then I kind of gave up until my friend and I applied at the store. I live in my mom's old house so bills are minimal and I had some money saved up when I quit there. Hopefully I can find something before my savings is gone."

"I'm sure you'll find something," Avi says.

"Thanks," Alyson answers. "I appreciate the optimism."

"Avi's definitely you're go to person for that," I say with a chuckle. "And we're here." I park the car on the beach and open the door to step out.

"Where is here exactly?" Alyson asks.

"How are you feeling about a bit of a hike up to that lighthouse?" I say pointing at the landmark. "It's my favorite place to clear my head."

"Hikes don't scare me," Alyson chuckles. "I live in Alaska. Let's go." As I lead the way up the trail toward the lighthouse, Alyson breaks the silence and says, "Okay, I gotta know. Your mom introduced you two as best friends, but are you…"

"Oh no," Avi and I both laugh.

"She's like my sister more than anything," I say. "We were both there for each other at a pretty dark point in our lives almost two years ago now. Someone's practically family after that point." Avi nods with a smile as we continue up the trail. I can see the gears turning in Alyson's head but the hike remains silent. As we reach the top, I immediately walk to my familiar bench and sit down, letting out the weight of my emotions in a sigh, not even sure of what all I'm feeling. I hear a few whispers behind me before I hear the bench creak slightly as someone sits down beside me. When I finally look up, I'm surprised to see that it's Alyson.

"Do you mind if I sit with you?" she asks. "Avi wanted to go look at something."

"You're fine," I say softly. I pause before saying, "I'm sorry about earlier with my mom and David. I know I made things pretty awkward. I just didn't want to be there but it had nothing to do with you and I'm sorry I put you in the middle of it."

"It's fine," Alyson says. "You don't have to apologize."

"I've lived in Florida for a year and a half," I say, "and not once has she asked me to come up to visit until she wants me as a buffer to meet her long lost niece." I let out a heavy sigh and swallow hard, trying to keep my emotions at bay.

"You said you had a lot of crap happen to you," Alyson says softly, "and you said on the way here that your dad died. Does that make it hard coming back here?"

I nod, "My dad dying wasn't even half of it. I had a best friend before Avi named Max who moved away the day of my dad's funeral and that crushed me. I was all alone until I met Rachel."

"Now was she your girlfriend?" Alyson asks. I chuckle and nod.

"She probably wasn't the best influence on me," I say, "nor I to her. But she was there for me when I needed her the most. I loved her so much and I know she loved me too."

"What happened to her?" Alyson asks softly.

"She went missing," I say numbly. "We had a fight, she went to a party, and I never saw her again. Police don't find her until six months later buried in the junkyard I used to hang out in…and less than a week after Max got shot trying to protect me from the guy who happened to kidnap Rachel. I lost everything that week…until Avi anyway. All I had left of them was in my bedroom at my parents' house. And my mom and David stripped that bare before we came up here. They took everything to storage but it…it just felt like the last bit of them was taken away."

"And that led to the explosion I heard before you opened the door?" Alyson asks.

"You heard that?" I ask, my stomach twisting in a knot. She nods and I look away, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she says with a soft smile, "I get it. My mother's death was…hard to put it mildly. When Tyler got out of the youth center, we were supposed to clear out the house and sell it. Reliving those memories really took its toll on me and I lashed out several times at him. I live in that house now and it still bothers me sometimes."

"How long ago did she die?" I ask.

"Thirteen years ago," Alyson answers. "We were 11."

"Oh wow," I say, hanging my head. "I'm sorry to hear that. Was it sudden?"

"Oh yeah," Alyson says with a heavy sigh. Her eyes study me for a moment before saying softly, "I don't want to pry and you can tell me to shut up. But do you blame yourself for their deaths?"

I turn to her almost stunned. I slowly nod my head, "Not so much my dad's…though I think sometimes I struggle with dealing with his death because there was no one to put blame on that I knew. It was a car accident. But Max died trying to save me and Rachel would have never gone to that party had we not fought. Avi tells me all the time that it's not my fault but I can't shake the guilt." I grip the edge of the bench and hang my head as a couple tears fill my eyes. I look over at Alyson and ask, "How did you know?"

"It takes one to know one," she says with an almost numb smile. We both look up as Avi walks back over to us.

"Are we bonding over here?" Avi asks as she winks at me.

"Yeah, I think we are," I say as I smile at Alyson.

"Just sharing what made us all fricked up," Alyson says with a chuckle. "So, Chloe lost basically everyone who loved her until you, my mother died suddenly when I was 11, what's yours? Or was your life always perfect?"

Avi shakes her head with a small chuckle as Alyson scoots closer to me so Avi can sit on the bench. "I did have a pretty good life," Avi starts. "I have two parents who love me and love each other, raised as an only child with all the stability I could want. It wasn't until my parents fostered and we lost two kids we felt like we were supposed to adopt and were very bonded to us that I had my frick up moment."

"Not to mention her momentary break up with God because she was mad at Him," I say.

"She's got a point," Avi says. "That definitely took its toll. The one person I could count on I thought had turned His back on me. And then once I got over that and found friends to support me through it after college, I got kidnapped."

"But then I saved her which made it worth it…right?" I look over at Avi.

"Of course," she says with a wink. She looks over at Alyson and asks, "So, what happened to your mom?"

"That's a long story," Alyson says nervously. "It's not one I haven't really shared with anyone outside of the people who knew in my home town."

"It's okay," Avi says softly, "you don't have to share. But, if you ever need to get anything off your chest, you're welcome to talk to us."

"This might be a bid more than you bargained for," Alyson mumbles.

"There's no judgement here," Avi says. "Trust me, I'm sure we have some things that you could say the same thing about. You don't have to share, but we wouldn't think differently of you for it if you told us."

Alyson gives a small smile, "Thank you, I appreciate that."

"You guys about ready to head back down?" I ask. "I could show you around good ole Arcadia Bay if you want, Alyson?"

"Sure!" she says. "I haven't ever been out of Alaska so this is all new to me."

"Then let's go!" I say as I jump off the bench. Alyson and Avi chuckle as we walk back down the trail. A twig snaps in the distance and I snap my head around. "Was that either of you guys?" I ask. They shake their heads. "What was that?"

"I'm not sure," Avi says, "but whatever made it was pretty big." There is some more rustling in the forest around us and I look back at Avi nervously. Alyson's eyes dart between the two of us as well.

"Let's just get back to the car as quickly as possible," I say as I start walking forward. The rustling continues for a bit longer before suddenly getting quiet. I turn around to say something when a cougar jumps out from the brush. Before I can react, a flash of cream fur flies over me and slams into the large cat. It takes me only a moment to register what's happened. Avi, in her saber form, has the cougar pinned on its back, growling. She carefully gives it enough room to slip out from underneath her and it runs off back into the forest.

Avi turns around and faces me, "I'm sorry, I had to." I turn around to see Alyson's face almost white. "Alyson, it's me," Avi says as she shifts back into human form.

"You're a shapeshifter?" Alyson says, still visibly shaken.

"I told you we might be a little more than you bargained for," Avi says with a nervous chuckle. "I hope that doesn't freak you out too much."

"I think when the adrenaline from having a giant cat flying at me and seeing my new found cousin flying back as a shapeshifting saber-tooth, I'll be fine," Alyson says with a nervous chuckle. "My brain is still trying to process it all."

"Try getting stabbed right before she does it in front of you for the first time," I say with a chuckle. "But she is a lifesaver."

"Can't argue there," Alyson says, breathing a little easier now. "However, how about a raincheck on that tour? I think I might want to lay down after that fiasco."

"Agreed," I say as we finally make it off the trail and out to the car.