Ezra and I were snapped out of our happiness by someone coughing. We stepped away from each other and quickly turned our heads to see who it was. It turned out to be Sophie. That was bad. Sophie was pretty ok unless you did something wrong. She was all about us obeying rules but I didn't think she liked obeying them. "What are you two doing?"
"I think it's pretty obvious." I said. Ezra nudged me and I tried to supress a giggle.
"We're really sorry, Sophie." Ezra said. I was surprised at how earnest he was.
Sophie looked mad and like she didn't care at the same time. "I should report this to Peter." I closed my eyes for a second wishing we hadn't gotten caught. I didn't want to be in trouble but then I figured it was worth it to kiss Ezra. "But I won't. Just don't kiss anymore, okay?" We both nodded happily and Sophie walked away. Ezra and I laughed and hugged then went into the main room.
Everyone was having so much fun it was sad to think some of them would be leaving soon. I went over to where Daisy was talking to Jules and Kat and tried to join the conversation, which happened to be on leaving Horizon. "I'm so nervous about going home next month." Kat was saying, "Mostly I'm nervous about living with parents again."
"I'd be nervous, too. I might be getting better but my mom isn't. She still thinks she needs to have a perfect daughter who does everything right. How long do you think you'll be here?" Jules asked Daisy and me.
Daisy was the first to answer. "Well, Daddy dearest is still in rehab so I don't think it will be for a while."
"Does that mean he's not coming for parents day?" Kat asked.
Daisy shook her head, no. "I shouldn't complain, though. He's trying. What about you Olivia?" Shelby, Scott, Ezra, David, and Auggie had made there way over to us and now it was a Cliffhanger's circle.
"There's a parents day? I didn't know. I guess my parents will come for that. As for when I'm getting out of here . . . I don't know. I don't know if I want to leave." I told them.
Kat said, "I know. It's so great here after a while that you never want to go back to the real world. But, you have to find the strength within yourself. That's the only way you can do anything."
"Oo," David said sarcastically, "Katherine's being profound. Thank you Kat for enlightening us."
I rolled my eyes and said, "Shut up, David. Some of us are interested in what Kat has to say."
Kat smiled gratefully at me. Scott asked David, "What's your problem, man? You're always so sarcastic and annoying."
"Thank you, I have reached my goal." David said in his incredibly annoying tv announcer voice that made me want to punch him really hard.
Sophie came over to the group then and told me that Peter wanted to see me. I followed her to his office where he was sitting at his desk talking on the phone. He motioned for me to sit so I did. As soon as I did he said, "Thank you Officer Johnson." and hung up. Hearing that name made me scared beyond words. I suddenly remembered Jackson Gafferty's death, something I had forgotten about for so long. "Officer Johnson has found out some new information about Jackson Gafferty." Peter told me, "His parents said he sometimes went into a strange state of mind where he wasn't himself. He would think he was someone else. That night you talked to him, the night he died, he told you to tell me you were helping someone find their hidden treasure. The police think that might actually mean. Well- real hidden treasure."
I rasied my eyebrows and laughed."Seriously? That seems so . . . pathetic."
"I know, but that's the conclusion the police have come to. They're going to search his bedroom to see if they can find anything. They want you to go with them in case something else he said can connect to that somehow." Peter raised his eyebrows at me now and we both laughed. The police were being so . . . so . . . wierd. Of course Jackson hadn't been meaning real hidden treasure. As soon as I thought back to that night I realized what 'hidden treasure' meant.
I told Peter what I thought before I even finished the thought in my head, "He told me he was going to New York. He also said the comment about the hidden treasure. Well, New York has broadway, you know plays and stuff. So that was his hidden treasure. He wanted to act. I think hidden treasure is just something you love doing. Something inside you that helps you when you want to give up." It all fell into place in my head. I'm not sure if Peter got it but he said he would tell the police about my 'idea'. Somehow I knew it wasn't just an idea. It was the truth and what Jackson had really meant.
That night I went to bed with Kat's words spining around in my head. It was true. You do have to find the strength within yourself. More specifically I had to find the strength within myself. I had to find my hidden treasure. That's how I was going to move on from Crystal's death. I already accepted it, now I had to move on from it.