We take her deep into the forest where there’s a waterfall that runs off into a stream. It’s small, but the view is beautiful. We come here a lot in the off season, just to sit and take in the ambiance. Crickets are buzzing loudly as the noise of the water crashing down from above fills the night air.
It’s a breezeless night, tepid, but not overly warm. The stars shine brightly from above, and I catch her looking up at them.
“I always forget how many stars there are. Where I live, you can’t see them like this,” she says.
“Where’s that?” Maverick asks.
“Holland. I live in the house my parents left me when they died.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, knowing that being as young as she is without her parents has to be tough.
“It’s alright. I’m used to it. I have my friends and my job. I keep busy,” she says. But the way she says it sounds like she’s trying to convince herself that her life is alright.
“How old were you when they passed?” I ask.
“Um,” her teeth dig into her bottom lip, and she crosses her arms over her chest. “Eighteen.” She rocks back onto her heels and then forwards. “I was a senior in high school when they got into a car accident. The roads were icy from the lake effect hitting hard that year. My dad was driving. He was always such a good driver. Careful. He knew how to handle the car in bad weather. But that night, there was a party and the people there were drinking pretty heavily.” She takes a deep breath and by the expression on her face I can tell that just talking about it is like she’s reliving this moment all over again. Even though it’s beenyears. She looks back up at the sky, her eyes shining with unshed tears.
“They had just gone out to dinner one night. A date night. I’ll never forget how my mom was wearing a red dress that she’d just bought. She always smelled like roses. My mom loved roses. And when she bought the dress, she said it made her feel like a dozen roses.
My dad did everything right, according to the police officers. When their car started to slide, he did everything you’re supposed to do. But see, that party, had just let out. And someone got behind the wheel after having too much to drink, and they plowed right into my parents without stopping. They eventually found the guy that did it. He got two years in jail. But my parents. They were gone. I guess it’s supposed to be some kind of solace that it was fast. They say they didn’t feel anything.”
She wipes her face and sniffles. “God. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to spill all my trauma out like that. And here you were just asking me where I live, and I word vomited all over.”
“Don’t. Don’t apologize for that,” I say, going over to her and putting my arms around her shoulders. “You’re allowed to process what you went through. Sometimes trauma comes out at unexpected times, and if someone makes you feel bad for that then they aren’t worth your time.”
She blinks slowly, absorbing my words. I take my thumb and wipe away the remnants of her tears.
“I’m so sorry you had to carry all of that. And at eighteen. You’re so fucking strong, Lydia,” I tell her because it’s true.
She lets out a humorless laugh. “Yeah, well, it didn’t feel like I had a choice but to be strong. My grandmother moved in briefly after the accident, only she died shortly after. Heart attack. The neighbor found her in the yard. And it’s been just me ever since.”
She walks over to the stream and runs her fingers through the cool water. Maverick and I look on at her as she processes her feelings. Unloading all that trauma drudged up so many thoughts in her mind that she’s a whirlwind of emotion right now.
Fireflies sparkle all around us, lighting up the dark forest. One lands on her shoulder, and she lets it crawl on her before she reaches out with a cupped hand. The bug crawls into her hand as she stares down at it.
“You know, I don’t think I’ve caught one of these since I was little,” she says with a small smile. She holds out her hand and the little thing flies away.
She stands up then and turns to look at us both.
“Have you seen Jack today?” She asks.
I look at Maverick and shrug my shoulders.
“No. That’s not unusual though. He tends to keep to himself,”
Her shoulders drop enough that I can tell that disappoints her.
“Are we not enough for you?” Maverick teases with a smile on his face.
“Oh, you’re plenty. I could have been in bed reading right now.” She rolls her eyes.
“Well then let me make it worth your sacrifice,” he says, spinning her into him. They sway beneath the pale moonlight dancing to no music.
She lets out a laugh as he spins her out and then back into him. Her finger finds its way up to his mouth and she pokes at his fang.
“Do you wear these all the time?” She asks.
That makes him laugh and I can’t help but smile as well.
