I came here every night now. Usually around this time.
Something about the darkness soothed me. I’d been here three days, and only out here did I feel… at peace.
Which was funny, because more often than not, I wasn’t alone.
My shadow was here too, sitting on the bench like usual. That faint thread of cigarette smoke curled in the cold air as he took another drag.
I could barely see his face, though the darkness gave me flashes—true black hair, slightly too long. Eyes that glinted gold in the moonlight. Tall and broad. Bigger than K. Always the same thick coat, jeans, and heavy black boots.
I crossed to the flat rock I’d claimed as mine and sat, watching the moon glitter across the lake like the night sky flipped upside down.
I unwrapped my sandwich and ate. Chicken and salad. Good. Big enough that I already knew I wouldn’t finish the cupcake.
I paused, staring at it for a moment.
I don’t know why I did what I did next. Only that I wanted to.
I stood, walked to the bench, and placed the cupcake gently beside my shadow.
The worst he could do was throw it away.
Then I turned and went back to my rock.
The silence settled between us, soft and perfect. I closed my eyes and breathed in the cold air.
Out here, in the dark, it was almost like being free.
Almost.
A crinkle of paper broke the quiet.
He’d taken it.
I smiled to myself but didn’t look at him.
I lay back on the ground, eyes closed, the cold seeping through my shirt. Crickets chirped. A bat fluttered somewhere overhead. Otherwise, nothing.
My shadow took another drag; I could smell the smoke drifting across the lake.
I sighed and pushed myself up. I checked the time. I’d been here an hour.
“Goodnight,” I whispered, turning to go.
For a moment, silence.
Then a raspy whisper:
“Goodnight.”
I nodded and headed home.
Chapter 18
Seph
“You have got to be joking.”
Jess grimaced. “Unfortunately, no.”
