They Came In Hoodies

Chapter 4: More Then Rumors

Look out for the <>!

Stella's POV

I rode my bike on the bike path with the mountains in sight as my mind thought back to how my father gave me this bike the night before. He insisted I would love it and feel like a genuine person from Jackson Hole, but I couldn't say I was excited about it. I wasn't a fan of biking or doing anything athletic for that matter. I was more interested in staying home and relaxing with a book. But the glitter in his eyes told me that biking brought him so much joy and that I should at least try for him.

So now I was here on a bike, riding down an empty bike path, trying to convince myself that this was fun, but the more I rode, the more I felt anger towards everything about this experience. This bike, as nice as it was, was just another reminder that not only did my father not know me, but he was nothing like me.

Pushing forward, I let myself swim in frustration for a moment. I had been here for three weeks, and I had only constantly seen Bec. My father was always too busy to be around us, and I couldn't help but feel like a forgotten like an unwanted puppy even though Bec told me the opposite. I was here to spend time with him, get to know him. This would be a new start to our relationship, but that clearly wasn't how he saw it, if he did, he would be here with me.

By now I worked out a pattern for my new life here. I had friends at school; I worked on homework; I called my mom when I could. Even though I felt like I was fitting into this city and school, I still felt out of place at home. Over hushed conversations and questioning texts, I knew I was more of an inconvenience than anything. I understood it though; they were used to their own space and I the 17-year-old was a little too old to be bossed around but too young to be on my own. I knew they loved me, but their love was meant for more distance than what we had currently.

Quickly I pushed all of my toxic thoughts to the back of my mind as I looked at the mountains, which seemed to close in on me. What was interesting about Jackson hole was that it was one of the few places in the world that was sinking. As the mountains around the city continue to climb into the sky, the city continued to sink into the ground, making the mountains look even bigger than from the outside.

There was a time when these mountains held such wonder to me. How could something as big as a city skyline sink and change? But as I got older, these wonders were replaced by suffocating feelings, making me realize that anything can change, even something as big as a city.

<>

Distracting me from any other thoughts was when I passed by a clothed lump on the side of the bike path. In LA I would think nothing of it since there was so much trash on the sides of the roads, but here where everything was so pristine, it just felt out of place in a tourist town like this. The scene didn't sit well with me, so I stopped my bike and walked over to the lump, making sure who ever was there was alive.

"Hey, are you ok?" I asked the lump, hoping I wouldn't have to do CPR or call 911.

The lump moved, taking a more human shape, keeping their back towards me. The large looming structure wore more clothing that was necessary for a mid-October day like today. The size of it caused me to take a step back in concern, wondering why I even stopped to begin with.

"Leave," the structure said.

It tempted me to follow their command, but what made me stop was when I saw the sleeve of their hoodie, ripped and red, telling me they were injured even though there wasn't anything dangerous around us. "You're hurt."

"No shit Sherlock," the bitter voice rang out.

"Well, let me help you." Although a part of me told me I should just go away, since they clearly didn't want me around.