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CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: SILENCE RESPONDS

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CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: SILENCE RESPONDS

A.N. // hi !! this is the beginning of the fourth and final part of Juneau Elicits. there will be a total of five chapters for part four, plus one epilogue, and maybe some bonus chapters on different characters. thanks for reading!

Winter, or what it's technically defined as, passed slowly. Nothing eventful really happened. It's mid-April now, and as I stare at the light snow falling down on the already drenched ground, I can only recall one particular thing that caught my interest.

What happened to Ethan.

Which is nothing. 

He, of course, did not go to jail or get a sentence because of his state of mind. He's in a hospital, and his family to this day continues to try to put the blame on Ivan Westergaard for it. When he was being taken away, people heard him keep saying the word, "free" over and over, even though his family kept reassuring him that he was, indeed, finally free. He hasn't said anything about where he was or who kept him.

Vaughn and Jasmine both didn't say much about it all as it was happening, but I could see how it still was affecting them. But honestly, I can't imagine how they feel about it all. It just is such a difficult, twisted situation.

Today, I have Saturday dinner plans with everyone at the cabin. 

Siara's sending Vaughn and Tommy to do the grocery shopping, and I volunteered to go with them, so I'm going to be meeting them at the store at 4. Vaughn offered to pick me up because he's already driving Tommy, but I didn't feel like staying the night at the cabin as they're planning on doing, so I'm driving separately.

I worked a shift at the bank this morning and didn't bother going into Freed's for the afternoon, because I knew Malee would. Besides, Tommy was going to close early at around 3, anyway.

I spent a good amount of weekends at the cabin over the winter, alternating between friends. It was really nice. Sometimes it was just me, Vaughn, and Red, other times it was me, Jasmine, and Siara. A couple of times it was all of us, including Malee.

But as for Darren...

I spoke with him once after that day Ethan came running at us. I made sure to do it in a very public place because I wanted to hear what he had to say.

Which was nothing.

I asked him why he shoved me down as soon as Ethan came running at us, and he just claimed he knew that it was all because of the hair and that Ethan wouldn't have hurt me. So he said he shoved me down to get me out of Ethan's focus and took off to get him away from me.

I said he was a liar and left. Jasmine was happy to not have to interact with him anymore, but Malee was obviously disappointed. We went from having fun movie nights to me feeling guilty for having broken up their friendship, too. 

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