28th june 1986
8:37 pm
River and Kimberley's in-counter had been two days ago.
She hadn't seen him since then, and he hadn't come to talk to her or find her, but she was intrigued, and she wanted to know more; it was a morbid desire.
She began to gain the courage to go over to his; she had seen his family go out earlier and saw he wasn't with them, so there was a chance he was there.
I mean, didn't she deserve to know? I mean, he told her, so she has a right to know more.
Kimberley inhaled deeply before unlocking her door and descending the winding staircase; fortunately, her mother was not at home, so she didn't have to explain herself.
She hurriedly opened her front door, shut it quickly behind her, and walked over to Rivers' house.
Her heart pounded faster with each step; she had no need to be concerned; he wouldn't harm her. Would he really?
She had started pounding on his door without realising it.
She suddenly came to a halt, understanding that she didn't want to know any more; after all, he had left her alone, so perhaps she should simply let fate take its course.
She walked back to her house, her back to the door, till she heard a voice say, "Kim?"
Her head rapidly rotated, bringing her face to face with a restless river.
"Kim," he said again, this time in a lower, sadder tone, "can we talk?" Kimberley spoke up after giving him a short glance.
"yes! I mean, come on in i-" He moved to the side, cutting himself off and allowing Kimberley to pass.
"Would you like to go upstairs?" He spoke with a minor stutter,
"Sure," she spoke, While following him up the stairwell, she kept her head down.
Kimberley shuffled over to the edge of his bed and nervously sat down as they entered his room.
"So," River said dryly as he moved closer to his desk chair.
Before speaking, Kimberley took a deep breath in.
"What happened the other night?" She raised her eyes to him, watching him slowly swaying his spiny chair side to side.
He remained silent for a moment, almost as if he was pondering what to say, or perhaps didn't know what to say.
"My family," he coughed, as if it was something he didn't like.
Kimberley gave him a low-key nod.
"It wasn't their fault; they did it to protect us; it was all done out of love, but it followed them about everywhere they went, Kim; I'm fifteen years old and have lived in nearly thirty states." Kimberley flinched when he raised his voice slightly at the end of his sentence.
"I don't mean to scare you," he apologised, "I just get worked up over it."
She said, "It's alright, don't worry."
He sat next to Kim in his bed after taking a deep breath.
"one of these individuals hurt one of us," he said hastily as he began blinking and staring into Kim's dull eyes.
He fell silent, with a look on his face as if he had remembered something he didn't want to remember.
"you don't have to tell me any more if-"
