escape. ➳ jurassic world

seven

hamster balls

On the monorail ride out to their next park destination, Zach was talking to a group of girls. He was asking them all sorts of questions, just trying to make good conversation. Flirting was apparently his favorite past time. Elliot couldn't help but notice that Gray's mood had deteriorated slightly since the mosasaurus show. She wanted to ask what was wrong, but before she could, he turned to Zach and started to talk to him.

"If Mom and Dad get divorced will one of us be with Mom and the other with Dad?"

Elliot had to admit, that definitely wasn't what she had been expecting. Not wanting to get involved, she turned towards the front of the monorail and glanced down at her cell phone. With so many people on their phones in one place, the connection was pretty poor. Not to mention they were on a pretty remote island, of course there wasn't going to be great cell coverage out here.

Zach seemed caught pretty off guard by his younger brother's question, because it was enough to tear his attention away from the group of girls he had been talking to. "No, they're not getting—they're not getting divorced," He said. "Look, you haven't been around long enough, they've always been that way—"

"They get mail from two different lawyers," Gray said.

Zach hesitated before shaking his head. "That doesn't mean anything."

Gray's eyes began to water as his voice trembled. "I Googled, they're divorce lawyers."

Elliot glanced over her shoulder at the two and saw that Gray was actually crying. And Zach? Well, he wasn't exactly being a supportive big brother. "Alright, whatever. You know what? It doesn't matter, okay?" He began. "I'm gonna be gone in two years anyway. I mean, all of my friends' parents are divorced. Hey, knock it off—" He noticed Gray's tears. "You're gonna cry? Look, you're gonna get two of everything, two birthdays, two Christmases, two Thanksgivings—"

"I don't want two of everything," Gray said.

Zach huffed. "Yeah, well, it's not up to you—there's a certain point you have to grow up."

That seemed to be the end of that conversation. Elliot thought that was absolute garbage what Zach had just said to his brother, but it wasn't exactly any of her business. It wasn't like she could just turn around and insert herself into the situation—except she could, and she did.

"My parents got divorced when I was pretty young," She said.

Gray looked up at her after having been glancing out the window. "They did?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, my dad left when I was seven, so it was just me and my mom for a while," Elliot continued. "Some people just aren't right for each other, but that doesn't mean..." She trailed off, thinking of the pictures her dad still kept of him and her mom. He had them all over the bungalow, he never got rid of them. "That doesn't mean they stop loving each other, you know? Or you. They'll never stop loving you, even if they aren't right for each other."

Elliot decided not to bring up the second, more complicated half of her personal life, which involved her dead mother and raptor training father. Sometimes it was enough just to offer the advice. It seemed to help Gray out, because he offered a small smile and Zach twiddled with his thumbs, unsure of what to say.

"Thanks, Elliot," Gray said softly.

She smiled in return. "No problem. Now come on, only smiles for the rest of the day, because our next stop is the my favorite part of the park."

***

They arrived at the valley for their next ride about ten minutes later. There was an incredibly long wait, but thanks to Claire's VIP wristbands, they were able to breeze to the front of the line easily. As they got up close, Gray started to realize what they were doing.