A Journey with the Juvenile

8- Rocky Terrain

Deciding the beach was too open he cautiously drove up the mountain side so they could overlook the city. With the drive being long they arrived an hour before sunset, illuminating the sky in the late evening colour.

Both in an excitable mood they lay on their stomachs looking over the edge of the ledge, watching the ants scuttling around the town, winding down from the night. Weirdly close Clarissa and Brett started talking.

Favourite colour?
Favourite food?
Favourite movie ?
Favourite band?

It wasn't until the sky became speckled with starts and the lights from town polluted the sky enough so they could see their darkened surroundings, that the topics of conversation became laced with personal themes.

" Lissa?Why did you smoke today?" Brett started off, inviting her to open up the can of worms that associate with Matthew Montgomery. " Bad day I suppose... sick of sympathy and side glances. The understanding nature of everyone that boys have messed around. Why?" Nodding as he seemed to understand he shrugged as if he expected a different response. " Wasn't sure the nature of your sudden outburst of rebellion that's all." Laughing at Brett her laugh became contagious as they both ended up giggling at nothing.

Brett then silenced himself and began peering over the edge in a silent daydream " What are you thinking?" Clarissa broke the silence and his train of thought as she expressed her concern and curiosity of Brett's silent moment.

" Nothing. Literally. Normally my mind is cluttered and now it's clear....I like it here, whilst your classmates are grade A asses and the rules are tougher than the conditions in a cramped Mexican prison, it's not too bad. Your parents and cool, the view is cool and...." the world went silent for a moment. Cars didn't honk, birds didn't chirp, the water of the river didn't drip or splash. Pure silence. " Wow this new life is starting to look like home and I hate it." Laughing to compensate his hurt they both sit quietly for a few minutes before the bubbly atmosphere returns.

It's been hours since they pulled the alarm yet it's not nearly curfew yet so they stayed in the mountain side, Clarissa internally debating as do whether to confront Brett snd dig up this past just for the sake of a curious google search.

*
An hour passed and Clarissa finally built up the courage.

"Brett?" Grunting in a reply she took a deep breath and finally asked the risky question. " You said to me that I could find out your convictions online... well I was curious and I looked." The atmosphere becoming slightly serious his voice returned to his closed off gruff voice. " Your one of many thousands."
" I don't believe it. I can't believe it. I don't want to believe it. Are the headlines true?" Clarissa saw the light die from his eyes. "It's not how it seems." Nervously he rubbed his neck in an attempt to regain his composure.

" You the headlines are true?" Shocked she sat up.
" Kind of..." unhappy she pestered him more.
"Yes or no?"
He didn't reply. Slowly after three times asking him her bloody began to boil. " After today and everything that's happened, you don't even give me one simple answer!"
There was one other she could try. The only thing that every single article has in common was one name. Jade. Her second name was withheld due to 'legal reasons' but she was sure the name would bring up a response.

" Who's Jade?"
She's never saw his anger rise so much," Don't you dare fucking talk about her. You don't know her. You don't know what happened. You don't know anything so stop trying to act like you do. Stop trying to find out. I was just accepting my past, accepting that this town is now my home. And even now my past cannot escape me!" She was taken aback surrounding with her hands up he continued cutting into her. " Don't you fucking date!"

He got up to leave, Clarissa pulling down on his Leather jacket sleeve. " Wait Brett! Don't go please." She pleaded, " I'm sorry, I'm curious, you know practically all about me and I just wanted to know something. I know your not like the articles say." He didn't listen " I'm sorry. B. Brett!"

He climbed on his motor bike, throwing Lissa the jacket she wore coming here and sped off, leaving Lisa's stranded on the mountain side with only her jacket and her phone.

Coming down off her adventurous high she sat in the motorcycles wake wrapped in her jacket sobbing as the hand of the nightly chill clasped her in its hand. The faint honking of cars over the edge and the sky alight with the lights of her home town.

With her phone informing her she has half an hour left before she has to be home she called her best friend, clearly in need of moral support Gabby showed up, by her side within ten minutes.
*

Luckily for Clarissa Gabby never asked her why her eyes were bloodshot or why she was alone so late up in the mountains. When she arrived she just handed her a flask of hot coco, a blanket and shooed into her car. Refusing to take her home she drive Clarissa and herself to her home, handing Lissa her phone to phone her parents.
*
For the next two days they camped out in Gabby front room in sweatpants and ate all the fatty food in sight. When Clarissa finally told Gabby of why she was alone that night Gabby never let go of her sobbing best friend until she broke into a grin and suggested a walk along the promenade.