THE VISION IS A PLACE | ✓ {complete}

Chapter 56 : Saturday, the second part

"Save a couple for Jai," Heath says, watching Brandon alternate bites between the two he has in his hands, as if he's been stranded on a desert island for weeks with no food at all.

Everyone digs in, except for Noah and I.

"Noah, you don't want one?" Anna asks.

"Try the jelly ones," Brandons says, powdered sugar puffing past his lips, landing on his shirt.

"Maybe later," Noah says, dusting off Brandon's chest for him. He pushes a smile that he abandons too quickly for it to seem real.

"Casten?" Brandon asks, holding one out.

Addison takes it instead, knowing I won't eat the whole thing. He rips it in two and holds both out for me. I take the smaller one.

Not wanting to appear off, I take a bite. The inside is doughy and wet, compared to the thin layer of crumbly glaze. I've not even swallowed before I can feel the warning signs of a sugar headache. It's crazy what the body can start to forget when it goes too long without it.

I check the clock on the tower. Nine-thirty. We have to go soon. I don't want to make Noah feel rushed though, so I go back to watching the lady paint the sky and wait for him to say when.

It's not long before I feel a tug on my sleeve.

"...You ready?" I ask him. It's not too late for him to change his mind...

"The guy said ten," he tells me quietly.

That doesn't really feel like an answer, but he's already reaching down for his drum.

"Here, I got it." I toss the rest of my donut onto the grass behind the painter's tent, and brush my hands on my skirt, before lifting the drum onto my back.

Heath sees that we're leaving. "Don't go far, please." He says this every time.

I scan the park for a good place, landing on a spruce tree whose lower limbs have been pruned, leaving it in the shape of an umbrella. "We'll be just there," I say, pointing it out. I try to sound casual. It's farther than our usual spot.

"What about closer to the fire there?" he suggests.

"Out in the open? It's going to rain."

"It better not. We have a waterfall to get to," he says, with a sort of camp counsellor enthusiasm that doesn't fit him.

He's trying though.

Seeing my reaction, he resorts back to his normal self. "Check in ever so often, yeah?"

I nod. "Sure." I look at Noah to see if he's ready. There's dread in his eyes. He knows if we walk away now, this is goodbye. This is it. And they're eating donuts, completely unsuspecting.

Addison is watching Noah, seeing him turn pale. "Is it your ankle?"

"You said it was feeling better," Heath says, as if to defend his decision to let Noah come today.

"I've just been standing too long, that's all." He's talking to them, but his eyes are lost somewhere else.

"Here," Addison says, fishing into his pocket for a joint. "If you want me to try to find something stronger for you—"

"It's okay. It's not so bad when I'm sitting," he says, stuffing the joint into his pocket, without much care.

"We should go, then." I tell him, picking up my guitar. I almost lose balance when I lean down for it. The drum on my back is far heavier than normal, all stuffed with clothes.