If Only You Knew

Chapter 8

"Oh no! I missed you falling from the tree. I should've came sooner!" Justin said, teasing her.

She was reading her book when he approached her. She looked up, ready to say a snarky comment when she noticed he was carrying a big bag with him.

"Don't tell me you brought a full course meal with you?"

"No, no," he said, shaking his hand,"I did bring some food, but the main item taking up space in this bag is-"

He pulled out a big pink and red long sleeve dress with a floral pattern on the skirt. It was beautiful.

"This dress. It's made of special thermal material, so it's very insulated. It will keep you warm at night. The sleeves are also detachable in case it gets too hot. Here, try it on. Don't worry I'll be looking the other direction," he said, handing her the dress.

The dress was silky and lightweight, but it also felt like thin plastic. As she slipped into the dress, she noticed the hem touching the floor, but besides that it fit perfectly.

"Thank you."

He turned around and gazed at her with a smile. "You almost look like my mom."

"What?"

He cleared his throat. "Sorry I forgot to mention that it use to belong to my mom. We still have a bunch of her clothes and no one was using them, so I thought why not let you have one of them. It's better you use it then let that dress collect dust. Besides, you look beautiful."

"Oh," Iris said, her cheeks getting hot,"I had no idea this was your moms. You really didn't have to give me new clothes."

He laughed,"What? The clothes you were wearing earlier were filthy, but if you wanna give that dress back then-"

"No, no! It's ok! I appreciate the gift. I know your mom is smiling from above. Oh and you didn't kill your mom." Iris smacked her head, embarrassed at that last sentence she said. Her powers were taking over again.

"What?" He sat next to her and with a serious tone, asked, "So, who killed my mom?"

Iris' body tensed up. She scooted back a bit, using her hands to lean as far back as she could without falling off the log.

She laughed out of nervousness. "I don't know? It's my powers talking. I usually don't understand the things I say remember?"

"What do you mean 'who killed my mom?' Was she murdered?" he asked.

She smiled, trying to keep her calm, but this was very unexpected.

He scratched the back of his head, and relaxed his body. He realized how dumb he sounded for trying to pry information out of her like he did with the trees. She was his friend, not her magic genie.

"Sorry," he replied, avoiding eye contact,"I became someone my mom wouldn't want me to be. I'm a disappointment. I don't think my mom would be proud of me."

Iris bit her lip, understanding him. She wasn't the best daughter either, but that didn't mean she wasn't a good person.

"Justin, you're right. I don't know anything about you or what you've done, but the way you've been treating me lately proves that you aren't a bad person. I believe it with all my heart and your mom would be proud at how you've given me food and clothing and even healed my leg," she said, comforting him.