My Dad's Bestfriend

Sienna

"It didn't look this far from there," I whispered as he led me toward the lake. Suddenly the distance seemed immense - strange, because from where we'd stood it had looked only a few steps away, as if the water were coaxing us closer. Wasn't this a weird illusion?

"Places like this are confusing, Flower." He laughed softly, steadying me when I nearly slipped on a loose stone. There were too many stones here, jutting like little teeth from the earth.

"Why so many rocks? I don't get it!" I asked, blinking at them.

"Wish rocks," he said, taking both my hands to help me over the uneven ground. It would've been easy to fall without him, though I kept pretending I didn't need the help. "There used to be houses here. A tribe lived around the lake before they eventually moved away. They believed the water granted wishes, probably still do no matter wherever they are- so they'd write them down, tuck them under a rock, sometimes throw them into the lake."

"That's...fascinating." I wanted the whole story in one breath. "Why did they leave? When?"

"Maybe a decade ago." We reached the water and I saw the benches dotted along the shore- nicer than it had looked from a distance. "They thought the lake would never die. There was a man, Jordan. He was from the tribe-he was maybe sixty years old at that time and I was eight if I remember correctly," he shrugged, "He told me the stories when I used to come with..."—he paused, an unmeasurable pause-"family." The word tasted bitter on his tongue. I didn't

press.

It felt right to let it go and I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that I had suddenly started caring about his comfort.

"Did you stop coming here?" I asked, cautious.

He drew his jacket tighter and watched the lake. "You could say that," he said finally. The place held something for him; grief, maybe, or memory. "It was necessary."

"You miss him? Jordan?"

He chuckled, soft but closed. "I don't miss anyone, Flower." He sat on a bench

and put his hand along the backrest. "I'm not made that way."

beside him. "Stop pretending you're

at me

tried." I tried to make my voice light. "Look at me -

the wind brushing us both. "You think you're harmless," he murmured, voice low enough only I could hear, "but you have the power to hurt more than anyone or anything in this world. You just don't know it yet and I

and I didn't. His words landed somewhere inside me

to look away

across my face, because he spoke again, lighter now, almost teasing: "So what's your grand

the echo of his last sentence. "That's none

said, amusement threading his tone, "but everything about you

under my skin, but they did.

at me from afar, in the small humiliations and the worst nights. He'd been a constant presence a shadow at my shoulder I tried to shake off, the one who taunted me

Grayson had always been there.

you know that?" I snapped, cutting through the

it swallowed me.

called worse. This isn't

add this to

"Declined."

This man-

curse, to spit something sharp, but instead

knew:

laughing at him? Definitely

are an...idiot." The word felt ridiculous—"asshole" seemed too

word?" He smirked, leaning in until his breath

might