This time, Graham knew there were stares. He hoped it was just their amazement that Phoebe had grown up to look like she belonged on the cover of a magazine, but he knew better. The way the older people craned their necks to keep him in view was a dead giveaway. Even after all this time, he found it difficult to block them out.

Phoebe had convinced him to try out one of the new restaurants that had popped up since they'd all moved on to greener pastures. Halfway there he was regretting their decision to walk. Shadows twisted in alleyways. Half dead street lamps flickered and warped everyday items into grotesque monsters. Of course, there'd only ever been one monster in town, and he was long gone.

What bothered Graham the most, was the cold that had soaked into his veins. "This is going to take extra fries to make up for this bullshit."

"We're about to spend a week in the woods and a little walk is going to do you in?" Phoebe scoffed.

"I will be spending a week in a gorgeous cabin in the woods, with a fireplace," he countered. His breath clouded the air in front of him. It was gone in under a second as the cold breeze swept through. "I heard some of you weirdos are planning to go hiking and camp out."

Phoebe shoved him, forcing him to step off the sidewalk and into the street to avoid falling. "It's the woods, why wouldn't we be out hiking?"

"Hiking is fine, staying out in tiny tents is not," Graham explained. He hadn't been camping since he was a kid. Even being out in the woods for small trips hadn't appealed to him since he'd left the boy scouts. It didn't scare him like most people assumed. The darkness between the trees was nothing once the sun shifted. Even the emptiness and the scattered rustling wasn't much of a concern.

Being stuck overnight on a hard floor with rocks digging into his back was where he drew the line. He'd been promised a bed inside, a blow up bed at the very least depending on who got there first. Spending weeks on lumpy hotel beds and sleeping in the backseat of a car had given him all the motivation to never sleep in anything less than the best.

The street split off into two and Phoebe hesitated looking to the left. She took a halting step to the left and then turned back to continue going straight.

"Are you lost?" Graham asked. Something about the area tugged at the back of his mind but he shrugged it off.He'd grown up here, it was natural to feel like things were familiar.

"No, I know where it is. It's just I figured we should take the long way," Phoebe admitted. She wouldn't meet his eyes. "I don't want you to freak out or anything."

Graham looked at her, shaking his head. Then he saw the street sign. It was just down the street from here. Even now he could see the old smoke stacks that hadn't been used in over two decades. The old steel steel mill had gone out of business before he was born. The town had nearly died off then, and seven years ago the same building had nearly killed it a second time.

As if of their own accord, Graham's feet carried him down the street until the mill's front red door loomed into focus. His breath caught in his throat. The windows had long since been smashed in. Even the highest ones were shattered except for the two that lead to the small offices. The bars in front of the window had kept it safe from the rocks thrown in.

The side was covered in graffiti. Somehow that was the most shocking thing of all. SInce when had people taken to tagging buildings in town? The bright red 'murderer' across the front was the worst of it. Most of the other marks looked as if the weather had done their part to wear the paint away. The red looked fresh, no doubt part of the two week long memorial.

There was a clatter from around the corner and Graham heard a grown followed by a chorus of laughs. Graham moved around the corner cautiously, trying not to draw attention to himself. He spotted the three boys standing in a loose half ring, trapping a fourth boy between them and the wall.

"I told you he'd never go inside, he's got no balls," the middle boy jeered. He shoved the fourth boy back when he tried to make a break for it. "Little Nate can't do anything because he's just a little sissy."

"What should we do to him, Marc?" the bigger boy to the left asked the middle one. The kid looked like he should be well past highschool. He reminded Graham of the guy who had stood outside the liquor mart asking people to buy him smokes and beer.

"Let's lock him inside the boiler," Marc decided. "That's where they found one of them, you know. The marks from where she clawed at the door are still there. Maybe you'll have better luck getting out than her." He jerked his head at Nate, prompting the bigger boy to grab Nate by the arm.

"Hey, that's enough," Graham stepped into view with his arms crossed over his chest. He did his best to puff out his chest but if he was being honest, it had been a while since he'd spent any serious time in the gym. The kids wouldn't know that though and he was banking on them just being intimidated by an adult scolding them. If not, Phoebe would scare them half to death.

He'd rather not stoop to her level of violence though.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Marc scoffed. Even on the skinnier side, the kid had the confidence of a pro wrestler. His eyes scanned Graham up and down. It almost made Graham squirm. Something in that kid's eyes wasn't right.

The bigger boy still had Nate's arm in a tight grip, but he looked hesitant now that he'd met some resistance. He looked to Marc for reassurance and clenched his jaw when he saw the other boy's unwavering glare locked on Graham.

"Just go home and no one needs to know about this, alright?" Graham held his hands up at shoulder height. They weren't backing down. He hadn't expected to start this night fighting children, especially not here. He'd thought his days of fistfights and broken noses were over when his family had moved out of town.

Marc rolled his eyes and jerked a thumb at Nate. "But he knows, and now you know, and that's two people too many."

The third boy slid his hand over the wall, fingers brushing over and abandoned but of rebar. He lifted it ready to swing.

His wobbly stance made Graham smile. The little show of emotion was the wrong choice apparently.

"What's so funny, dickhead?" Marc asked.

"The mouth on you! Didn't your parents teach you better?" Phoebe sounded torn between shock and amusement. She'd sidled up to Graham's side while he argued with the kids.

Having her closer calmed the spike of anxiety that had lodged itself in his stomach. It felt much too much like old times. He half expected to feel his younger brother tug on his sleeve. But of course Colby was back home with their mother, safe and sound.

"Dude, your backup is a girl? Way to be a wuss," the third boy said, seeming to finally find his voice. He nudged Marc with his elbow. "We can take them no problem."

Marc shook his head. "Nah, they're going to turn and walk away now," Marc said confidently. He reached back, trying to feel for a weapon of his own. "I bet these sissies wouldn't even go into the mill."

Phoebe laughed, trying to stifle it with a hand over her mouth. "Oh, oh I'm so sorry Graham. It's really not funny but..." she paused to catch her breath. "Do you guys actually think you're the top shit because you went into some old building?"

"They haven't gone in," Nate piped up. Seeing Phoebe laugh Marc off had boosted his confidence. He regretted his outburst a second later when the big guy shoved him back into the wall. Nate stumbled to the side, back away from them.

Then he screamed as an arm pulled him even further away. Nate swung his fists like a windmill.

"Chill out kid, you'll take somebody's eye out with those fists of fury."

"Mike!"Phoebe called out excitedly.

The three boys spun around. The big guy overdid the turn and fell flat on his back. Standing behind them was a tall man with an oversized jacket snug across his broad shoulders. He had one arm stretched out to the side, a barrier between them and Nate. "You kids shouldn't be out so late, your parents will worry," Mike warned them.

"Bite me," Marc snapped.

Mike looked him up and down, then he smirked. "Marcus Pierce, if you don't get your ass home I'll make sure everyone knows about that slumber party you walked in on. You know the one I mean. When your sister-" He was cut off by Marc lunging at him. Mike sidestepped and watched Marc keep running past him.

The other two boys watched him, shuffling anxiously as they wondered what to do. While they silently debated their options, Phoebe tiptoed up to them until she could grab both their shoulders and shout a low pitched 'boo' between them. They shrieked and left in a whirl of dirt and dust kicked up by their frantic feet.

"Now that's the welcome home I was expecting," Mike cheered. He clapped a hand on Nate's back. "You okay, kid?"

Nate nodded, getting his first good look at Graham. His face drained of the color that had slowly managed to come back to him. His knees knocked and he tried to shove himself further behind Mike. "I have to go now, mom will start looking for me." He ran off without another word.

"You still know how to clear a room," Mike said as he stepped forward to pull Graham into a hug. His warm hand thumped Graham's back, a sharp contrast to the cold breeze that had been sneaking through every thin bit of clothing. He pulled away to hug Phoebe as well. "Good to see you both."

"When did you get here?" Phoebe asked,fixing her jacket.

"Like half an hour ago. I dropped my stuff off and the little weirdo at the desk said you mentioned dinner. I'm starving." Mike pressed both hands over his stomach. "Look at me, I'm wasting away."

Graham rolled his eyes and shoved Mike slightly. "Still an idiot, I see."

Glass and debris crunched under their feet as they moved away from the old mill. Graham could feel it looming behind him. The broken windows stared like dead eyes. Even as he moved away he could see it in his mind's eye. That was nothing new. This place had always haunted him. The sooner they could be back on the road, the better. A tent in the woods wasn't looking so bad in comparison.

The little restaurant was barely half full when they arrived and they were seated almost immediately. The small talk came easily as they caught up on each other's lives. There wasn't much to tell, social media had kept them all up to date, more or less. They fell to scattered words and quiet laughs before the food arrived.

"Is this your first time back here?" Mike finally asked. The questioning had been burning a hole in his mind since he'd seen Graham's truck in the inn's parking lot.

Graham nodded, picking at the stale free bread on the table. "Absence did not make the heart grow fonder, believe me." That managed to wrestle a chuckle out of the other two, muted as it was. "Did you tell your dad you were going camping with me in the mix?" he asked Phoebe.

She shook her head slowly. One shaky finger chased a water droplet down the side of her cup. "You know how he gets. I didn't want to deal with that," she explained. Her shoulders hunched and she shot a quick glance at Graham. "Sorry."

"Not a big deal, I know he was close to dad... before," Graham muttered. Logically, he knew Phoebe's dad had always reacted as any sane parent would. Telling his daughter she couldn't be seen around the social pariah of the town and that he would ruin her future was normal. That didn't mean it hadn't hurt to hear it from him, even in a calm, reasonable voice. At least he had never screamed and cursed at him.

The food arrived, giving them an excuse to go quiet except for the mumbling about food. By the end of dessert, Graham had even forgotten about the stares that had been coming and going from all around him.