(Edited)

He told me to go, so I left. I started to wonder around the camping site- not a real camping site, more like the backyard of the Louds vacation house. We couldn't use the house because their parents rented it out for a month, but they didn't mind us being here. Since we sat camp up in the middle of the yard; across the lake, I decided to wander further into the woods surrounding us.

The Louds built this place a year before Jason was born; they chose it because of the lake; it was a good idea. Walking farther into the woods led me to a footpath, barely visible to the human eye. I wasn't focusing on my surroundings, I knew I would probably get lost, but something urged me on to see what was at the end. All kinds of trees surrounded me. Silence filled the air around me, urging me forward with a gentle push. The trees intertwined with one another, forming a slight cocoon that you walked through. The sun was setting, getting darker by the minute, my surroundings fading into the night.

I saw a faint light up ahead and freaked out a little bit. My mind was telling me to get the heck out of here, but my body didn't get the memo, it kept going forward. I heard something that sounded like water hitting and splashing against rocks. Up ahead of the cocoon was an opening expanding into something beautiful. The light that I had seen were fairy lights, hanging all over the place, intertwined within the trees; illuminating my surroundings. It looked like I was standing in a hollow area; trees forming a sort of dome around me.

It all looked so surreal, like something you would read about in a fairytale book. The splashing sound that I heard was a small waterfall splashing on rocks. The waterfall came out of a hill up ahead and rolled over the rocks into a pond. The pond was much smaller than the lake, but it looked just as divine. I wanted to take a swim in it but held myself back, I sat down admiring the beautiful sight instead. The natural beauty of it distracted me from hearing the approaching footsteps.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" A voice startled me. I yelped looking behind me, placing my hand over my heart.

He chuckled. "I'm sorry, didn't mean to scare you." Jason apologized, taking a seat next to me.

Rather than answering him, I focused my attention back on the hypnotic sound of the waterfall, running my fingers through the slightly wet grass. We sat in silence, enjoying our serene surroundings. It was calming.

"How did you find it?" His voice soft and soothing breaking the silence. At first, I didn't answer him, afraid that the sight before me would disappear, but it felt rude.

"I followed the lights."

Jason didn't seem surprised by this area. His breath didn't get caught in his throat like mine. He knew this place. He looked around not with awe in his eyes, but with pain; it seemed that this place was a painful burden. He shook his head and looked at me.

"He didn't mean it, you know?"

I scoffed at this. Michael meant it when he yelled at me to leave. He looked incredibly angry, and I didn't even do anything. I was trying to help him set up our tent, and he snapped at me. Freaking jerk! Jason scratched his jaw, probably telling himself that he should shave and from the stubble he had going, I agreed. He turned to me; a look of curiosity filled his eyes.

"I can't figure it out, but you just know how to get on his nerves."

I snorted, "If asking if I could help him with something was such a crime, then lock me up." Jason seemed amused. "I'm sure me breathing gets on his nerves."

I ignored the pain in my chest; the thought of him hating was killing me. I pulled my knees into my chest and laid my head on them. Contemplation was written all over his face; he was deciding if he should talk or not. I couldn't help but wonder what brought this sudden change of attitude; this had been the most he had spoken with me ever.

"To be honest with you, I don't really trust you." He looked at me to see my reaction, but I didn't give him one I looked away and focused my attention on the lights.

"I wouldn't trust me either," I mumbled.

I heard him sigh, "I don't know you that well, we don't know you that well. But you're growing on them. You're part of the group now, do you know what that means?"

"That I get a free shirt?"

He ignored my witty remark. "It means that we're here for you no matter what, that we will help you if you're ever in trouble. You just need to trust us." I sensed that he was hinting at something, something that he didn't feel comfortable enough to ask me directly.

"You have a lot of secrets, Autumn!" Seriously? I didnt know. "But who doesn't? There are a lot of things that you aren't telling us, and that's fine, but don't expect us to stand one side and do nothing about it. We wont allow it. He wont allow it."

"Some secrets are best kept unsaid," I informed him, my voice faint. He didn't argue with me. I didn't look at him; I couldn't. Something was going on; they knew something but didn't want to ask me.

"Mason and I set this place up for my little sister." He looked around with a sad smile on his face, changing the subject. "The first time we brought her here, she was one. We made it a tradition to bring her every year on her birthday. She loved it. She was crazy about fairies." I looked around and saw a lot of fairies hanging from the branches.

"Explains a lot."

"Your eyes remind me so much of her."

I felt a pang in my chest and whispered, "Is that why you hate me?"

Jason shook his head, "I don't hate you, Autumn, you just remind me of something I lost."

I felt so bad for being the cause of his pain. It sounded like he wanted to cry, so I moved closer to him and hugged him. I thought he was going to push me off, but he didn't, he hugged me back. His hug felt as wondrous as Masons; like I've been getting them all my life and they could fix every broken piece in me. If only.

"What happened to her?"

Jason took a deep breath, and for a moment, I thought that I overstepped. "She disappeared on her fourth birthday. We don't know where she is or if she's even alive. We come here every year on her birthday and just remember the good old days."

I didn't know what to say to him. The feeling of losing someone wasn't new to me. I could relate, but I still didn't have any words for him. Nothing I said was going to make him feel better and the fact that I reminded him of her, made everything worse. I was hurting them unintentionally.

Jason cleared his throat. "I didn't tell you this, so you would feel sorry for us. I told you so you could see that I'm willing to trust you."

I wanted to trust him, but I just didn't know if I really could. My tongue got caught in my throat, I couldn't speak. I wanted to get this weight off my chest, share it with someone, but I couldn't open my mouth, no words were forming. Jason waited for me to say something, anything really, but I couldn't. He sighed loudly and got up to leave. This was my chance to try and have a normal relationship with my friends. I swallowed the lump of fear stuck in my throat and confided in him.

"Do you know why I always say that we can't hang out at my place?" I asked him. Jason sat back down, sitting criss-cross, looking at me.
"You said your parents are strict."

"I lied." Those two words set everything in motion; he looked at me his eyebrows furrowed, waiting patiently.

"I don't have parents. I have people that provide a roof over my head." I brushed my hair behind my ear and looked him straight in the eye. I wanted him to feel my emotion, so he could know why I am this way. "I have never stayed in one place long enough to get attached; these two years have been the longest. I am never wanted long enough, so I don't open up to people and get attached because tomorrow I might not see them."

I fidgeted with the sleeve of my shirt, Jason staring intently at me.

"When my foster parents don't want me anymore, they ship me off to a new place; I've been living like this since I was little. I don't even know if my real parents are alive. I gave up hope a long time ago. I taught myself how to survive. Don't trust anyone they might stab you in the back and take the little you have." I chuckled bitterly. "Believe me; I learned that the hard way."

The look on Jason's face said it all; he was full of regret for judging me, for bullying me. He had pain and pity written all over his face.

As I said before, "Jason, some secrets are better kept unspoken." I stoop up and walked away, not giving him a chance to talk.

I made my way back to the rest of the group, and for once I didn't regret telling someone my story; even if it was only the surface of it.

I sat myself down on the picnic table, crossing my legs. My friends freaked out a bit because no one could find me. I internally rolled my eyes. I looked around and found everyone busy doing their own thing. The tents were set up, someone built a little fire and set out food to make. Cassie and Ashton sat by the fire making out. I chuckled. She amazed me; she was shy yet bold. If she wanted something, she went and got it. I looked over at Michael and was envious of Cassie's strength.

"Have you seen Jason, he went to look for you?" Mason asked, walking up to me.

"He found me."

"So where is he?"

"At the pond." I looked at Emily, starting with the food. Thank goodness, I was starving.

"H-he told you?" He stuttered, relief washing over him.

I couldn't help but be angry at him. "Yeah, why didn't you?"

He looked down at his feet, his shoulders sagged. I wanted to pull him into a hug but held my self back. I didn't know how. I shook my head and walked away.

After helping Emily and Kate prepare dinner, I left everyone and went to sit at the docks. My mind needed some peace and quiet; I wanted to think. I felt like a hypocrite for being angry at Mason. He kept a secret, that big from me and here I was being mad at him when in fact my secrets were ten times bigger than his. The difference was that he didn't remind me of my secrets like my eyes pained him. Even though I now knew his secret, I still couldn't tell him mine. I was glad I shared something with Jason. But now sitting here alone, I was starting to panic. The gentle breeze couldn't even calm me down. I didn't want him to tell the others, only Emily knew. I wasn't ready yet, baby steps. I was still a bit shocked that I told Jason, I don't regret it, I felt lighter. I was just confused.

I sighed loudly and stood up. Three feet away from me stood Jason, I didn't hear him get back. I stood still looking at him, an unreadable expression on his face. He did something unexpected and pulled me into a bone-crushing hug. I hugged him back without hesitating. My heart filled with love; he made me feel save.

"You should have told us earlier, don't think you're alone in the world because we're here for you, we are your family." He hugged me tighter. A few tears rolled down my cheeks; I could feel my meds wearing off.

"Thanks, Jason. Can you not tell the others though, I'll do it. I'm just not ready yet."

He released me from our hug and gave me a small smile. "I won't tell them, but you have to. They deserve to know."

He threw his arm over my shoulder, and both of us walked back up together with a smile on our face. The rest of the night went smoothly; we ate, talked and enjoyed each others company. Around nine-ish, I got in the tent and fell asleep immediately; so tired that I didnt even feel awkward about sharing a tent with Michael.

Vote and Comment.