It had been almost an entire day since the letter was handed to Jackie. She would never be able to look at a letter the same again. 

Jackie and Cole had placed the letter in their dresser, in order to avoid staring at it all the time. Honestly, the method did not work as they wanted it to. The twins ended up staring at the dresser for hours on end. Their minds had been dismantled and nothing made them happy. Jackie was hugging her knees and rocking back and forth on her bed to calm herself. She looked over at Cole who was glancing at the ground, silent. Jackie didn't want to talk to to anyone either, not even Finn. Throughout the day, Finn and Mr. Vandel tried their best to get the twins outside since it was their birthday yesterday; he even grilled dinner for them. Finally, after two hours of Jackie and Cole sitting there in silence, they finally emerged from their room.

"Supper is ready, children!" Mr. Vandel shouted. The twins sulked past him and he put a hand on Jackie and Cole's shoulder, "Are you alright?"

They both nodded, but remained silent as they sat down.

Mr. Vandel set the table with burgers and other delicious sides. Finn, Cole, Jackie, and Mr. Vandel sat down at the table outside and ate. As the children ate, Finn continued to look over at Jackie. He felt terrible for Jackie and Cole since he knew how it felt to lose both parents. To think that their mother died and then their father five days later is traumatizing. Thankfully, the children handled it well.

Finn sized Jackie up, squinting his eyes and finally managed to say," Jackie, c'mere." 

At the sound of Finn's voice, Jackie's heart leaped a bit. She peered over at him with her gorgeous blue eyes and stood up. Finn put his hand out for Jackie to hold, but she was skeptical for a moment. Eventually, Jackie took his hand and he guided her into the woods. After walking for a few minutes, Finn walked forward and released her hand from his grip and summoned her over to sit on a log. Jackie cautiously sat down and moved her dress so she was comfortable.

"You know," Finn said breaking the silence,"my parents . . . they're dead too." He muttered as he looked away from Jackie and at the ground.

Jackie stopped in her tracks, digesting Finn's statement. 

All this time, Finn has had no parents? How could she be so naive?

She inhaled deeply and wiped her hands on her dress. She assumed he was staying with Mr. Vandel temporarily. Then again, who does that?

"Really?" Jackie replied, her voice cracking unexpectedly. 

Way to go, that was a stupid response. Jackie thought.

"Yes." Finn replied," I've been here since I was five." He replied as he reminisced about his parents," I barely even remember them."

"Wow . . . I-I never realized that." Jackie added, feeling all sorts of things.

Jackie glanced over her shoulder and spotted Cole and Mr. Vandel. To her surprise, Cole was no longer sad, he was smiling and laughing. The thought of him being so giddy in a time like this caused Jackie to grow upset. Something stirred inside of her and she lost track of her thoughts. Once again, Cole's contagious laugh echoed through the forest. Without saying a word, she decided it was time to head back to the cabin. Jackie got up, brushed off her dress and marched back, leaving Finn sitting there all alone.

###

"Jackie, why'd ya run away?" Finn asked seeming angry and cautious at the same time as he finally spotted Jackie in the kitchen.

"I was hungry, I should've said I was leaving." Jackie replied taking a handful of chips.
Mr. Vandel was laying on the lounge chair and having a Coke. That's basically all he ever drinks now. 

Coke. Just. Plain. Coke.  

Cole was just about finished with his book while Finn and Jackie sat in silence.

###
two days later
###

Cole and Jackie had spent the entire day playing on the beach. The twins loved the beach more than anything and it was a place that brought the two children together. When they were younger they visited Florida a few times, but other than that, they had never seen a beach as good as the one in Sulejów. They swam and played on the playground for hours. Although they were teenagers, they still could not stay away from the things that made them a child at heart. 

After a couple of hours had passed, Finn appeared on his bicycle. Jackie noticed him in the corner of her eye simply staring at her. Jackie was furious at the fact that he figured Jackie would want to be with him. Before Finn strolled over to the children, he caught a glimpse of Jackie's dutch braids bouncing in the air. At the sight of her jerky movement, Finn leaped off of his bicycle and shouted after them. Little did the twins know that Finn was there to save them.