Chapter 13
Soren held Zoe’s hand inside Grimbleton’s biggest amusement park and gazed at her with a quiet acceptance.
“Soren, look!”
Zoe’s face brightened with a huge smile as she pointed straight ahead at the pink fox mascot posing for pictures with guests. Soren gave her an affectionate smile and let her pull him toward the mascot for a photo.
“Soren, check this out!”
Zoe excitedly held up the just–printed Polaroid before him, grinning as she showed it off. Soren tensed up as the memory of someone else blended with Zoe’s figure in his mind.
Having just signed the financial agreement, he’d had no choice but to go on an amusement park date with Sylvie back then. She’d eagerly dragged him around to take pictures with the park’s mascots.
She’d happily shown him the Polaroid, but he’d roughly knocked it out of her hand. “I didn’t know you could be so childish, Sylvie.”
Soren had spoken those cold words before walking away. Yet later, he’d found that same photo in a frame. In it, Sylvie was holding his hand, her face beaming with happiness.
Only then did he learn that after he’d left, she’d crouched down, gently picked up the dirt–smeared Polaroid, and held on to it like something precious.
A sudden pain shot through Soren’s chest. Next to him, Zoe noticed his discomfort and immediately moved to support him.
“Soren, are you okay?”
Snapping back to reality, Soren quickly pulled himself together and reassured Zoe, who looked worried. “I’m fine, Zoe. It’s just a little too hot outside.”
Relieved that Soren seemed fine, Zoe gave him a mischievous grin and pointed at the haunted house in the distance- the Ghost Manor.
“Are you ready for a challenge, Soren?”
He lightly tapped her forehead. “You’re always stirring up trouble, aren’t you?”
They entered the Ghost Manor together, the darkness swallowing them whole. As they moved deeper inside, creepy mannequins and sudden jump scares lunged at
them from the shadows.
Zoe shrieked and flung herself against Soren, trembling in fear. “Soren…”
She clutched his sleeve tightly, holding onto him as they kept going. She didn’t notice how stiff his fingers were or how cold his hands had become.
Soren forced himself to push through the fear gnawing at his heart. Ever since Rodney and Joyce had jumped to their deaths while he’d been asleep, Soren had developed a deep fear of the night and darkness.
Sylvie knew about his hidden trauma, so whenever night fell, she always left a warm light on for him. Even though she wasn’t afraid of ghosts, she’d stopped visiting haunted attractions out of consideration for him.
If it had been Sylvie, she would never have brought him to a haunted attraction. The thought suddenly crossed Soren’s mind, startling him, and he quickly pushed
it away.
“Zoe,” Soren said, tightening his grip on her hand. “Let’s get out of here.”
Badly shaken, Zoe nodded repeatedly. The two then waved at the cameras to signal the staff to guide them out.
“Soren, are you okay?” Zoe asked.
Standing in the sunlight, she looked at him with concern as his face remained deathly pale.
Soren shook his head and replied weakly, “I’m fine, Zoe. Don’t worry about me.”
Zoe led Soren to a chair at the outdoor cafe and made him sit down to rest. “Wait here for me, Soren,” she said before hurrying off to a nearby ice cream truck.
A moment later, she returned and handed him a chocolate ice cream.
“Soren, are you getting a heatstroke or something?” she asked.
She held the ice cream near his lips and watched him with concern. He had no choice but to take it and eat it slowly.
The truth was, after the Parkers went bankrupt and Rodney and Joyce died, Soren had worked himself to the bone to pay off his debts. He’d spent his days waiting tables at a restaurant and his nights working as security at a bar.
The constant poverty and exhaustion meant he had often staggered home and collapsed immediately, sometimes going a day without eating. Over time, the strain had given him serious stomach issues.
Sylvie was the only one who knew about his condition. That was why she never allowed him to have cold or uncooked foods and why a pot of warm, comforting soup was always ready at home.
Had Sylvie been there, she would’ve already taken the ice cream from him and given him a stern talking–to. This realization weighed heavily on his chest, leaving
him empty inside.
“Soren?” Zoe put her hand on Soren’s forehead. “Are you sick? What’s wrong?”
Soren handed the ice cream back to her. “Sorry, Zoe. I just can’t handle this right now.”
Zoe frowned with concern. “What’s really going on, Soren? You’re keeping something from me, aren’t you?”
He saw the worry on her face and shook his head. There was no way to explain it to her, and no way she would ever understand.
The darkest time of his past the one he wished to forget more than anything–had left lasting scars on both his body and his soul.
Chapter 13
He’d worked so hard to put Sylvie behind him, and yet memories of her kept resurfacing in his mind. He couldn’t get her out of his head.
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