Simon cranked the air conditioner, “I miss them too, but there’s somewhere I’ve been meaning to show you.” He said. If she didn’t trust him as she did, he would’ve worried that she was scared. But, he knew her faith in him was strong.
Cherish shrugged her shoulders and, being an agreeable creature, accepted the detour. She hummed to herself and stared out of the window, though it all vanished as the scenery went from normal, to sketchy, to scary.
They pulled off the main road onto a lightless, dirt path. Though she knew Simon wouldn’t harm anyone, she couldn’t get it out of her head that she was about to be murdered. She’d seen enough episodes of Unsolved Mysteries when growing up to know, this wasn’t normal. They did say serial killers were always the nicest, charming men. The biggest red flag was when he pulled from the dirt road and onto one shrouded by trees. He drove up the long area that belonged to a regional park, passed an unreadable sign, and topped a hill. Refusing to look his way, Cherish stared ahead at her possible demise in eerie silence.
Simon placed the car in park and turned to her with a smile, “Follow me.” He said pulling the keys from the ignition.
As he exited and waited for her, she pushed all frightful thoughts from her mind and did as she was told. The one thing she didn’t want to do was piss this man off if he was about to do something unsavory to her. Though the moment she looked down and saw the view, she felt incredibly stupid. Behind Simon’s tall gait, were the soft different colored lights against the dark backdrop.
He held his hand out and took hers in his grip. Leading her to the edge, he sat down and helped her down afterwards. From their angle, Cherish could see a wider ledge directly under them which eliminated the initial concern of falling. He let go of her hand and stared out at the view as the last bit of sun tucked away behind the skyscrapers and buildings along the horizon. Just when she was about to tell him what she imagined would happen, she couldn’t find the words.
Eventually, Simon spoke, “This was Emily’s favorite spot. She said it was her place to think ever since she was able to drive. This was where she took me at the end of our first date…” Cherish turned her head out and stared across the twinkling landscape below. He released a long sigh while his shoulders sagged, “…I don’t know what to do with myself. We always planned to have kids. While she was pregnant we spent a lot of time imagining having Jr. and everything we would do. It was going to be the happiest time of our lives. Now, I’m the only one here but I’m not happy. I can’t imagine being happy like I was before ever again. Now time is ticking away, and I’ll have to go back to work. I can barely function at home let alone there.” He said.
There was a heavy cloud hanging over their heads as he expressed his innermost thoughts. She didn’t know what to say, what could she say? This man lost his whole world within moments after his son entered their lives. All the promises, the plans, and happiness died with Emily that day. Cherish couldn’t say a word because she never had a love as grand as they did. Losing herself in her own thoughts about what life would’ve been like for either of them had Todd not walked out and Emily lived, she stayed in saddened silence. She was emotionally destroyed from both her childhood and him.
Blowing out, Simon tapped on his legs. He tried to distract himself from the weight and glanced to his right. Looking at Cherish for the first time since they’d arrived, he gave her a small smile, “Thank you for everything. You’re a true friend. I never expected it, but I’m really thankful I found you.” He said reaching over and placing a hand on her shoulder. Gripping her attention, she silently turned to face him. He wanted to make sure she knew he meant what he said, “No matter what happens, You and Jasmine will always be taken care of. That’s a promise. Any problem you have, or trouble you’re in, you can always come to me.” He expressed.
As he made promises that she’d never received in her life, she nodded silently. Her gaze flicked down to the ground between them, “Thank you.” She whispered.
Turning her attention back at the scene, Cherish laced her fingers together while her eyebrows tucked together in deep thought. Blinking several times, she licked her lips and shook her head. She didn’t want to be a burden. Simon was already going through enough in his life and she couldn’t just unload her feelings and fears onto him. Not when he was still so fragile. Maybe never. She was always raised to keep to herself, do as she was told, and endure whatever another person hammered onto her. The thought of being completely open and raw, as Simon was now, scared her most. She did that once before and he abandoned her. But, Simon was different. He was sweet, genuine, kind, and he showed Cherish in the last short weeks, in his grief, that Todd was never pure. The monster was always there, and she was too naïve to see it.
A wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Simon’s sole attention was on Cherish. In an instant, he could feel in his gut something deeper than she let on was going on with her. Squeezing her shoulder lightly, he tried to nudge her attention, “What’s wrong?” he asked.
Cherish looked to him and tilted her head back. There was
