CHAPTER TWO  ↴

"I think you should go back, Honey. I might help with your grieving process. You came this far and maybe if you go through some of the items, you might find some kind of closure in it all." The blonde woman sighed, putting the now dry pot into the cupboard at her feet.

"I don't see how any of that would give me any type of closure, Liz." The man snapped, running a hand down his face, "I just know how it would help me now, when it sure as hell didn't help me then," He sighed, adjusting the tie around his neck. He leaned back against the counter, "But, you're right. It's been too long and I'd be lying if I told you I haven't thought about it once or twice since we've been here."

Little did she know, he was lying through his teeth. Once or twice. He almost laughed at the thought. He'd thought about that storage unit all day, every day since the moment they crossed that damn town line. How could he not?

Elizabeth rounded the counter and stood in front of him. Squeezing his shoulder, a smile tugged at her lips now, "I know."

She gave her husband a look, her hand resting on his cheek and he leaned into it easily, "that's why I brought it up. You've been staring at that picture for weeks and I know the anniversary is coming up soon. I just thought--"

The man smiled softly as he drew his wife in close by her hips, "How did I ever get so lucky?" He asked, watching her, "I'll be back in an hour or so," he kissed her briefly, "I love you. Oh, by the way," he laughed, his thoughts jumping around, "are we still on for that barbeque later at the Briggs' place?"

"Yes, I told them that we'd be there around eight. I'm glad you reached out to them. I think they really appreciated it, Josh." Elizabeth adjusted her husband's tie correctly and she laid a hand on his chest, "Now, go! I can't stand to see those pouty eyes. You'll make me cry and then we'll surely look a mess for dinner."

Josh laughed as his wife dramatically covered her eyes with the back of her hand. She pushed him towards the door before giving him a sweet wave. As he got into his car, his mind wandered back to the last time he'd been at that unit; the laughter of his friends still echoed in his head.

His heart dropped when that door came crashing down. He did everything to get it to go back up, even cut his palm on a screw that was sticking out.

Before he knew it, he was pulling into the familiar storage yard. Getting out of the car, Josh took a deep breath, the memories bouncing around his skull. He could still hear the pounding on the door as if it was happening all over again.

Pulling the key from his pocket, he twisted it in his hand. His thumb rubbing against the number. He slid it into the old lock and braced himself. He hadn't been back there in over seven years. Pulling the door up, an infamous voice echoed straight through him.

"Josh! The door-- Oh, thank God!"

Instantly, his arms were full of a small blonde, babbling about the suffocating space. She rambled about how she was never going to forgive him...about how mad she was. When the voice finally registered, Josh fumbled and almost dropped the girl all together.

"Elliott?" He whispered, staring down at the girl. That was her same blonde curls and white sweater.

Was he dreaming? Had he been in a car accident? He whipped to look at his car, but it was fully intact; exactly where he had left it.

The girl looked up and stopped. Sucking in a quick breath, she scrambled away from him. She scanned him from head to toe, the water still evident in her eyes. Her brows knitted together, a lump forming in her throat forcing her words to barely squeak out, "Why--Why... You're older... I don't... I don't understand. Why do you look...?" She trailed off, turning back to the group of teenagers standing inside the unit just wide eyed as she was.

"This isn't real," whispered Josh. Stumbling, he turned his back to them and closed his eyes tight, "They're not real. It's just your mind playing tricks on you. You know they can't actually be there. Maybe I've snapped? Maybe I've actually snapped this time."

He rubbed his eyes hard. As if that would magically fix the entire situation. He turned back to the storage unit, but the group of teenagers were still staring back at him, "You wouldn't even be this young...You couldn't be...that's impossible..."

He couldn't stop himself from reaching out to Elliott. His hand moved slowly to her cheek. Josh's features shattered. A breath kicked straight out of his lungs. He knew those eyes and the curve of her jaw. How could he possibly forget them?

He rubbed his thumb over the freckles that still littered the girl's skin. It was as if she hadn't aged a single day since they'd been separated. He'd changed so much in the last ten years, but there she was; looking exactly the same.

His legs turned to putty and the older man stumbled. He fell to his knees and looked into her eyes. Those eyes had haunted him. Those same eyes he hadn't seen in years.

Grabbing her around the waist, he buried his face into the girl's stomach and started to sob. It was slow at first, but within seconds he was uncontrollable. With thin fingers, he bawled up the back of her cardigan in fistfulls. It was as if she was somehow still slipping through his fingers even now. As if when he eventually let her go, she might simply evaporate into thin air.

Confused, Elliott rubbed her hand along the man's back, "It--It's okay."

The blonde's heart sped up the longer he held her. Whether it was from embarrassment or not, she wasn't sure, but she dropped her voice to a much softer tone and rested her head on top of his, "Josh, I'm okay, really."

His arms only tightened around her. He couldn't seem to get close enough to her to convince himself that it was real. He wanted to believe she was real. That she was standing there in front of him after all of that time.

"Hey," Elliott engulfed the man, hiding him from the rest of the world for as long as she could, "I'm right here. I'm here, Josh. I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

What was meant as a comforting gesture, sent the grown man into a completely new wave of tears, "I've missed you," he mumbled into her stomach, "I've missed you so much..."

Taking a deep breath, he breathed her in; she smelled of vanilla and...cookies. A smile slowly came to his lips. His jackets and hoodies always smelled of her, but the scent had faded long before then.

Standing, he grabbed the blonde around the waist once more and picked her off the ground. Burying her face in his neck, Elliott smiled. He spun her around, the way he used to and her arms tightened around his neck.

That was him; that was her Josh.

Putting her back on solid ground, Josh stood up straight. His already lanky body had ground at the very least three more inches and all the child-like features had disappeared from his face. Elliott couldn't help but stare. How could he be so much older when she had just seen him as a teenager. She was just holding his hand.

He looked so different and yet exactly the same. His hair was trimmed up neatly with a tie around his neck. He tucked in his button up shirt now, yet his goofy grin was the same as it always had been. However, what captured Elliott's attention was his hand. It wasn't the longer fingers, he'd always had those... It was the gold band.

Elliott's heart dropped; she couldn't take her eyes off the ring, "...You're married?"

If her eyes had been lasers, she would have burned holes in the back of his hand. Her mouth was dry and she couldn't quite find the words to say... How? Why?

He ran that same hand down his face and Elliott's eyes trailed it all the way to his chin. A ghost of a smile tugged at his lips, "Yeah."

Any hint of joy was gone when he looked down at the blonde and something twisted inside him. As if he needed to explain himself in some way, "You guys have been missing for a long time. Even now, I'm so afraid that if I turn my back for just a second, you'll disappear all over again."

Elliott forced a painfully fake smile onto her lips, "No, no," she shook her head, playing with the silver bow around her ring finger, "it's okay. I mean, I understand and I'm--"

She took in a shaky breath. What would a normal friend say in such a situation as that?

Her eyes dropped to his feet, "I'm so happy for you."

Stepping from the unit, the five friends joined Elliott's side; Archer's hand clipped the blonde's back and the two of them shared a quick glance. Raven and Jean stuck together in the back of the group; Jean with her arms crossed and Raven with her jaw hanging open.

Wren grabbed Allison's shoulder to steady himself. He shook from his head all the way down to his toes, "A long time?" The boy's voice cracked, "What do you mean that we've been missing a long time?"

Allison stiffened her posture and took a step back in order to be closer to Wren's shaking frame, "How long have we been gone?"

For a moment it was as if Josh had been thrown back in time and he was eighteen all over again. Reliving the same nightmare, the same one he had almost every time. He could still feel the weight of the door in his hands when he opened it and found his friends were gone.

How was he supposed to explain it to them when he couldn't even explain it to himself half the time. He'd been asked the same question so many times over the years. He would have thought that by then, he'd have some kind of answer for them.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he felt small. He wanted to melt into the asphalt and disappear completely. It was as if all those years of counselling were for nothing, "Ten years."

"Wait a minute..." Archer paused, scanning his face, "That's not possible... How is that even possible?" There were few things the brunette girl didn't know, but right then she was stunned.

Breathing out a sigh, Josh's shoulders sank, "Honestly, your guess is as good as mine and I've lived through this for ten years."

He engulfed the stick-like girl in one swift movement. Archer stiffened under the tight embrace, but eventually relaxed and hugged him back. She couldn't even remember the last time either of them had hugged each other quite like that.

"But, how could it be ten years?" Raven spoke up, her voice small, "Everything looks the same as it did when we went into the unit. Everything except for you."

Josh shook his head, "Places like these never change much, do they." He held up his palm before digging in his front pocket. He pulled out this thin, clear piece of plastic and laid it flat in his hand, "This is my phone."

Archer squinted at the device. The wheels in her head turned, "How does that even work? There's no space for a battery, not to mention anything else. It looks like a piece of plastic."

"That's because it is." Josh smiled, turning over the impossible device in his hand. He knew she'd be interested in that, "Actually, it's recycled plastic."

"That's genius..." Archer mumbled, grabbing the phone and examining it.

Silence filled the air between friends. Everyone lost within their own thoughts. Surely what they were experiencing was impossible, but if it was so impossible how were they in fact experiencing it?

A low beep shot through the air, catching Archer's ear. Staying quiet, the brunette stared at the ground and listened. Another low beep echoed out.

Without saying a word, she held the phone out to Josh and looked around. Adjusting her leather jacket, she pulled it closer to her body; something twisted in her gut. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

Another beep.

Spinning in her spot, Archer fixed her glasses and looked up. Her eyes landed on a power pole across the storage yard. A small pointed directly at her with a red flashing light and every couple of seconds it let out a low beep. She didn't think much of it at first. That was until the camera started to move. The lens twisted in and out as it moved from person to person.

"Arch, you good?" Wren asked.

"No, no one freak out." Archer spoke in a hushed voice, her hand moved to still the group. Pausing, the brunette glanced over at Elliott to make sure her words sunk in, "I think we're being watched."

"What the hell do you mean, you think we're being watched?"

"I would think it meant someone is watching us at this very moment." Allison clipped Wren on the back of his head after the comment fell from his lips.

Jean rolled her eyes, "No fucking shit, Sherlock."

"Guys--" Raven barely spoke.

"There's a camera on that pole over there," Archer gestured with her head, "and it's watching us."

"It's a camera." Josh glanced over at it, "It's supposed to watch us."

Archer sent him a glare, "It's more than that, obviously. It's focused on us specifically. When we move, it moves. It's as if it's trained on us for some reason."

"I think if we want to keep talking, we should probably go somewhere else." Raven peeked around the side of everyone.

"I agree." Elliott nodded, "This whole place is giving me a serious case of the willies. Why don't we go back to my place?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," sighed Allison, "I could really use something familiar. Even just for a little bit, you know?"

The group of teens nodded in agreement, leaving Josh to watch the entire interaction from the sideline. As the group started towards the entrance of the storage yard, Josh raced in front of them; his mind reeling. Planting his feet, he threw his hands out, "You can't."

Jean crossed her arms and her nose scrunched. Looking him up and down, she raised a brow, "Why the hell not?"

"You can't go traipsing around looking the way you do," Josh sighed, trying his best not to squirm under the girl's harsh gaze. "These people have grieved you for ten years. They've been without you for ten years and you all--"

He ran a hand down his face, "You all look exactly the same. You'll cause a riot. I told you before... Things have changed around here. It's not how you remember it. The town. You're families. They're not how you remember them."

"Wait. Our families? How have our families changed?" Elliott stopped in her tracks, as if her feet had somehow become one with the cement. Her heart pounded against her chest. She had to rub the sweat building on her palms away on her skirt.

Josh waved, dismissively, "We can talk about it in the car."

"No." At first the blonde spoke in a tone almost too soft to be heard, but it hit Josh like a ton of bricks. She shook her head and kept her feet planted. Her voice much more demanding this time around, "No. We can't. This is important. We're talking about it now."

The whole group paused at this, turning to the girl in shock; however, she stood without moving. She'd never been comfortable with change before and all of this...it was just too much.

She was one of the few in the group that was actually close to her family and the thought that something could have happened to them while she was apparently missing. It made her stomach drop. The rest could wait, this was something she had to know.

"What's different with my family, Josh?"

"It's not just yours, Elliott," he snapped. "And, you know we can't stay here." His fingers wrapped loosely around her wrist, but she was quick to pull it away from him. It wasn't going to work this time. He couldn't just flash her a smile and she'd follow him blindly. Not again. Not now.

"I said no." She barked back, "We're not going anywhere until you start talking."

He scuffed, "Don't act like such a child."

Water formed at the corner of Elliott's eyes, her red lips in a deep frown, "I am a child! You're the one who decided to grow up. So, I'd like some answers."

"I decided?!" There it was, that temper he hid so well, "You disappeared. You left me. Alone."

"Hey!" Allison stepped between the two, "Stop it, the both of you."

Raven stepped through the group, "How about we all just calmly get in the car and we can talk about this when we get to wherever it is that we're going. Because Josh is right. We can't stay here." She placed a hand on Elliott's shoulder and the girl's features broke under the touch, but Elliott still shook off Raven's hand.

Elliott looked up and they stood there; her and Josh glaring at each other. Water slipped down her cheek and Josh's eyes turned soft for only a second before he broke eye contact and stormed to the vehicle, slamming the door behind him. Elliott wasn't far behind him and she crawled in the back.

"That came out of nowhere," Jean breathed.

"Has anyone seen them fight like that before?" Allison asked, her eyes wide and refusing to look away from the car.

Wren shook his head, his fingers intertwining with Allison's and giving her hand a squeeze, "Not that I've ever seen. I've never even heard them raise their voices at each other."

Archer gestured to the car, "Well, come on, guys. Let's find our way back home."