Look out for the <>!

Stella's POV

I rode my bike on the bike path with the mountains in sight as my mind thought back to how my father gave me this bike the night before. He insisted I would love it and feel like a genuine person from Jackson Hole, but I couldn't say I was excited about it. I wasn't a fan of biking or doing anything athletic for that matter. I was more interested in staying home and relaxing with a book. But the glitter in his eyes told me that biking brought him so much joy and that I should at least try for him.

So now I was here on a bike, riding down an empty bike path, trying to convince myself that this was fun, but the more I rode, the more I felt anger towards everything about this experience. This bike, as nice as it was, was just another reminder that not only did my father not know me, but he was nothing like me.

Pushing forward, I let myself swim in frustration for a moment. I had been here for three weeks, and I had only constantly seen Bec. My father was always too busy to be around us, and I couldn't help but feel like a forgotten like an unwanted puppy even though Bec told me the opposite. I was here to spend time with him, get to know him. This would be a new start to our relationship, but that clearly wasn't how he saw it, if he did, he would be here with me.

By now I worked out a pattern for my new life here. I had friends at school; I worked on homework; I called my mom when I could. Even though I felt like I was fitting into this city and school, I still felt out of place at home. Over hushed conversations and questioning texts, I knew I was more of an inconvenience than anything. I understood it though; they were used to their own space and I the 17-year-old was a little too old to be bossed around but too young to be on my own. I knew they loved me, but their love was meant for more distance than what we had currently.

Quickly I pushed all of my toxic thoughts to the back of my mind as I looked at the mountains, which seemed to close in on me. What was interesting about Jackson hole was that it was one of the few places in the world that was sinking. As the mountains around the city continue to climb into the sky, the city continued to sink into the ground, making the mountains look even bigger than from the outside.

There was a time when these mountains held such wonder to me. How could something as big as a city skyline sink and change? But as I got older, these wonders were replaced by suffocating feelings, making me realize that anything can change, even something as big as a city.

<>

Distracting me from any other thoughts was when I passed by a clothed lump on the side of the bike path. In LA I would think nothing of it since there was so much trash on the sides of the roads, but here where everything was so pristine, it just felt out of place in a tourist town like this. The scene didn't sit well with me, so I stopped my bike and walked over to the lump, making sure who ever was there was alive.

"Hey, are you ok?" I asked the lump, hoping I wouldn't have to do CPR or call 911.

The lump moved, taking a more human shape, keeping their back towards me. The large looming structure wore more clothing that was necessary for a mid-October day like today. The size of it caused me to take a step back in concern, wondering why I even stopped to begin with.

"Leave," the structure said.

It tempted me to follow their command, but what made me stop was when I saw the sleeve of their hoodie, ripped and red, telling me they were injured even though there wasn't anything dangerous around us. "You're hurt."

"No shit Sherlock," the bitter voice rang out.

"Well, let me help you." Although a part of me told me I should just go away, since they clearly didn't want me around.

"I don't need your help."

I shook my head, not willing to take that as an answer. There was something in me that said I should at least call them a cab to get home. I took a step forward, which caused the person to turn to face me.

Grayson and his wide blue eyes, stared at me with a frown as he wiped the blood off his face. "Shoo off. I don't need you around me," he said as he took a step forward, stumbling to the ground as if he just finished some massive battle.

"Well, it looks like you need help," I said as I wrapped my arm around him to keep him upright.

He took another step forward, then pushed me from him as if I would burn him alive. "Why can't you listen to your classmates?" he snapped with venom.

I stared at him, confused by what he was talking about. Our classmates had nothing to do about this scene, unless they were the ones that beat him up.

"Don't play dumb. I know they say I'm a dangerous loner, a killer. Why don't you listen to them?"

The answer was simple enough, and I had thought long and hard about this over the days I spent at school. Grayson wasn't as dangerous as everyone said he was. I watched him at school, he was not heartless like people said he was, someone just needed to give him a second chance. "Because there is more to people than rumors."

He was silent for a moment as he stared at me, as if trying to read me. I think I caught him off guard and he was trying to figure out what to say.

Seeing this as my change to say more, I took it. "Besides, you're not some serial killer, right?" I asked with a chuckle as I tried to make the conversation light.

Gray stared at me silently for a moment, which caused me to shift my weight as an uneasy feeling sank in. He wasn't denying it, so maybe he was? But if he was so dangerous, then why were his eyes so kind? And why was I so interested in talking to him? Was I just interested in self-punishment? I guess living here wasn't enough, I had to be interested in a terrible guy too.

"Stell, I'm warning you, stay away."

That nickname caused anger to flare up. He had no right to call me that, since that name was only reserved for my mother. "Stell...I didn't think we knew each other well enough for nicknames," I retorted with a humorless chuckle.

"I guess not."

We let our heated emotions speak silently for us as we stared at each other. Neither of us wanted to say the next thing until I couldn't stay quiet any longer. "Fine, if you don't need me then I'll leave."

"Thank all the stars you came to that realization," he said, throwing his hands up with the air as if this was the best thing he celebrated all day.

I frowned at him, not liking his tone. All I was doing was trying to be friendly and help since he clearly needed it. He had not a single friend, so I thought I would be that for him, but I guess not. "You know Grayson, you don't have to be such a dick." And with that, I got back on my bike and rode off, not looking back at him.

By time I got home, my anger was replaced with worry. Gray was obviously hurt, but I left him in the field, giving him exactly what he wanted, but I was worried that wasn't what he truly wanted. There was something in his eyes that told me he needed help but was afraid to ask for it.

I spoke to Grayson very few times since I had been here, but every time I spoke to him, I got the vibes that he wasn't what everyone thought he was. People said he was dangerous, that he was a killer, but yet he wasn't in prison, so that meant something, right? If he was such a killer, then why was he warning me he was dangerous?

To be honest, Grayson floated around in my mind more than I wanted to admit. I didn't understand why, though. Grayson was like no other person I met before. He was a dark, moody, a loner that had a temper. I was normally never around any of that.

"So I saw that you went on a bike ride. How was it?" dad asked, breaking me from my thoughts as I made my way up to stairs to the main floor.

I thought back to the reason why I biked in the first place. Bec was crying in the kitchen when I came home from school today. It was loud and painful as if she had some terrible news she couldn't bear. Knowing that this cry was not meant for my ears or probably anyone's, I left, dropping off my homework in my room and walking out the garage from where I came from. But with nowhere to go and no destination in sight, I took the bike, hoping that she would be fine once I returned. "It was ok. The views were stunning."

He smiled as he pulled out his phone and sent a message. "In Jackson, everything is stunning. One of these days we need to bike together. I can show you some of my favorite spots."

"Let me know when you want to do that. I'll be ready," I said with a smile, knowing that he was busier than I was. As much as he wanted to show me around, he was more caught up in his work then he had time for. I wondered if he even knew Bec was upset, I wondered if she even wanted him to know. As I watched them interact, I knew that there were some things they didn't know about each other, but it worked for them. There were secrets each held, and they were happy with those secrets. Maybe they kept their relationship in bliss, but for whatever reason it worked for them.

"Have you talked to your mother recently?" dad asked, trying to make conversation, changing the topic.

My mind wondered to the last conversation I had with her. It was short because of the poor connection she had out in the middle of nowhere Ukraine. There was such a smile on her face as he told me about her finds. She looked so happy, and I couldn't help but feel a little jealous because I wasn't there with her, going on those adventures. "She's doing good."

"How is her research going?"

"Good. She is really finding some important things."

"That's good to hear."

I nodded as he looked at his phone again. "Look, if you want to get that, you can. I have more homework to do anyhow." Sadly, this was the longest conversation we had since I arrived.

"Ok, Bec is out this evening so it's up to you and I for dinner."

I wondered if it had anything to do with her crying. "Does she go out often?" I asked, hoping he would shed some light of the questions I had.

"No, maybe once a month or so. She says she goes out with friends to catch up or something," he said as he looked in the fridge for food. He sighed as he stared at the contents, as if trying to come up with a meal option. I could tell that he didn't do meal planning often and was struggling to come up with something. "Does pizza sound good to you?"

When all else fails take out is always a good option. I remembered a time when I would spend summers here and it was filled with frozen meals and take out. Something even changed. "Yeah, that's fine."

"Great, well, I have to do some work, I'll call you when the pizza is delivered. It should be in 30 minutes or so."

With a nod, I left to go back downstairs where my bedroom that was only furnished by my homework and text books to finish the homework I had.