Chapter 6: Keeping Secrets Part II

As Tessa walked into the clearing she noticed the bonfire, but no one was around it. That was strange, usually they would be playing music and having a blast by now. She checked the time. 10:57. They should be here by now. Tessa started to slowly walk around to see if she could find anyone...

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. "Hey I just set these right outside of the door for you. Food should be ready soon whenever you're done."

Aidens voice brought her out of her daydream. She quickly washed her body and dried off. She peaked out of the door before opening it to grab the clothes. Aiden had left her a pair of sweatpants that were too big, thank goodness for the drawstring, a plain black t-shirt and a pair of his boxers. Tessa smiled a little to herself, a stranger has shown her more kindness than half of the people she's known her whole life.

After finding a comb, she combed out her long chesnut hair. She stared at her reflection and noticed she has never looked worse. She had dark circles underneath of her large blue eyes. Her face was paler than usual and she had scratches all over, no doubt from the twigs scraping her while she ran through the woods. After deciding this was as good as it was gonna get she exited the bathroom and made her way downstairs to her mysterious savior.

A delicious smell surrounded Tessa as she walked down the stairs. Aiden was in the kitchen finishing up some chicken stir fry. The sleepy beagle was now up and weary of the new visitor, showing his teeth and lowly growling.

"Beau leave her alone. Don't be a grumpy old man" Aiden said to his companion, "Sorry about him, he doesnt see too many faces around here. Hes a great guard dog. Here" Aiden put his hand out with a piece of beef jerky. "It's his favorite and you'll be his best friend after that."

Tessa took the treat and knelt down. "Here Beau" she said as the dog slowly approached her and took the treat. he ate in one bite and then licked her face in appreciation.

Tessa stood up and walked into the kitchen. "That smells great" she said as she watched Aiden finish up the dish.

"Thanks, I haven't gone to the store yet this week so this was all I had. Here let's eat" He handed her a bowl of food and motioned for her to follow him.

They sat on the couch and ate their food silently for a while. Finally Tessa spoke up "What time is it?"

Looking at his watch Aiden told her that it was 5:26a.m. How long was she walking for? As if reading her mind Aiden started to explain how he found Tessa.