Elise wrapped her arms around her legs as she pulled them close to her chest and rested her cheek atop her knees. She watched Jake as he spoke, his words creating even more shadows and depth in her mental picture of him. She knew Jake. She considered him one of her very best friends. In another time and place, she didn't doubt that his devil-may-care attitude and his transient lifestyle would have called to her on a deeper level, but here and now, he was one of the few people she trusted implicitly. One of the few she wasn't afraid to let see her vulnerabilities.
She liked that he was willing to let her see some of his, too. On the surface, Jake always seemed like he was in control. He was fun to be around, and if he said he'd do something, there was no question that he would. But he also gave off this vibe that Elise couldn't fully describe. Untouchable? Maybe. Untamed? Certainly. Closed-off? It never really felt that way...but there were times when you could only get so far with him, when no matter how hard you pushed, he wouldn't budge. If there were places inside him, thoughts he thought or feelings he felt, that he didn't want you to know about, you never would. Elise considered herself one of the lucky ones, but even she couldn't break down all of his walls. Maybe that was one reason the gossip mill had taken the rumors about their relationship and run with them. The idea of Jacob McKenna finally officially settling down with someone was kind of a big thing in a small town like Willow Creek.
Some of his fears made sense to her, and if she were honest, she could say that she shared them. Fire, especially, of the uncontrolled sort — though, truth be told, she didn't even like to get too close to fireplaces these days. Still, when he named boxes as one of his fears, Elise had to bite her lip not to laugh. And snake people? Did he mean people who liked snakes...or people who were part snake? The latter did sound fairly disturbing.
She was grinning at him by the time he finished. "Man, you're right. You're kind of a chicken," Elise teased. But her tone was light as she shook her head. "I'm just kidding." Propping her chin up on her knees, she gazed out over the water again. "I was afraid that I'd never see my brother again. But now that he's in town, I'm afraid we'll never be the way we used to be with each other. And that's my fault."
Falling quiet, she watched the steady ebb and flow of the waves that rolled in. "I'm afraid of what it will be like to watch everyone I love die. Like, not all at once, though that thought is horrendous, but one by one. Over time. Knowing that almost everyone who means so much to me today, right this moment, will one day be gone, and I'll probably still be here. That scares me. I guess...being alone scares me."
Elise looked at Jake again and smiled. "But boxes? I thought cats loved to squish themselves into tight spaces. That's what I learned on the internets, anyway."