Page 84 of Bad Kind of Love

“You’ll see soon enough.” His words were vague, but seconds later, I noticed a large archway in the distance. Old and rusted out, it reads “Wonderland Park” with the letter p hanging on by a thread.

“What is this place?” I ask as we drive through the arch.

“An abandoned amusement park.”

Why was he taking me here?

Coming to a stop, I peer out the window and notice a chain link fence blocking us from going any further. A no trespassing sign hangs from the middle, but clearly Jack wasn’t one to follow rules.

Shutting off the car, he reaches in the back to grab the basket and opens the car door.

“You comin’?” He glances my way before hopping out of the car noticing I still had my seat belt on.

Realizing I haven’t moved since we’ve stopped, I swiftly unbuckle myself and open the door. Circling around the truck where he stands, I push my arms through the holes of my jacket and tighten it around me.

“It’s kind of spooky out here.” I look around me only seeing the dark shadows of trees and hearing the occasional hoot of an owl. It was eerily quiet out here, the perfect place for a murder to take place or for a psycho to hide out.

“Are you afraid of the dark?” He asks while reaching into the basket and pulling out a lantern.

“Out here I am.” I scoot closer to him, then suddenly the light from the lantern flickers on.

The bright light eases most of the worry I have, but I still feel the need to stand close to him.

Just in case.

With the basket in one hand, he hands me the lantern and swiftly grasps my free hand.

“Don’t worry, O’Connor. I’m probably the most dangerous thing out here. ” He glances down at me with a devious grin that sends my pulse racing.

“I don’t know if that's a good or a bad thing” I joke, as he begins to pull us towards the chain.

Shrugging, he ducks under the chain, and holds it up for me to slip under.

“Good for you, bad for others.”

Holding out the lamp in front of us, the light illuminates our way down the gravel path as I’m walking shoulder to shoulder next to Jack.

“So, are you going to tell me why you picked to come here out of all the places we could go?” I question as my eyes remain on high alert.

“I used to come here as a kid.” He admits but what shocks me the most is the fact that he grew up here. Wes never mentioned that Jack used to live here. I just assumed they randomly chose Logansport to live.

“I didn’t know you were from around here.” I peer up at him from the side and I swear I feel his hand tense in mine.

My statement seems to have caught him off guard, but he quickly recovers.

“Yea, once I found out about Wes, we lived in California for a bit. Then one day, I got a job offer back home.”

“Are your parents still here?” I ask but the sensation I got was that it was a sore subject for him.

“Yes, but we don’t speak.”

His vague response was enough for me to drop the subject altogether and focus on what was in front of me. We were approaching what looked to be a carousel. Tall overgrown grass surrounded it, but its allure was compelling. Creepy, even, as we got closer.

Then suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed another abandoned ride. A Ferris wheel with vines entwined around the bars and rusted out seats that looked to be older than I was.

“I can’t believe they left all these rides here.”

Stopping just in front of the carousel, I lift the lantern and shine the light, giving me a better view. The assorted colors of blues and purples that covered the ride were dull and lifeless as my eyes studied the spinning top.

---