Frederick's house was situated amidst the hilly half of town, and his backyard overlooked a large swathe of Coeur d'Alene. The sun was setting and Jesse soaked in the view for a while. He was exhausted, but focused all his energy on ignoring the cold, forgetting the anxiety of the company in the house. He finally felt some amount of peace. Eventually, the door opened, and the girl who for so long had been only a ghost to him stepped onto the deck as the moon rose.

“Hi, Jesse.”

Her black hoodie was familiar, and somehow it made sense when he saw the yellow text on the sleeve: “No Sleep Since '06.” She gripped her longboard under one arm as she began lighting a cigarette. A fresh painting of beautiful flowers delicately hid the old mars of the board's deck. She walked beside him and scratched Charlie's ears before leaning casually against the deck and looking out over the city. The ambient glow of the cigarette between her fingers mingled with the lights of buildings and streets surrounding them. The sky was black now; the stars were obscured behind a gray layer of dark clouds high above, and Jesse could see them, silhouettes, drifting through the atmosphere, and he knew that even with a concrete point of reference, their speed would still be unfathomable.

“This place is so dramatic,” Adrienne said. “You must miss the view here.”

“It's nice,” Jesse said. The breeze was almost still, but he felt its frost where Charlie had licked his face. He kept his hood down anyway. “I still have the portrait you painted me.”

She didn't look at him.

“Where are Frederick and Devin?” Jesse asked.

“They're putting together Devin's new board,” Adrienne said. She set her own board against the splintered railing. “We were gonna skate down to the bay.”

“Oh.”

They waited a while in silence. Despite the distance, Jesse could smell the fresh water of the bay in the evening's sharp air.

Finally, Jesse spoke. “I'm sorry,” he said, his head hanging between his knees, “that things ended the way they did.” His ears couldn't escape the chill no matter how tightly he pressed against them. He looked up.