She could tell he was there, she had heard the crackling branches and leaves as he had walked over, but she chose not to turn and face him, unsure if he'd want the eye contact or attention. She still acknowledged him, greeting him in a low but audible tone,

"Glad you joined me." Her breath was visible in the dark and frisk air. Her arms hugged around her small but fairly built frame. It was cold, She foolishly had forgot her sweatshirt in her bag. The sky was dark, but seemed to glow, the stars filling the blank dark domain. The moon was full, and a little larger than usual, casting a glow onto the mountains, the plains, and both Catherine and Jackson. She began to speak, then paused, not sure if she should talk.

"Uh..it's pretty. Isn't it?" She said, trying to start a small conversation that was not as high stakes or nerve-wracking as the one she really wanted to talk to him about. She wanted to slowly get into, slowly, and hopefully talk about the situation. She prayed and hoped that he would work with her and be comfortable talking about the situation too.

(Sorry for being a little short ^^)

She was short and was smaller, so she lost heat pretty easily. Goosebumps were already forming on her bare arms. She sat on the grass trailing her hands through the blades. Cold, almost wet feeling under her hands. She leaned back, propping herself up with her hands and looking at the stars.

Then she spoke, a weary tone emitting from her mouth, "I- can we talk about it now?" she paused, before continuing on,

"That was in middle school, I was young, and frankly, kind of foolish and stupid. I shouldn't have agreed with my parents- not when they were never there for me, not like you were. A-and, I've never been able to trust anyone, not like I did with you, with us. And I know saying sorry won't fix everything, it won't make everything better automatically. It's been eating at me for the past, let's see, seven or so years. I've been struggling, and I feel horrible for what I did to you. I should've said this earlier, I should've talked to you earlier, I shouldn't have waited this long to talk about this with you. But.. I was scared. Scared because I knew you were hurt, badly. That I hurt you. And- I don't know if you'll be able to forgive me because of how long it's been, but I wanted to say sorry. That I really mean it- I'm not trying to win you over but I just want you to know that I regret that day, and those decisions, full-heartedly, every day of my life."

She rambled, stuttering and slipping over her words, all the emotions pouring out of her. Her body seemed to almost collapse on itself as she finished, her body going slightly limp as she curled up, "I'm sorry."

She nodded slowly, still hunched over and honestly quite drained from releasing all that pent-up stress.

She looked at him, her dark brown eyes, faintly visible in the dark atmosphere meeting his blue ones. She nodded, listening to his question,

"I am. I kinda ride with the college equestrian team, but, I'm certainly not a top rider.. I'm leasing a horse for now there..uh..what have you been up to?" She responded.

She followed next to him, quite exhausted from her day, observing him quietly. It was getting even darker, the moon in the back, but covered by trees as they walked back to the cabin. Something felt off, it almost radiated off of him, but she didn't want to question and make him uncomfortable about anything.

As they reached their cabin, she stepped in, shaking herself, before saying a quick "I'm going to change" to Jackson, slipping into her own room. She yanked the jersey off her body, looking at the mirror. She was clearly fit, and muscular, but she was still a little self-conscious. Rummaging through her things, she grabbed a large, loose long-sleeved shirt, and right before throwing her sweatpants on, she tugged a compression sleeve on her right knee, then threw the pair of sweatpants on. She grabbed a book out of her bag, and made her way back to the 'main living room' of the cabin, sitting down on the couch with Jackson, on opposite sides.

She had noticed his frantic movements, and how his hands were now a little bit red, quite red, actually. She scooted the slightest bit closer to him, still supplying a good amount of space between her and him, slightly shifted her body to tilt towards him.

"Are you okay?" she spoke, not wanting to interrogate him too much on what she'd partially witnessed, "you seem, just a little worked up. You don't need to answer if you're not comfortable-" she said while yawning a slight bit, stretching legs out and slightly wincing at her knee. She also held the book to her side, if the two were to not have a conversation, and so she could busy herself.