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I grinned at his subtle change in subject.
Dylan: I’ll see you tomorrow.
I took a deep breath.
Aubrey: Don’t make me regret this, Dylan.
Dylan: Duly noted, suga’.
Aubrey: Night.
I threw my phone on the nightstand and fell back onto my bed, peering up at the ceiling.
What the hell did I just get myself into?
I tossed and turned all night, not getting much sleep. My mind raced with all the what-ifs. I woke up early letting my mind win the battle. Needing to clear my head, I decided to go for a run. I use to run all the time in California. It was one of my favorite things to do. I hadn't run once since we moved to Oak Island. My running shoes were still packed at the bottom of a box, along with a few wedding photos of my parents.
They looked so happy and in love.
I woke up one night after my dad had moved out to the sound of crying. I found my mom on the kitchen floor sobbing. She was hugging a book of some sort tight against her chest. The green spine of the book was the perfect background to her white knuckles. I didn’t interrupt her private break down, all I did was watch with tears that threatened to spill like hers. Every one of them was because of the pain my father inflicted on her, on us. His decisions not only shattered their marriage.
They destroyed our home.
Our family.
She finally lifted herself off the floor to go into her bedroom, throwing the book in the trash as she walked by. I waited till she was gone before I went to look at what she threw away. It was their wedding album. I looked at every last picture, for some reason touching their faces in each one. When I heard a noise coming from the direction of her room, I impulsively ripped out a few photos and scurried back to my bedroom before she caught me.
I ran faster.
Harder.
And with more determination.
My feet burned through the pavement with each stride and each memory, sweat dripping from every inch of my body. My heart pounded against my chest, echoing through my body and making me feel alive. My head started getting fuzzy with little specs of dots clouding my vision. My vigorous breathing escalated higher and louder. My ears started to ring. I needed to slow down before I passed out, but I couldn’t. The adrenaline coursing through my bloodstream had already taken over.
Finally my legs gave out on me, causing me to fall over onto some grass, hyperventilating deeply and profusely. I closed my eyes, riding the wave of euphoria that only running could ever bring me.
Why did I stop doing this?
I breathed in and out, my breaths per minute leveling out with each second that passed. I got up on my hands and knees to stretch my neck and back.
“Couldn't wait to see me, huh?”
Oh no…
“You didn't have to run all the way here, suga’. Our date’s at 8pm not 8am.”
I reluctantly opened my eyes. Dylan was sitting on the steps of his patio, hunched over with his elbows resting on his knees.
“Don’t flatter yourself, McGraw.”
He grinned, devouring me with his eyes. “You cold, suga’?”
I lowered my eyebrows. “What?”
He nodded toward my chest, and I peered down.
Shit.
