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Slipping on a tee and a pair of basketball shorts, I slide out of my room and carefully make my way down the stairs. From my previous experience, I skip the third one from the bottom, not wanting to wake up my parents.
Stopping in the kitchen to grab some water, I make my way to the mud room, where I put on my running shoes and start out. The sky is still relatively dark, with only a few rays of sunshine peeking through the clouds. I take a few minutes to warm up and stretch my muscles, and just as I’m planning to start running, a figure coming toward me catches my attention.
A flash of surprise passes over my brother’s face when he finds me standing in front of the house. His eyes take in my attire, and he tips his chin toward me. “Going for a run?”
There is no missing the judgement in his tone. My fingers clench at his question, the irritation spiking inside of me. “Just because I left the ranch doesn’t mean I don’t get up early and don’t work hard.”
I can see the muscle in Aaron’s jaw twitch at my comment, and a part of me feels bad for lashing out at him but raising my walls came naturally when the topic of football and my family were brought together.
“Look, I’m sorry for snapping like that.” I run my hand over my face. “It’s been a crappy night, and I’m irritated.”
“Is there a time when you’re not irritated?” my brother challenges.
So much for trying to make peace.
“Well, you haven’t been the most welcoming, either, now, have you?” I shake my head. There is just no sense in this conversation. The only thing that’ll come out of it is us gettinginto a brawl. It wouldn’t be the first nor the last time. “I’m out of here.”
Getting into a jog, I run past him and down the driveway. My feet pound against the gravel. It takes everything in me to hold back and keep a steady pace when all I want to do is run. Get the hell out of this town and never look back.
Rebecca’s tear-stained face flashes in my mind, mocking me.
I grip my fingers into fists as I push harder.
Fuck steady pace.
I keep my gaze on the ground as I push harder. I need to get out this restless energy that’s been brewing inside of me for the past week. Gritting my teeth, I look up. I’m so amped up it takes me a moment to realize where I am.
The treehouse.
I glance at the wooden structure that I’ve been to a countless of times in the past. Rebecca’s dad built it for her when she was a little girl, but over the years we’ve hidden here. It was our place more than any other in Bluebonnet. Hell, even Emmett didn’t know about it.
No matter how much I tried to forget her, my body somehow found a way to get to her.
A part of me isn’t even surprised. I’ve done it so many times in the past I’ve lost count. She was my safe harbor. The one person that always had her door open for me. The one person who listened without judging.
She was my person.
But you weren’t her person.
The thought sobers me up quickly. Cursing loudly, I turn around and change my direction abruptly.
I push as hard as I can; my muscles protest the movements, but I don’t slow down. I run around our property limits, focusing on the steady pounding of my feet against the ground.
But no matter how hard or how fast I run, I can’t get the image of Rebecca’s face out of my head.
“You were up early today,” the sound of Mom’s voice snaps me out of my thoughts. I look up from my laptop to find her standing in the doorway, giving me a curious look.
“I couldn’t sleep, so I went for a run.”
The house was quiet when, about an hour ago, I returned home, and after a quick shower and a coffee, I decided I should probably sit down and get some work done.
“I can see that. I knocked on your door to see if you wanted breakfast, but you were already out.” She glances at my laptop. “Are you busy?”
“I’m just finishing something. What’s up?”
She enters the kitchen and walks toward me. “I was thinking you’d maybe want to go to the store with me?”
My brows shoot up. “To the store?”
