Out of Breath (Breathing, #3)(69)

22


Taking Me with Her


THE SUN WAS RISING SOMEWHERE BEHIND the hills, but it still hadn’t cut through the clouds that had settled on the beach. As the fog lingered over the water I wrapped the blanket tighter around me to fend off the cool morning air.

The yearning for sleep still clung to me. I’d been restless throughout the night, disturbed by the shouting and crying in my head. Eventually, I’d slipped out of bed to relieve Cole of my tossing and turning.

My eyes ached with fatigue as I spotted a silhouette coming into view along the beach. I tried to focus through the thick haze. Someone was running along the water’s edge. Just the thought of exerting that much energy exhausted me.

As the runner neared the house he began to slow down. He hesitated, then began jogging my way. I froze, trying to be invisible in the fog, but he knew I was there.

As he came closer, I squinted in confusion. ‘Evan?’

‘Hi,’ I answered, not certain if I should’ve just kept jogging and left her alone. But I wanted to know why she was up. She peered down at me, wrapped in a blue blanket pulled up to her nose.

I smiled at the sight of her hair all pushed in different directions. I was still getting used to the short hair. I had to admit I didn’t mind it – the length accentuated the exotic shape of her eyes.

‘I knew you were a morning person, but this is ridiculous,’ she said.

I laughed at her comment. ‘I couldn’t sleep. Thought running might … help. And I know you’re not a morning person; you pretty much despise any time with an “a.m.” after it.’

‘I couldn’t sleep either.’

‘Nightmare?’ I asked without thinking, knowing that was the reason I was running into the fog, and away from the panic that had awoken me.

Her eyes darted away and she shrugged evasively. I assumed it was my fault she was out here and not still wrapped up in the covers … next to Cole. I forced my shoulders to relax. I’d sworn I wouldn’t think of them together, even after the not-so-pleasant details Peyton planted in my collection of unwanted thoughts.

‘Run with me.’

Emma looked down at me as if I’d just asked her to go skinny-dipping in the freezing ocean. I chuckled. ‘Come on, what else do you have to do?’

I couldn’t believe I was actually thinking about it. I pushed my chair back. ‘Fine,’ I grumbled. ‘Let me get my stuff.’

I ignored the grin that spread across his face, and crept back into the house. What was I thinking?

When I returned a few minutes later, Evan was sitting at the bottom of the stairs.

‘Don’t expect much,’ I told him, making him stand up quickly and turn around. Seeing me at the top of the stairs in my running gear made that smile emerge again. The smile that I couldn’t look at for more than a second without my heart thrusting to life and my cheeks igniting.

I let my feet carry me down the steps and followed him closer to the water, where the sand was firm. We eased into a slow run, and my muscles complained. They weren’t fond of being woken this early either.

‘See, it’s not so bad,’ Evan said.

I groaned. ‘My body is totally freaking out.’

Evan laughed, evidently amused by my suffering.

As we continued, the muscles in my legs began to loosen and my lungs didn’t fight the air being sucked into them. The fatigue was replaced by adrenaline, and my pace naturally picked up.

‘Not tired any more, huh?’

My heart beat in my ears as I pushed myself to keep up with her. The tiredness in her eyes was replaced by determination; she was fixated on what lay ahead of her. I liked it.

‘It’s been too long since I’ve run,’ she explained, not sounding half as out of breath as I was. ‘It feels good.’ Then she tilted her head up at me, wearing a playful smile that I recognized but hadn’t seen in a while. ‘But I still hate mornings.’

I laughed. We ran to a set of rocks breaking up the sandy beach and turned back towards the house. As exhausted as this run was making me, I didn’t want it to end. For the first time since I’d arrived, she looked at peace, and I didn’t want it to disappear when our legs stopped moving.

As soon as the house came into sight, she dug into the sand and her stride lengthened. There was no way I was going to keep up, so I let her go ahead without me. She pushed her body for everything it had, and the sight of it was breathtaking. I almost tripped over a rock, mesmerized by the grace and power that catapulted her down the packed sand, leaving a trail of divots in her wake.

When I caught up with her she was pacing with her hands on her hips, trying to catch her breath. I stood and just watched her, the sweat running along her face, the wind blowing her hair wildly around her. She paused and looked at me curiously, as if trying to read my thoughts. I wished I could have told her what they were.

‘I’m going to continue to the house,’ I finally said. ‘Thanks for running with me.’

She nodded. ‘Sure.’

I picked up my feet, despite their defiance, and continued back along the beach. I looked over my shoulder and faltered at the sight of her pulling her shirt over her head. Still jogging, I glanced back at her dark silhouette wrapped in the grey fog. My pace slowed. I couldn’t force myself to look away. I stumbled to a stop when she kicked off her shoes and slid her shorts over her hips. The thick fog provided enough of a curtain so she remained a shadow along the beach. But I was mesmerized by the lines of her thin body. I inhaled, trying to calm my quickened pulse. She walked casually into the water, not reacting to the cold as it rose up her legs until it lapped against her thighs.