Fallen Crest Public (Fallen Crest High #3)(14)

I’d never tire of this.

And with that thought, I rounded a turn in the new trail. My eyes widened in surprise as Quickie’s came into the clearing. I never knew this path came through here, but it wasn’t far from Nate’s home. It made sense. There were no cars in the lot so I raced through, but saw the clerk watching me. When our eyes caught for a second, he lifted his hand and I nodded back, but then I was gone again. The path led up a hill behind the gas station and I heaved a deep breath, pushing myself upward now.

There were no thoughts in my head. No concern. No fear. There wasn’t even love. When I ran, I was just being. My nostrils flared and I kept going, flying up one hill and then another. I tore past another clearing. The trees parted below me and I braked. My chest heaved up and down, but I couldn’t move away.

I was looking down on Fallen Crest.

I hadn’t realized how high I must’ve run, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away. It was breathtaking. My old school’s campus was on another hill, straight from where I stood. Fallen Crest Public was in the valley below. The massive football field was a patch of green among the rest of the town. Then I looked for the south side, wondering if I could see Manny’s. It was surrounded by trees so I wasn’t surprised that I couldn’t. Then, without thinking about it, I glanced to the neighborhood where David’s house was, my old home.

Instead of the old pain, there was nothing. I frowned, but started forward. A chill drifted over me and my blood was pumping. I needed to keep going before the cold settled in. With that last thought, I tucked my head down and pushed forward with a new burst of speed.

After my run, I showered, ate, and then fell asleep watching television in the basement. It was later in the night before the guys got home. A stampede of feet sounded above me, and the door slammed shut as I heard Logan yell, “SAM! WHERE ARE YOU?”

“Logan!”

“What?”

“You don’t have to scream your head off.”

“Whatever, Nate. You’re pissed because you need to work for some pu**y now. Can’t have Parker running over anymore.”

“Shut up.”

The door leading to the basement was thrown open and Logan’s voice grew clearer as he laughed. “Don’t blame me that girls are scared of you. You’re a shady, motherf*cker.” He hurried down the stairs, but stopped before laughing. “Sam? You’re down here?”

I scowled at him before rolling back over and pulling my blanket over my head. “You’re so loud. Shut up.”

He chuckled before yelling upstairs, “SHE’S DOWN HERE, MASON.”

I held my breath. I already knew what was coming next, but as he dropped next to me, the couch jerked from his sudden weight, and I went airborne for a second. Oomph. Oh yes. I was fully awake now. I pulled the blanket back to glare at him. “Thank you for being quiet.”

He flashed me a grin, pulling the handle to the footrest next to him. “No problem.” It came up and he lounged back, getting comfortable. “What are you doing down here? You’re never down here.”

“Resting. What are you doing down here?”

Grabbing the remote from next to my feet, he switched the channel and pointed at the screen. “Game’s on.”

Of course. How stupid of me.

I groaned to myself, but sat up and curled my knees to my chest. The sounds of a basketball game came next. It was only the first day of school so I didn’t have any homework yet. No shift at Manny’s. I already ran. I knew Mason would be heading down soon. I wasn’t going anywhere. When Logan reached down and lifted a fast food bag to his lap, I asked, “You guys got food?”

He had pulled his burger out. It was half unwrapped and lifted to his mouth before he stopped and turned to me. “Did you want some?”

My stomach growled. The smell of greasy food hit me like a cement truck. Crap. The little sandwich I had after my run hadn’t tied me over.

Logan heard it and one corner of his mouth lifted. He held his burger to me. “You want a bite?”

I shook my head. “No. That’s yours. I’ll go and find something else.” Still. My stomach growled louder.

“Sam.” Logan was fighting back a smile. “You can have the entire thing. This was my second one.”

“No, then you’ll be hungry.”

“Nah.” The smile won out and he grinned from ear to ear. “I can steal Nate’s. He got three of them, and I know he hasn’t touched them. He said we should wait till we got home.” He snorted. “No f**king idea why.”

“Because I was going to ask Sam if she wanted one,” Nate spoke up, coming down the stairs. He frowned at Logan, before he sat down on the other couch. He had two bags with him and held one in the air. “There’s a chicken sandwich in here. Sam?”

My stomach spoke up with a resounding ‘yes.’ It groaned, growled, and shuddered all at the same time.

Logan chuckled, but turned to Nate. “Kiss ass.”

“Screw you. Mason got the sandwich for her.”

“Oh.” Logan frowned. “I thought you were going to take the credit.”

“What’s your problem?” Nate tossed the bag so it landed on the couch next to me. “You’ve been on my ass all day.”

“Because you’ve been an ass lately,” he shot back before giving me a wink. He said to Nate, “It’s not every day you get knocked down a peg and take it. I have to enjoy this while I can.”