Running From Forever (19 page)

Just after twelve, I
saw a familiar face sitting at the end of the bar, wearing a clean
shirt and a fresh pair of sweats. Relief flooded my body seeing a
smile spread across her face, but guilt soon took its place when I
got closer and noticed her bloodshot, puffy eyes. I should’ve held
to my word and closed early, knowing that she needed me. I was just
about to pull the stereo’s power when her hand caught my arm,
pulling me back.

“No, Merrick. I’m fine…really,” she assured me
in a low, sweet voice. I turned in question, wondering how she knew
what I was doing. “I saw him…and heard you, too.”

“What?”

“I was getting something to eat and heard his
voice.”

My confusion was boiling, filling me to the
core. “What? Why didn’t you come out after? Tell me you were down
here? I would’ve kicked everyone out. I’m about to now.”

She stood, holding both of my arms, steadying my
body. I didn’t realize I was doing it but apparently I was. For
some reason I fidget and rock back and forth when I’m angry or
confused—both of which I was. It was fucking embarrassing when it
happened.

“Merrick, no! I’m not a baby. You don’t need to
drop everything for me. I can handle myself.”

I let out an exasperated breath. I didn’t want
her to think that I was babying her or looking down on her in any
way. She was special to me. For what reason I didn’t know, but my
caveman instinct was to protect her. I couldn’t help it.

“I know,” I told her, remorse carrying in my
voice. “I just don’t want you to feel alone.”

A smile tweaked her face, easing my worry that
she was mad. I wouldn’t know what to do if she was. As much as I
didn’t know what the hell was going on between us, I didn’t want
her to leave, or be pissed at me for dealing with her
“situation.”

“Ya know, if you keep spoiling me like you do,
you’ll never get rid of me,” she commented like it was the worst
thing in the world, giving me more reason to protect her like I
was.

“If I never get rid of you, I’m gonna have to go
shopping for more clothes.”

She laughed, glancing down at her outfit. “I’m
not gonna lie, I’m liking this wardrobe. I may have to steal a few
things when I go home.”

Her statement pinged my chest. I didn’t want her
to go home. It was fucking weird, I know, but I liked her there.
With me. Safe. “I’ll make sure I hide all my favorites then when
you do,” I joked before walking away to serve the thirsty mouths
that were giving me the universal “beer me” look.

“Hey!” she shouted from behind, getting my
attention. “Can I borrow your cell for a minute?”

My eyebrows immediately furrowed as I looked at
her apprehensively. “You better not be calling that douchebag on my
phone,” I kidded. I was completely serious, but she didn’t need to
know that. Well, maybe, but I didn’t want to act all testosterone
on her and risk pushing her away. When it came down to it, she was
right. She wasn’t a baby or mine to take care—even if the caveman
inside felt otherwise.

She rolled her eyes. “Chill. I’m calling my
friend Leah—she’s probably freaking out looking for me.”

I reached into my back pocket and tossed her my
phone. She caught it deftly then disappeared into the kitchen,
shooting me an appreciative smile first.

The last couple hours of the night flew by
with a packed bar until closing. Normally when it’s that busy it
takes hours after flipping the sign for me to get everything
stocked and cleaned but with my new barmaid by my side, we had the
whole place cleaned and were back upstairs within a half hour of
closing.

“You need a second job by any chance?” I asked.
“I could get used to this kind of help.”

She giggled and winked at me. “I just
might.”

Throwing my keys and phone on the table, I did
my usual post-work routine—grabbed a beer from the fridge, pissed,
showered and shaved, then joined Kayla in bed. She was a welcome
addition to my routine. I waited as she surfed through a zillion
channels, not finding anything to watch. I knew she wouldn’t. At
this time in the night, it was all infomercials and phone sex ads.
When she finally gave up, I took the remote from her hands and
powered up the Wii console that housed my Netflix subscription.

“Movie?” I asked, flicking through the
choices.

“As long as it’s not some blood and guts
one.”

“So, a
Quentin Tarantino one
is out of the question then?” I asked with a brow
raised.

“Unless you want me up all
night scared out of my freaking mind, then yes!”

“Yeah, no thanks—sleep is a
must tonight.”

I ended up just letting her
choose one. Picking a movie for a girl was like ordering for them
at a restaurant or picking out shoes for them to wear—no matter
what you choose, they always want the opposite. I was sure she’d
pick a chick flick of some sort, but was shocked when she clicked
on
Fight Club
. I never would have pegged her to be into those kinds of
movies, but again, Kayla wasn’t like any girl I’d ever
met.

“What?” she asked, seeing the
surprised expression on my face.

I shook my head. “Nothing. I’m
just impressed. Not many girls would have picked
Fight Club
over
The Vow
or some shit like that.”

“First,
The Vow
is a good movie. Second,
call me crazy, but watching a romantic comedy isn’t something I’m
really in the mood for.”

“Hey. I’m not complaining.” I
put my hands up in surrender. “I’d never argue with
Fight Club
.”

“Me neither—Brad Pitt is
effin’ hot in it.”

“Ah fuck, is that why we’re
watching this? Because if I have to watch you get all hot in the
biscuit for the entire movie, I’m going to bed.”

She laughed out loud. “No, it
was just a bonus.”

With the movie over and TV off, we laid down,
our backs slightly touching.

“Night,” I said, fluffing up my pillow and
nestling it in between my head and arm.

She yawned and wrapped the covers around herself
before softly responding, “Night.” Not too long later, but almost
asleep, I heard a little voice whisper, “Are you sleeping?”

A smile tugged on my lips, hearing her sweet,
innocent voice. “Not yet, why?”

“I can’t sleep.”

“Wanna talk about why?”

“Not really.”

“Do you want me to turn the TV back on for
you?”

She sighed. “I’m just lost,” she whispered.

I swallowed hard and thought about how to
respond. She was beginning to open up and I didn’t want to ruin it.
She needed someone to talk to and I wanted to be that person, I
just didn’t know what to say or how to console her.

“You’re just at a crossroads, not lost.”

She turned over, prompting me to do the same. We
were both in the same position, facing each other with a pillow
tucked between our arm and head, the blankets pulled up to our
chests.

“How do you know?” she asked once we were
settled, looking hopeless and unsure.

“Because we’ve all been there at some point,” I
told her truthfully.

“Are you there now?”

I shook my head slightly. “No, not anymore, but
I was for a while.”

“How did you know what direction to go?”

“Seriously?”

She nodded her head for me to continue.

“I ran. I didn’t care where. I just ran as fast
as I could.” She snickered, showing a slight smirk, making me
question, “What?”

“Nothing,” she smiled. “It just makes sense…why
we click.”

“And why’s that?”

“We’re both runners.”

I’m not sure at what point we finally fell
asleep, but I woke up still in the same position, our bodies facing
one another. I kept quiet and didn’t move, not wanting to wake her.
She looked so peaceful sleeping, the most peaceful I’ve seen
her…ever. Now that it was Sunday, I knew she would probably be
leaving since she had to work the next day. She still hadn’t told
me what went down on Friday, but we did talk about how similar we
were. We both came from fucked up pasts, with shit mothers that
didn’t care and rock star fathers that died too young.
Dysfunctional was our middle name.

“What time is it?” she asked, her eyes still not
fully open as she stretched her legs out and her arms above her
head.

I glanced over my shoulder, not really sure
myself. The sun was fully up so I knew it wasn’t too early. “A
little after eleven,” I answered, looking back at her.

She yawned. “Ugh, why does it have to be so late
already?”

“Well, when you go to bed after three in the
morning…”

“Yeah, that probably doesn’t help,” she agreed,
her eyes now fully open and looking back at me. “So what’s on the
agenda today, Mr. Extreme Sportsman? Anymore crazy jobs that I
don’t know about?”

I lightly chuckled, grinning at her question.
“I’m afraid that’s it.”

“I wanna learn how to ride,” she said out of
nowhere, then jumped up, coming to life, sitting with her legs
crossed and a big smile on her face.

“You’re gonna have to elaborate, sweetheart.” I
leaned up onto my elbow with an eyebrow raised. “There are many
different types of riding that I’m qualified to teach, but I need
to make sure we’re on the same page before I start the lesson.”

I knew the slap was coming, so I ducked,
laughing when she missed.

“You’re such a fucking pig!” she shouted,
climbing out of bed and acting like she was pissed.

“Takes one to know one, sweetcheeks!” I yelled
back at her while she walked into the bathroom, this time getting
the finger in response. I laughed. “Remember…we’re like twins!”
That time I got nothing but the door slammed in my face, making me
laugh even louder. “I hope you’re not taking a shit in there,
because I have to take a piss after!”

“Fuck off!”