Page 33 of Before the Bond
Time to jog things off.
This time, I chose to run down the path and into town.
I thought it would be hard, given the drive up to Ashwood estate, but it was relatively easy.
After Stella’s visit at the manor, I started to visit town a little more. Mostly in the mornings before starting my care for Jake.
Most of the lights in town were off, minus the diner and a couple of working lodges.
I tried to take in the little things I saw people were doing: loading cars, sweeping storefronts, hosing down shrubbery.
If I kept my mind busy, I didn’t have to think.
Out here, I could just move. Feel the pavement under my feet. Breathe.
“Well, well, well.” A distant but familiar voice called out.
I turned around. Elias was coming up from around the curve of the main road. His grin was wider than the last time I saw him.
“I must say,” he said between breaths. “Thisis starting to feel intentional.”
“Hello, Elias,” I said. I tried not to soundtoo friendly. It was hard, though.
After seeing Elias outside the perimeter, we ran into one another several more times in town. They were always brief. A few hellos and cordial, low-stakes conversations. He threw a few flirts in my direction, and I would wave them off.
Elias gave me a once-over.
“You look more worked up than usual.”
I remembered Jake saying I made faces that were easy to read. I hated that he was correct.
“Trying to stay focused.” I refused to elaborate.
“Hope they’re not working you toohard.”
Our jog slowed down into a walk as we entered the town center. It was comfortable in its own way. We had the excuse of exhaustion and focus on physical activity to keep the quiet from feeling too loaded.
The rest of the town was fully waking up. Metal gates clattered. People moved in and out of storefronts, and others lingered on the street carrying their own conversations.
I was ready to take in the white noise and keep my focus on my feet.
But then Elias stopped walking.
“I’ve been going back and forth on something,” he said. He didn’t bother to face me. “Whether to say it.”
Please don’t ask me out on a date.
“The Ashwoods.”
It was my turn to stop.
I tried to make out Elias’s face. It still carried the breeziness it always did, but there was now a tinge of hesitation.
Or something else?
“What about them?” I asked.
“They have a complicated history,” he said.
