She’s on the run, and I have no idea what’s wrong.
The flames that surround my heart swell and take over my lungs as I run, faster, faster, until I can no longer feel my legs. The sound of my grunts and my ragged breathing meet with the slamming of each pain-infused step.
The impressions of her tracks lead into the contained forest at the edge of the property. We rarely come back here. It’s wild, the woods grown over with brush and vines.
“Brinna! If you can hear me, stop!” I bellow as I force my way into the thick growth, wondering how she could do the same. She was wearing a short skirt when I left her, and as I move deeper, the thorns and vines tear at my heavy khaki pants.
As I near the edge of the woods, I can hear the cars moving down Alpine Avenue. When I finally burst through the last few trees, my heart sinks. There is no sign of her. She could be long gone by now.
Cabs run up and down the street, and I wonder if she’s gone forever.
Chapter Nine
Ace
A FEW CARS MOVE UP and down the street where there are boutiques and a few restaurants and coffee shops as I labor to catch my breath, wincing at the pain in my thighs as I try to decide which way to go.
The pain can go to hell, I have to find Brinna.
I turn to my left, my eyes lighting on everyone I see, but it is to no avail.
She’s gone. You drove her away, you selfish prick. It was too much. Too fast.
Standing here is doing me no good, so instinct tells me to head to my right where there are more people and activity with shops and restaurants. I drive my legs to carry me at a run, again not sure if I’m getting closer to her or farther away.
Cars honk as I dart into the street toward the coffee houses and restaurants that are clustered together, praying I catch a glimpse of her sitting inside, unsettled but unhurt, and we can work through whatever the fuck is happening.
I told her to tell me everything. To come to me with all her thoughts. Fears. Desires. I wanted it all. Why didn’t she call?
An unfamiliar feeling comes over me. My chest tightens, and there’s a fist the size of a watermelon lodged just below my diaphragm as my eyes begin to burn.
I push forward as the first guttural sob forces its way from my throat. Something burns on my cheek, and as I swipe the back of my hand there it comes back wet. It sounds dumb, but I don’t ever remember crying. Not since I was a little kid. Not even at either of my parents’ funerals.
The fight to hold back the grief that threatens to overwhelm me is sending my fingernails into my palms as I ball my fists tighter and slow to a jog, looking into the window of the coffee shop as I pass. In a split second, I decide I should keep going. She could be in there, maybe in the restroom, but instead of going inside my gut tells me to move forward.
As I come around the corner of the building the breath is taken from my lungs.
“Brinna!” I snarl.
Her head snaps around, hair spinning into the air. Her eyes are red, raw with tears. She’s as beautiful as ever, but her face shows fear not relief at the sight of me.
She’s standing next to a car, talking to whoever is inside and it only takes another breath to see it’s Michaela.
I’m on her in seconds.
“Go away!” she shouts, and I see Michaela emerge from the driver’s side of the small sedan.
“I’m not fucking going anywhere.” Unrestrained anger takes over when I see the cuts and trails of blood streaming down her legs from running through the woods. “You’re going to tell me what the fuck is going on. Why are you running from me?”
I’ve got her by the elbow as she twists away, the backpack on her back smacking into my upper arm. The thought of her running from me has me seeing red.
“Let her go!” Michaela yells as I struggle, trying to get Brinna to look at me. “I’ll call the fucking cops!”
“Step down.” I lock my arm straight out. “I don’t know what is going on here, but I do not need your help.”
“She’s my friend. She’s the one that told me about things you didn’t!” Brinna’s eyes spill over, and I’ve never understood before now the pain of watching someone you love cry. I never want to see it again.
“Okay, everyone just calm the fuck down.” I keep my grip on Brinna’s arm as her free fist pummels into my chest. Drawing in a deep breath, I turn a glare on Michaela, who looks like a panther ready to pounce. “A few hours ago, everything was right as rain, now the god damn sky is falling.”