7. Chapter Seven
Chapter Seven
Now May 2024
Beep, beep, beep!
“Shit,” I murmured, rolling over to smack my phone.
Setting my alarm for six sounded like a good idea last night. Now, after listening to it scream at me for fifteen minutes, not so much.
“Ugh,” I grumbled, peeling myself from my bed and stumbling to the bathroom.
I grabbed my toothbrush and layered a glob of toothpaste on it before looking into the mirror.
A disheveled mess stared back at me.
My wavy blonde hair was sticking out in every direction and persistent, residual mascara was smeared under my eyes. That was what I got for going to bed with wet hair and skipping my skincare regime. Trudging toward my closet, my mind wandered as I snagged my sports bra and shorts.
Running had been my form of free therapy ever since—
The wandering abruptly stopped as I approached the place I preferred to keep to myself. The place that constantly lingered in the darkest corners of my mind.
Running had been my escape for a while now. There was something about the quietness of our sleepy little town during those few hours when everyone except nature was still sleeping. The sound of the waves rushing against the shore, drowning out the thumping of my feet sinking into the sand underneath me. The rhythm of my heavy breaths as they filled the space in front of me. But mostly, my morning runs gave me time to talk out loud, just in case Liv was able to hear me.
I pulled open my apartment door and a gush of salty air whipped across my face. The best part of being this close to the water was the cool summer breeze that came just before the blazing heat invaded the day.
“Good morning, MJ.”
My body jolted from the sound of Ms. Wilson’s voice.
“Oh! Hi,” I responded.
“Headed out for your morning run?”
“You know I can’t pass up a good crisp jog before the rest of the town wakes up,” I said, smiling.
She chuckled. “Why do you think I work nights?”
Ms. Wilson’s dusty gray hair and wrinkles that decorated her face gave way to her older age. I didn’t know how old that was exactly, but I knew it was somewhere in the early sixties. She was still in her scrubs from her twelve-hour shift that must’ve ended early. She’d worked nights since I’d known her, and considering she was one of the nurses who delivered me, it was safe to say I’d known her my whole life.
“Fair enough,” I said.
“Any big plans for Memorial Day weekend?” Her voice was laced with interest.
Memorial Day weekend was a rite of passage around here. It signified the start of the summer season and was the first weekend when the town sprung to life. The shops were bombarded with red, white, and blue, and the energy that hummed through the streets was inescapable.
Just thinking about the hustle and bustle made me excited, but I wasn’t sure why. I didn’t have any big plans, or rather I didn’t have any plans at all. Same as most weekends.
“Just the usual. The bar will be busy with the visiting city crowd, so along with my usual shifts, I’m sure I’ll stick around and make sure Mom and Dad have everything covered.”
“They’re lucky to have you, sweet girl.” She paused as if she had something else to say, but then landed on, “Have a good run, and say hello to the waves for me.”
“You know I will.” I grinned as I bounded down the concrete stairs that sat right outside our apartment doors.
The old brick building sat caddy corner from The Wharf—conveniently so—and was only a dash across Reef Road to the beach.
I placed my headphones over my ears, allowing silence to quickly engulf me before hitting shuffle on my running playlist. No matter what song started playing, it always got my blood pumping, and today was no different.
The rhythm was so intense I could feel it pulsing through the tips of my toes. I took one deep breath and let my feet do the rest as they forced me off the curb.