A mile away, a snapping tree limb gains my attention. “X,” my cat tells me, lessening his guard slightly. Can I ever get a moment’s peace?
“What do you want?” I hiss when he slinks into view. “I thought you were hooking up with your twin.”
X reaches the bottom of the tree I’m in and sits on his back haunches, his ever-alert gaze toward the river.
Took her home a few hours ago.
“Why?” From the way they were together, I assumed it would be an all-nighter.
She has to work today.
Today? It’s barely after midnight.
“You really are out of it, aren’t you? It’s after four in the morning, Hack.” He casts eyes upon me and I can feel the concern emanating from him through our mental connection. Sometimes it really is a pain in my ass to be so connected to so many people, brothers or not.
“Fuck,” I close my eyes in aggravation at myself. I’ve been so completely caught up in my own thoughts I’ve lost awareness of my surroundings.
You ran out of the club pretty fast. Want to tell me what has you so twisted, or do I already know the answer?
Son of a bitch really is a pain in my ass. I’m sure he already knows my problem. When I ignore him, he chuckles humorlessly in my head.
I thought so. Damn, man. I know it isn’t something you need to hear because you already understand, but you have to snap out of it. All this zoning out isn’t going to help anything.
“I’m thirty-five years old. I love my club more than anything, but I can’t help having this feeling of something missing deep inside. It’s pissing me off because I can’t focus for very long without the ache getting to be too much.” That’s all I’m gonna give him. I’m suddenly too tired to put forth the effort. “Why are you here, anyway?”
“Prez sent me.” My cat is paying full attention now. We got a call from DoRight.
North chapter? What does that have to do with me?
He called in a favor from the club. Needs quick help moving his cousin down here. Prez has the details.
Still, why does this concern me?
He figured you could use the distraction since you’ve been acting so weird lately.
Well, isn’t that just peachy?
When?
Later tonight. They’re waiting until after dark to get everything out so there won’t be any interruptions from family. That’s all I know.
I should be mad as hell about this babysitting job, but he’s right. I can certainly use the distraction. Maybe helping this guy move down here will help clear my mind.
“One last run before dawn?” X asks as he stands on all four paws and stretches his back.
“Bet,” I reply and leap from the branch to land beside him. “Lead the way.”
Running as fast as we can through the woods on our land soothes me more than I can explain. Even He is calmer. The feel of the earth crumbling underneath my large paws and the smell of dead leaves clears my mind and I feel free. Free to just be.
345
Larken
“Etienne’s helping? We’re alright with that?” She asks as we run through the forest. Yesterday’s call from Mother has me all kinds of stressed and I can’t get my brain to shut off.
“Yeah,” I sigh, the tension in my shoulders slowly beginning to dissipate a fraction. The MC has a chapter down in Bel Mar he’s contacting to get something sorted for me.
That should be far enough to give us some peace.
“I hope so. I have to pack up all my stuff. He’s getting some prospects to help move everything. Will you miss this forest too much?” She loves running free here, these woods are where we grew up and they’ve given us much solace in the past.
You’re positive this is what you want?
Yes. Is it going to be hard to get used to? Sure. Is it the best thing for us? Most definitely. I need to get out on my own and just live.
Good, then I will be happy. I just want you to do this for the right reasons, not because you’re running away.
I am kind of running, but it’s not just because of my family. I want to leave for me, too. Figuring out how to deal with my mind’s response around people is on me.
She’s never done well with the way my family treated me, us. Sequestering me when they couldn’t deal with my anxiety episodes never sat well with Her and made it worse. She claims they haven’t really tried to know or understand me. Unfailingly, their first reaction is to extract me from the situation and pretend like it didn’t happen. I always disagree with Her assessment, but lately, I’ve come to the conclusion that She's right. I feel their love for me in my gut. I mean, they go to great lengths to try and protect me, from everything it seems, but showing love isn’t their strong suit in the slightest.
“We will be fine. I feel it.” She slips back in my mind for a nap, her purrs of contentment soothing my nerves.
I hope she is right.
“That’s everything,” I tell my cousin as his guys carry out the last box of my things.
“What about the rest of this stuff?” He points to the old bookcase and coffee table. “Do you need us to take it anywhere?” I packed up all the belongings I want and need to take fairly quickly and my cousin has taken care of the rest.
“No. The landlord can do whatever he wants with it.” Nodding in understanding, he looks me in the
