I gulped for more breath. My feet pounded harder on the pavement.

I gasped against the pain in my stomach. There was so much. It wouldn’t stop, it would never cease.

I cruised past another block and turned to my third block. They couldn’t come fast enough for me.

I couldn’t shake David’s eyes. There was so much pain in him. He hadn’t touched the living room. He hadn’t even moved the couch an inch for cleaning. Everything was the same as when we moved out. What kind of a person didn’t enter their living rooms; much less clean them once in awhile? Why hadn’t Malinda gone in there? Why hadn’t she taken over his house by now? The house was cold, so formal.

I felt like I had just moved out, but I also felt like I had never lived there.

I shook my head and gritted my teeth. I sprinted harder. None of it made sense. Nothing was normal anymore.

Then I flew over a road and went into a small park. A bridge was poised over a small pond. I soared over it and kept going. As I kept running, I stopped thinking. I couldn’t see them anymore, but I felt them. I felt everything still.

Mason kept most of the memories at bay last night. He didn’t ask why I was running on the treadmill. He never asked why I was at their basketball game or even why I went to my old house. He didn’t say anything, but I knew he wanted to. Instead, he kissed me and claimed me. He made my blood boil in the other way. As he carried me to bed and arched over me, the need for him became overwhelming.

I needed him. I didn’t think I needed anyone, but I needed him.

A growl left me, but I kept going. My body ached from running a few hours ago, but I needed this too. My body thrived on it now. I was alive. I kept running.

As I turned down the street where Adam and Becky lived, it didn’t matter to me. I kept going. Nothing was going to stop me, but then a car slowed in front of Adam’s house and it paused beside me. I didn’t look. I didn’t care to.

“Hey!”

Something shifted in me. I wanted to be left alone. But I turned and saw Adam in his car. A girl was beside him. They both gave me wary smiles.

“Early for a run, ain’t it?” Adam draped an arm over his steering wheel. There was a pleasant curiosity with him, but my stomach churned once more.

Everything real in me, everything that I was feeling was put on pause. I went into fake mode. I had to and stopped with a hand on my hip. I panted for breaths and went to his side of the car. He rolled a window down and frowned. “You limping?”

I waved that aside. “What are you doing this early?”

He gestured beside him. “This is Carrity. I’m taking her home.” He gave me a rueful grin. “My folks are both gone. Dad must’ve felt guilty about the affair. He took my mom and the rest to Hawaii.”

“Oh.” He hadn’t talked about it with me before, but I nodded at the girl. “Hello.”

“Hey, you weren’t at the party last night?”

I jerked my gaze back to Adam’s. “What are you talking about?”

“The party last night. Academy students were allowed back at Public parties. They didn’t tell you?”

I jerked my shoulder up in a shrug.

“Then again, didn’t someone say that Mason took off last night?” He directed the question at his one-night bang.

She gave me a trepid smile.

Then he swung his head back around. “Sorry. Mason took off, from what I heard. Where were you last night?”

“With Mason.”

“Oh.” He shifted under my gaze and tapped the steering wheel instead. “That makes sense.”

I couldn’t look away. Then, with tongue-in-cheek, I smiled at his friend. “So what are you two doing tonight?”

Adam’s eyes went wide. Hers lit up, but from a different emotion. “Uh, nothing. Not that I know of anything.”

I gave them both a polite smile. “Maybe we should do dinner? What do you think?”

“You mean with me?” Carrity’s eyes were so round, they seemed like they would pop from her head any moment. “With Mason Kade?”

I nodded. “Sure, why not? I’m sure he’d be able to do something like that.”

Adam cleared his throat. “We have that thing with Becky, remember?”

“What thing?”

Something gurgled from deep in his throat, but then he choked on it. His head thrust forward and the relief was evident. “No, she does have that thing. You know. At the country club. I know she wanted to invite you a while ago. You’re not going?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh.” He shrunk back against his seat. “Nevermind.”

“Adam.”

“What?” He frowned at me and then sighed. “She wanted to invite you a while ago, but that was when…nevermind. Yeah, anyway. There’s a banquet tonight for gifted kids. One of her brothers won an award. It’s kind of a big deal. I’m going.”

“I’m going too.” I straightened from his car and rested a hand on my hip. This was something she had kept from me? Because of him? Because of before when he’d been hurt that I had chosen Mason over him? “How long did you know about this?”

“Sam.” He said it so quietly. “Don’t do this.”

“This was when you tried to get in between my friendship with her.”

He turned. One of his hands curled over his door. “Please. I was stupid then.”