Forever Yours: How it all Began

Chapter 17

My head was throbbing the next morning when I awoke. Between Andre calling me every ten minutes and my crying, I probably got a couple hours of sleep. It's 8:30a and I know mom will be preparing breakfast. I get out of bed and go into the bathroom to turn on the shower. After finishing up my morning routine, I put on some fleece leggings, my sports bra and hoodie. I needed to sort out my feelings so a good run will help me. 

After lacing up my tennis shoes I make my way downstairs. I can hear my mom and dad talking and I thought I heard another person. I know no one would be visiting this early. Just as I entered the kitchen to let my parents know I was about to go for a run, that's when I noticed Andre sitting at the bar talking with my dad. I walked in the kitchen and said good morning.

My mom turned around, "good morning baby girl. I thought you were with Andre until he came over a few minutes ago."

I told my mom that I didn't like the big crowd so I had one of our college friends bring me home because I didn't want to keep Andre from having fun with his teammates and friends. He looked at me to see what I would say next. Not wanting to continue with the subject, I walked over and kissed my mom on the cheek and then to my dad to hug and kiss him on the cheek.  Andre was still watching me. He finally spoke up.

"Tahleea I see you're already dressed to go running and that's why I came over. Is it ok that I join you? I know a nice 10 mile trail about twenty minutes from here."

He has to know that he's the last person I want to be around right now.

"I wasn't planning on running that far today. I promised LaShae that I would go by to see her and Sean."

"Oh I can take you. Your overnight bag is at my house, remember?"

"No I don't want to be a bother. I can take one of my parent's cars and I'll just drop by later on to pick up my bag."

"Babe you're not bothering me. I want to spend time with you before you go back to Huntsville. Let's go running then we can go back to my house to clean up. We can go see LaShae later today."

I didn't want to argue in front of my parents so I agreed. I ran upstairs to get my phone, headphones and purse. When I got back downstairs, Andre was already waiting on me at the front door. I told my parents that I'd see them later.

On our way to the trail, I busied myself with texting Darah. We were talking about our trip to Atlanta the following weekend. She wanted to know what I was going to wear and how I would style my hair. She wanted to plan everything in advance. I'm one to pack several outfits and choose one based on my vibe. Once Darah and I had finished our conversation, Andre looked over to me.

"Tahleea I can't take the silent treatment. Babe just talk to me. I don't want you mad at me. What you saw last night was nothing. I didn't know she was going to be at the club. I went up there to see why no one had brought our drinks and she was sitting there with some of her friends. She congratulated me and then we started talking about the game. I just don't know what I can do or say to make you trust me."

I still sat silent. We pulled up to the trail. It looked to have huge rocks in different areas that you would have to climb to remain on the trail. This was going to be a real workout. I put my purse in the console and got out of the car. I scrolled to my workout playlist and connected my headphones. Since this run was going to include some climbing, I stretched really well to prevent strains. Andre did the same. When we were done stretching, we started with a brisk walk. 

Once we were warmed up, we started running and climbing boulders to continue running the trail.  About 20 minutes into the run, I was already sweating. The trail was well manicured.  Beautiful trees and flowers lined each side of the trail.  Andre was right, this was a very nice place for a good workout. Plus he knew that I needed a moment to gather myself.  Running has always been a coping mechanism for me. It helps me to clear my mind of things that invade my peace.