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∘ ∘ ∘ ☾ ∘ ∘ ∘
THE AIR THAT FILLED Leah's lungs was crisp and cool as she walked. The exercise felt good, almost as good as the throb in her knuckles. Her head pounded as she dragged her well-worn sneakers over the uneven pavement and the bits of forest debris that had found its way onto the road.
Her singular thought as she forced one foot in front of the other was: keep moving, keep moving.
A soft, balmy breeze hit her in the face, dried the faint dampness of the tears that had managed to fall despite her efforts, as she made her way down the road.
"Leah!"
She tensed at the voice as the sound of footsteps getting closer. Reluctantly she turned around and found Paul and Embry shoving each other playfully as they walked up behind her.
"Hey, Clearwater," Paul said and curled a muscle-bound arm around her shoulders as he often did.
He smelled of the tree leaves and body sweat, the scent amplified by the higher temperature.
She clenched her jaw.
Embry, so keen and observant, far too fucking observant, cut off their path and stared at her face. His gaze was a physical caress, smoothing over the redness in her eyes and the faint tear tracks on her cheeks, and then dropped lower. To her red knuckles that still pulsated with pain. At the blood the had dried and begun to turn brown.
