Love in the Shadows

Chapter Fifteen

(Lucy's POV)

I couldn't remember the last time that I'd woken up with a smile on my face.

Have I ever?

Waking up in Sam's bed with his hand still firmly holding mine, made my heart stutter. I laid there for a minute, listening to his soft breath. I was more than a little worried that there was very little I could do to talk myself off of this ledge that I'd found myself on.

I'm sorry Luce. I swear, I do not care who you are related to.

My eyes caught on the clock. It was 5:20. There was absolutely no way that I was going to be able to focus on work today, not without clearing my head of all these warm and fuzzy thoughts.

I slowly let go of Sam's hand, knowing what needed to happen in this moment. Tanya deserved my best.

The frown that appeared on his face, as our hands separated, had me melting a little bit more and I shook my head. This newfound romantic side to myself was an interesting beast.

Not wanting to wake him, I slid out of bed. A run. A long painful one. That's what I would need to chase away the smitten kitten purring in my chest, and send her running off into the dark abyss.

I quietly changed and picked up my runners before tiptoeing outside, not wanting to wake anyone else up. I sat down on the porch stairs, doing up my laces and breathing in the scents from the garden.

Lily and Rose co-owned a flower shop. They had joked last night that with names like theirs, they'd never had a career choice.

"Looks like we had the same idea." Shock had my ass popping off the ground and air choking in my lungs.

"Jesus Christ Tash, you scared the shit out of me." No wonder I hadn't seen her. She was sitting on the far side of the porch, in the semi darkness and her blonde hair was dark with sweat. "Looks like you already went out for a run."

She gave a sad smile. "I couldn't sleep, figured it might help fight the thoughts, you know?

Indeed I do. 

"Would you care if I joined you? Being alone sucks right now."

I considered her, if I was going to be honest with myself, heading out for a run with Sam's gorgeous best friend sounded like a special kind of hell. I hated running with other people in general, but I also knew what it was like to try to chase your demons away and in my experience it helped to do it with a set of ears.

"I'd love the company." I lied.

Her head tilted to the side, analysing me and she gave me a smile, as if she was on to me. "One more thing I owe you for."

She stood up, long legs eating up the porch and we walked down the path that went right through the gardens. I followed Tash's finger as she spoke. "There's a good path up here."

"You lead the way."

She took off and for someone who'd already been on a jog this morning, I was embarrassed at my struggle to keep up. She had an insane amount of energy.

"I know why I'm out here trying to chase away the shitty thoughts but why are you out here this morning?"

Your friend Sam has wormed his way into my brain.

"I wanted to clear my head. Make sure I was focused this morning. I find it's the best way for me to wake up my brain."

None of what I had said was a lie, I just omitted the fact that I was trying to get rid of the Sam induced stutter that had taken up residence in my heart.