Free Falling [Discontinued]

Chapter Three || Addison

Chapter Three || Addison

The six o'clock morning air nibbles at my bare legs as I push myself harder to run the remaining distance home. I can feel my adrenaline running high, and my blood pumping quickly through my veins as sweat drips down my body.

Rising Up by Young Guns is blasting through my earphones as my feet hit the paved road with force. The sun is rising; soft shades of yellow, orange, red, and blue spread across the sky as I run down my street. I see my destination in the far distance and relief washes over me. My legs feel like jelly. After a busy final month of my spring semester, and the move into the new house, I was finally able to tie my running shoes and hit the streets.

I slow my run into a steady jog; then walk, and exhale heavily. Strands of my hair are sticking to my sweaty face and I feel the material of my grey tee sticking to my back as the morning breeze comes up behind me. I close my eyes and smile. The cool air feels good against my hot skin and I consider the idea of going once more around the block before calling it quits. The thought is cut short when a grey Jeep races past me. I glare at the bright red brake lights as the Jeep slows and pulls into a long driveway; stopping in front of a black gate.

An arm reaches out and punches in a code, and not even a second later the gate door slowly opens. The Jeep continues its way up the grey cement driveway leading to a house that is covered by tall palm trees.

In the week and a half that Lyla and I have lived in our new home, not once have we seen anybody go in or come out of the hidden house to our right. I distinctively recall Connor mentioning that two of his close friends live there. Apparently, they lived and worked together before, but then again, Connor worked and lived with five other guys before their channel split. He probably mentioned their names at dinner, however, I was coming up blank at the moment.

All thoughts of the neighbors are gone as I kick off my shoes and enter my house. I let the door slam shut behind me as I walk through the foyer, past the staircase to my left, the living room off to my right, and step into the kitchen.

Lyla's still asleep despite having already ignored her alarm clock twice. We're both scheduled for work at eight, which means we both have less than two hours to get ready. Some think two hours is more than enough time to get ready, and they're correct, however, they've never met Lyla. On a good day, it takes her about twenty minutes to get up and out of bed, another thirty to shower, and about forty minutes to apply minimal make-up and get dressed. That leaves us with thirty minutes to drive to work, and if there's traffic, we're more than likely going to be late- something that our boss doesn't like.

I pour myself a glass of water and walk across the kitchen towards the patio doors that lead out onto the deck. I stand there for a few minutes, unwinding from my run as I drink my water and watch the sun completely rise. I've watched the sun rise every day for the last week and a half. Each day I'm more amazed by the beautiful view we were blessed with. Long gone were the days were Lyla and I would sit awake because our rowdy neighbors didn't understand the meaning of quiet hours. Long gone were the days when I'd look out the window and see the side of another building.

Silence allowed Lyla and I to sleep soundly at night, and nature was what greeted us when we looked outside. However, Connor's words from the other night continue to echo in the back of my head.

"Enjoy the quiet hours while you can," he had said. "Your neighbors aren't quiet. They're everything but quiet. They're not bad, they respect their neighbors but they can be pretty loud."

I sigh as I turn away from the patio doors and head towards the kitchen. I'm rinsing my glass when I hear Lyla's quiet footsteps pad down the stairs. She enters the kitchen, her dip dyed hair twisted into a bun that resembles a birds nest.