Chapter 5

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"Come on lazy bum," my blanket that was snuggled right under my chin was rudely pulled from my embrace, "Time to get up. Up! Up! Up!"
I groaned in response, my arms and legs grappling at the foot of the bed, trying to retrieve my beloved once again. To my dismay, it was completely ripped from me and next goes my pillows, leaving me all alone in my bed.

Still, I refused to get up, happily lying flat on my belly, getting back to sleep. My sister was clearly not satisfied with that response which led to the strategic attack of my baby toes.

"N-n-no", I was having troubling getting out the words as I curled my toes away from its attacker, "Linney, stop please. You're going to make me pee my pants."

I couldn't hold it anymore. Nature was calling. I jumped up from bed, pushing Celine out of the way as I raced to our connecting bathroom. Once my bladder was relieved and comfortable, I was already too awake to fall back asleep. Welp, might as well get ready for the day. I did my now established morning and skin care routine, taking more time to gently massage my face, removing all the puffiness from my sleep.

Once I was done, I went back to my room, only to see my sister sprawled out on my bed, scrolling on her phone.
"Okay sis, what's up? Why'd you wake me up so early?" I grabbed all the pillows that she had carelessly thrown on the ground, fluffing them up again before tossing them back on the bed. "You've hardly left your room. All you've been doing is studying, eating and sleeping. All day long. For weeks now. You need to get some exercise, get some sun. Just go outside for a bit. Please. Mum and dad are worried you're overworking yourself."

"I've just been really busy sis, you know that," I turned away from her, knowing she could tell my true feelings from my facial expression. I was a workaholic and my coping mechanism was to throw myself in my work whenever I felt down or whenever something went wrong. "Don't lie to me Amber." She warned. "I know you and you're clearly running away from your problems."

I didn't reply, making myself busy by fiddling and organising with papers.

"Get changed into your workout gear. I'm taking you on a walk," She got up from my bed, patting my butt and messing up my hair before leaving me room.

"What am I? A dog?" I muttered under my breath.

"YESSS!" Linney yelled from her room. I chuckled. Whoops, I didn't think she heard me.

I got changed quickly, grabbing the keys and shoes before meeting my sister at the front door. I had a habit of driving without shoes which seemed pretty weird to some people but I just felt more comfortable without them.

The drive to the beach was peaceful, my sister and I just singing along to the songs played on the radio, just enjoying each other's presence. As we pulled into the parking lot, I remembered one of the goals I wanted to achieve this week. Go on a run. Well, since I was here already, I might as well get to it.

"Actually sis, I might go for a beach run for a bit," Celine shrugged her shoulders before walking along the designated walking path. "Call me once you're done," she said, without turning back to me.

Guess I didn't need my shoes after all. I walked barefoot to the beach, briskly walking for a bit to stretch out my muscles before quickening my pace into a slow jog. Just a minute after, I could feel the lactic acid building up in my leg and the soreness of my muscles beginning to appear. Wow, it's definitely been a while since they've gotten a workout.

As I started getting used to the pace and rigour, the run started feeling good. All the hormones release from exercises reminded me of why I loved exercising so much. The breeze and the feel of the ocean was an added bonus to the whole ordeal, making the experience even better.

After running about 2km, I reached the connecting beach. A dog beach. The puppies and dog running about, chasing the waves and swimming in the ocean were just way too adorable. I couldn't help but let out an aw in their presence. I decided to take a short break, slowing my pace into a walk, gently walking along the edge where the sand met the water. As I stared at the mesmerising sunset fading in the horizon, I couldn't help but notice a couple by the side, running along side each other, laughing and mucking around.

Flashback:
"I can't go any furtherrr," I whined as Nate pushed me from behind, holding half my weight. My legs were aching, so sore and worn out from all the running he has made me done. I thought we were only going for a short run, 3km at most. But boy was he crazy, we had been running for 5pm already and he was still pushing me forward.

"Just a little more," my head sunk even further into my chest, my limbs wobbling about. He ran out in front of me, running backwards. He placed his hand under my chin, giving my cheek a soft squeeze.

"Chin up queen." As tired as I was, those words brought a warm feeling to my heart, my head experiences that school girl giddiness, a smile unconsciously gracing my lips.

"Oh look, puppies," I gasped, feeling slightly more energised, my feet moving faster than before. I loved dogs and puppies so so much. They were just too adorable and Nate knew that, using it to his advantage.

I jogged towards the puppies in sight, cooing at them and scratching them gently behind their ears as they rolled over on their bellies, clearly having the best time. I wanted one so so bad. Once the puppies were called back by their owners, we continued our run and not long after, my legs were completely numb and just about to give out.

"Nateee, I can't. I can't go any further." I stopped jogging, hunching over with my hands on my knees.

Seeing the look on my face, Nate understood that I had been pushed way past my limit and it was time for me to stop. He jogged back to me, squatting in front of me, petting his hand on his back. "Hop on." I happily did as I was told, just glad that I no longer had to put weight on my poor legs.

He walked along the beach with me on his back, breaking out into a sprint every now and then just to surprise me, making me smack his head and yip in shock. I wrapped my arms firmly around his neck, leaning my head in the crook of his neck, my eyes glued to the beautiful sunset in front of us. Completely mesmerising.

I loved doing sports with Nate. Seeing that he was a guy, he always had more stamina, more strength and was better than me in general which I liked because it made me competitive and made me want to try harder. To do better. And I really enjoyed this type of healthy competition. He pushed me to try new equipment in the gym and not to be afraid of lifting heavier weights or even to run longer distances in this case. Distances I normally would never push myself to try.

Once we reached the start point where we left our shoes and keys, he placed me back on my feet, nudging me to a take a seat on the ledge behind me. Nate was quicker in putting on his shoes as I kept getting annoyed by the small particles of sand left in between my toes. While I was tying up the laces of one side of my shoe, he bent down and helped my tie the side, doing it in the bunny-ear bunny-ear way. The one I always liked to tease him about but I always found so adorable and secretly never wanted him to change the way he did it.

End of flashback

"Amber, Amber, are you listening? Are you ready to go home? The sun's almost set already." My sister nudge my arm, waking me from my short daydream.

"Yea yea I'm ready," I quickly put my shoes back on, trailing behind Linney as we walked back towards the car.

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