Saving Sutton [ radish ]

[ 04 ]

C H A P T E R    F O U R

NOLAN WAS, QUITE IN THE literal sense, was chasing Sutton.

It was Friday, and after a day of being steadfastly ignored by Sutton, he was determined to chase her down and apologize during after school cross country practice.

The only problem: she was actually a fairly good runner.

"Sutton!" Nolan called out, narrowly missing a collision with some runners who looked to be far more consumed in the group selfie they were taking than in actual running.

When Nolan called her name, she thought of chaos and of last night.

Of what happened when her dad got home.

Her mom had been furious but relenting, expressing her anger orally through rhetorical questions and hypothetical situations. These included but were not limited to: Sutton working at a McDonalds, Sutton begging for food on the streets, or stripping on a pole. Or God forbid, her not getting into an Ivy League.

But.

When her dad got home, all hell had broken loose.

Sutton blinked away the vision and focused on the trail. It was narrowing into a paved road of dirt, winding through the forest in a singular path.

She focused on her sneakers, striding in a progression of steps, and thought of the last two steps on the stairs last night.

The stairs leading up to the upper level of her house were carpeted, and Sutton remembered the vivid deep red and gold patterns blurring from her vision as she clamored up them.

She had been chased.

She was tripping over the steps, not so much running as just going up, clawing and using her hands to propel herself when her feet failed her.

She was acting like an animal, but so was the man chasing her.

"Sutton!" The sharp growl that had sent so many chills down her spine sounded nothing like the concerned voice that called out her name as she stumbled over a branch.

"Come on, slow down," Nolan gasped, his words coming in short increments. "You're going to get hurt!"

She had passed practically everyone now, and was going down the wrong trail at the fork.

"I just want to talk!" Nolan's voice reached her, and she began to run impossibly faster.

I just want to talk, her father had said, and ten minutes later he was chasing her up the stairs, shouting threats of violence.

Sutton had stumbled through the hallway, caught in a whirlwind of hysteria and fright.

Her father followed closely behind her.

She tore through her room and flung herself at the bed, pitifully covering herself in blankets and quaking underneath them.

Tears ran in streaks down her face when her dad advanced.

Nolan was getting closer.

Sutton had the fuel, but Nolan had the experience and the physique.

Her eyes became moist as she recalled the events of the previous night. The trees blurred and became willowing figures in the wind. Leaves, already floating down in the autumnal weather, became dots of red and brown and orange and yellow, spiraling still in an ever-moving world.