Broken Souls (Souls #1)

Chapter 18 - Destiny

I concentrate on the sound of the rise and fall of my sneakers. Thump thump, thump thump, thump thump.

Because of the flash backs I had in art class I needed this. I needed the feel of physical pain rather than the emotional pain. I wanted to drown out the emotional pain by the feel of my aching legs, sore feet and thudding heart. Soon the sound of my footsteps are joined by someone else's.

It can't be Hayden again, can it? Sure he's hard headed, but I think I gave him my non-spoken message very clearly.

I turn my head to the side to see who is running alongside me. It's Matthews.

"What do you want, Matthews?"

"To talk to you," he huffs out.

His out of breath voice indicates that he probably has been running alongside me for quite awhile but I was too concentrated on running to realize it.

"Did Hayden set you up?"

"I won't lie to you. He did."

"He thought that he'd get me to spill the beans to you or something, huh? I know that he wants to know what set me off, but I'm not telling," I huff.

"I already know what it is, so I'm not going to get you to tell me."

I stop running and he follows in sync.

I decide to play dumb. Maybe this is some kind of mind game. He probably thought that by saying to me he knew what set me off it would get me to tell him. "What do you mean you already know?"

"I was in same the class with you."

I'm quiet. He really does know. He's not playing games with me.

"Loss," he says quietly, "it is a feeling. I know that because I felt it every day of my life since I was nine."

I tuck a few stray strands of hair behind my ear and let myself for the first time since I met Matthews really look at him.

I search deep into his eyes and I can see pain. I can see stress. And most of all, I can see loss.

"What do you mean 'since you were nine?'"

Matthews jerks his chin at the bleacher and heads for them so I follow in suite behind him. He sits down on the first bench and I plant myself beside him.

He rubs his hands together and then looks at me before saying, "How about this - I tell you something about me and you tell me something about you. We could do this every day. We'll start at the least difficult or important and then make our way to the top."

"And why would I do that?"

"Simple. Because you want to know about me as much as I want to know about you. So deal?" He holds out his hand for me to shake and I accept.

"Deal."

But, no one said anything about letting him into my heart. So it's safe.

Or, that's just what I tell myself.