Running Free

Chapter 10 | Promise Me

I glanced up at the soaring oak tree in front of me, and sure enough, there was Mia. She sat on the branches, her legs stretched out in front of her, feet crossed. Her head was tilted down towards her phone. Toby was no where to be seen, but knowing her, she wouldn't have let him run off too far.

Instead of doing the most cliché move in the book and calling her down, I did the opposite and decided to join her. I hoisted myself up onto the first branch, and one by one, I climbed up the tree until Mia was fully in sight. Though I tried to be quiet as I climbed, the snapping of branches could still be heard. Mia surprisingly didn't notice, and it was just now that I saw the white cording leading up to her ear as her head bobbed to the faint music that could be heard.

Just like me, she kept the volume up too loud.

I finally landed myself on a branch across from Mia, and I gently poked her arm, grabbing her attention. Her head snapped up, her wide green eyes staring at me in disbelief. "How'd you manage to get up here?" She asked softly.

I replied with a smirk, "Easy. I climbed."

"Pretty sure I figured that out already. But hey, uh can we just pretend that nothing happened?" Mia said awkwardly as she nervously played with the hem of her shirt.

I couldn't lie to her, and I was aware that she knew that I was curious. "You know that's not gonna be easy though, right?" I said. I didn't want to be a dick and pressure her about it, so I went along with her request.

"Yeah I know. Just this once."

I stared at her directly in the eyes and repeated, "Just this once."

It was then that I felt Mia's small, delicate arms throw themselves around my waist, the weight of her head pressed against my chest. I was breathless, and an odd silence consumed me. I've never been much of a hugger and I'm not a touchy-feely type of person. For a moment, I didn't know what to do, or how to react, but I did the only thing that came to mind. Slowly, I wrapped my arms around Mia and together, we embraced in the sound of silence, held by the arms of the oak tree.

I don't know how long it lasted, but eventually, I shimmied myself out of Mia's grip. She whispered, "You're not going to ask what happened back there?"

I adjusted my sweatshirt and said, "Can't really say. You'll tell me when you're ready."

"Thanks, Noah."

"Nothing to thank me for. I know more than you think." I said quietly, a small smile edged onto the frame of my lips.

Mia didn't respond, only to look at me strangely, puzzled as to what I meant by my words. There was nothing odd about them however, they were the truth in its simplest form.

We remained silent for the next 15 minutes. No words were said as we listened to the sound of traffic buzzing by.

About an hour of silence passed, and I ended up driving Mia back home after picking up Toby, who was playing on a nearby playscape. Mia slept the whole ride home, clearly exhausted after today's recent events.

***

I tossed my truck keys on the table, and slammed my dorm door closed as the wall shook from the excessive force. I was so frustrated and confused as to what Mia was so worried about. Her story couldn't be as bad as mine. There was no way.

I ruffled my hand through my hair and threw myself onto my bed, using whatever time I had left of the day to stare at the ceiling, a blank state of mind swarming me. There wasn't much to do as my roommate, Alex wasn't home. For all I knew, he was probably out with his friends drinking and getting high.

He always would come back to the dorm, barley able to stand, the wall his only support. He hooked up with countless girls, maybe even a guy here and there, who knows. He's like the typical college frat boy - but worse. Way worse.

He's the fuckboy of all fuckboys; the ultimate dickhead. But why am I complaining? He's nothing compared to the other people I've seen.

A/N
Hey everyone! I apologize for not updating in months; unfortunately I've had a huge downfall because of certain events. I'm not gonna go into a whole explanation here, but if you read my Rants of a Teenager book, (all of my personal rants and shit) you'll know what's been going on. I'm trying to get back on track, and I'm trying to out my life back together so bear with me here. I also apologize for this chapter being so short, but I had to write something last minute so I can post a new chap. Thank you for being so patient with me.
~Rin