Finding Finley ✔

4

At seven a.m I force myself to get out of bed and get ready so that I can meet Darby in an hour. Every time I have a nightmare it takes almost an entire day, sometimes two, for me to get back to feeling normal. I'm not really in the mood to go for a run, especially this early and when I'll have to talk.

I take a quick shower, hoping that will make me feel better - it doesn't. I hadn't planned on spending the night here, but thankfully Ellie is always one step ahead of me and keeps a toothbrush just for me in the guest room. Also lucky for me that Kit and I are the same size, so I can borrow his clothes and not have to wear the sweaty shirt and shorts I showed up in yesterday. Forty minutes after my alarm had gone off, I grab a granola bar and head out the door to meet Darby.

When I step outside I see Darby waiting for me in the same outfit she was wearing yesterday. She's holding a bottle of water and her phone in her hands. When she hears me approach she almost seems surprised to see me, "You remembered?"

"Of course I remembered" The look of surprise slowly fades from her face and we're back to the classic Darby straight face. "Are you ready? Have you stretched at all?"

She shakes her head.

"Good, neither have I. Lets go to the park around the corner and I'll show you the basic stretches I do before we start any running."

Darby nods, "Okay."

It's pretty easy to tell that Darby has never played any sports or ran since she was probably forced to in her high school gym class. Almost every stretch is a challenge for her, her body fighting against the very act of bending, reaching, and being physical.

Once we've spent longer than I had anticipated stretching, we begin a slow jog. I don't mind jogging and taking things slow today, my own body is just as drained as hers, but for different reasons. Before we started jogging around the block, I had given Darby a few pointers on how to control her breathing while running so that she won't get as winded, and after almost an hour and a half, webhave successfully made it four blocks back to the apartment complex.

A block back I had suggested that we sprint the last block back, and while Darby looked like she was about to die, she accepted the challenge. Now, I come to a halt at the entrance of the parking lot and wait for her to catch up. She's not as far back as I thought she would be, and when she reaches me, she instantly doubles over and places her hands on her knees to keep from falling over. She's panting, and she's practically dripping in sweat, but when she brings her head up a few minutes later and locks eyes with me, she's smiling- a real, wide, full on smile. It's too bad Darby doesn't smile like this all the time, because it's a beautiful thing to see.

"I did it!" She says through labored breaths, her smile remaining through the agony.

I give her a smile in return, because she's right to be proud of herself. "You did. That was great, Darby. Really."

"Thanks again for helping me, Finn. It would have taken me weeks to do this without you."

Helping Darby and focusing on how to help her and then watching her progress had taken my mind off of my own problems, but now that our time together is coming to an end, I can feel the heavy cloud that was hanging over me earlier making its way back to me.

"No problem. Do you want to be running buddies? We can meet here every morning or afternoon when classes start back and I can help you some more." I have no idea why I asked, just like I have no idea if she will agree or not. I'm not even sure if Darby likes me. She's standoffish and cold at times, but then there's rare moments when I think that I see her softening.

This is one of those moments. "Really? You would do that?"

"Yeah, running alone is boring sometimes." I shrug before opening my water bottle and taking a drink.

Darby bites her lip as she thinks about my offer, "I'll slow you down."

"To be honest, I push myself too hard and should probably slow down anyway. Based on how well you did today though, I think you'll be matching my pace pretty soon."

She's still hesitant and I'm sure that she's going to decline my offer, but as soon as I open my mouth to tell her to forget about it, she agrees. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow morning then."

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I had spent more time with Darby than I had planned, so I lost a bit of my free time before work. After getting my things from the apartment, I rush back to the dorms.

As soon as I get off the elevator and round the corner to my hall I see a familiar, red headed demon standing at my door knocking.

Hannah.

I internally groan and then I do the same externally when I'm close enough for her to hear, which causes me the displeasure of being face to face with her when she turns around.

"Where's Parker?" She wastes no time with pleasantries, which I mean, what do you expect from an evil demon?

"Why do girls keep knocking on my door asking for Parker?" I ask as I move pass her to unlock the door. She moves to come inside with me and I block the doorway just in time.

"What do you mean girls keep knocking? Who else has been here Finn?" I cringe at the high pitch of her shrieking.

"I don't know Hannah, other girls besides you that Parker hooks up with." She's gives me the same evil glare that she has been giving me since we were five years old as I stare at her blankly, waiting for this horrible encounter to finally end.

"Parker doesn't hook up with other girls." Even as she says it, I can tell that she doesn't really believe it. Hannah is a lot of things, but stupid isn't one of them. We may have graduated high school two years ago, but some things never change, and Parker is one of those things.

"Okay, yeah, sure. Bye Hannah, see you the next time there's a full moon or whatever your kind needs to come out." I close the door in her face before she has the chance to stop me or respond.

I hear her call me an ass just as I turn the lock.