Project Runaway ✔️

Chapter Seven

Seven

"You can set my bags on the bed." With all the extra space in Uncle Rudolph's house, I was being set into the old laundry room that was being hoarded with exercise equipment and yoga mats, courtesy of the new fiancée. Luckily, or unlucky depending on one's take on the situation, there were two twin beds stuffed into the room, so Tanner and I could share without sleeping in the same bed.

"I hope you guys are comfortable." Startling the both of us, we turned to see my uncle's woman standing in the doorway with one of her high heels outstretched, tapping on the floor viciously.

Peach Pollock was youthful in her appearance, and about half Uncle Rudolph's age, or so it seemed. Her plucked eyebrows were penciled in as she stared at us through her blunt, blonde teased bangs.

"We are. Nice seeing you again." Not really. Last time I saw her, she tried to blame me saying that I was smoking a cigarette outside when it was really her, but she didn't want to let my uncle know her bad habit hadn't gone away. She vowed to quit after that night, but yet I received no apology for taking the blame. I hid her secret that night because I knew how much Uncle Rudolph liked her, but I wasn't going to let her boss me around and put the blame on me any longer.

"Who's your friend?" She asked, flicking her hoop earrings with a free hand, roaming her eyes on my best friend.

"Tanner." He nodded, his eyes focused on the luggage bag on the frumpy bed, oblivious to her eyes following him.

I rolled my eyes, wishing she could drool off that over-exaggerated lip liner she was wearing.

"I'm Peach."

"Nice to meet you, Plum."

"It's Peach." She corrected him, laughing. She would have skinned me alive if I called her that.

"I'm sorry, Peach. It's real nice to meet you."

"Well, I'll leave you guys to it then." She smiled weakly, shutting the door behind her.

"Welp, that's the famous Peach." I sighed.

"I see that. I'm surprised I didn't see her horns poking out. I can tell see was forcing herself to be nice." Great, at least I'm not the only one who notices that!

"And imagine if you weren't so good looking; she wouldn't have given you the time of day."

"Sorry, I prefer my women much younger, and not wearing a short, pencil skirt." See, I did teach him about fashion, after all.

"Hey, she is a business woman. She makes her own poodle purses." I couldn't even help but laugh at my own words.

"Poodle purses? Like purses for dogs?" He chuckled.

"Bingo." I but my own tongue so I didn't laugh and alert Peach Pollock likely trying to listen in from the closed door.

"Wow." He shook his head on disbelief.

"So which bed to you want? They're both equally lumpy and squeaky." I let him know, taking a seat next to his opened duffel bag of deodorant and boxer briefs. I held one of boxers in my hand flaunting it around jokingly before he tugged it away.

"I'll take the one by the window so you can have the one closest to the door. You're the one who always needs to pee and you'll wake me up trying to find the door." He made a fair point.

"I won't be the one to wake you up. You're the one who snores loudly at night. You snore so loud, you're going to wake me and your own self up." No, Tanner and I never spent the night together unless it meant falling asleep on the couch watching movies when Mom was home, but back when Ryan and Tanner hung out after practice, the two would pass out and I could hear Tanner and my brother's loud snoring from my closed bedroom door. Maybe he only snores when he's under a lot of stress, but either way, there was a better chance he was going to wake me up.

"I'll try my best not to snore, but I can't promise I won't fidget in my sleep." I rolled my eyes at Tanner, deciding to leave it be before I become a horrible hostess.

"You know I don't mind." Getting to watch him sleep would be a reward enough, if there's any benefit to being awoken.

"So what's there to do around here?" He asked.

"Not much, really. It's as boring of a town as Kally, except worse because this house is in the middle of nowhere and there's no one or nothing around for a few miles. I mean, we have a pond out back if you wanted to fish. We can always head into the main part of town and find something else to do."

"As long as Heidi Hopkins isn't here, I don't care what there is to do. Maybe I'll go see what your uncle is up to." He weighed out his options, his hands resting on the luggage that sat beside me, his boots touching the tip of my flats on the floor.

"He's likely trying to cut the grass before I tell him something about it. You're welcome to look around or hang with my uncle, just don't start gossiping about me." I warned him, pursing my lips.

"Don't worry. What is there to tell?"

"Oh, so my life is that boring, huh?" I snarled.

"No, not at all. It's that you're a good girl. Nothing I tell your uncle could possibly make you look bad." Tanner meant it as a compliment, but somehow I didn't take it that way.

I contemplated doing something crazy, like kissing the newly single Tanner West who many other women would dream of being with at this very moment. I wanted to prove I wasn't so innocent, but I didn't do it. I couldn't go through with my devious plan.

Because, deep down, I really was innocent, and Tanner West knew it.