Around five in the morning Pep woke up to the darkness of their room with Tash firmly snuggled under her arm and the comforters up to their necks. Pep could've slept in a little longer knowing that her notoriety had dwindled down and she was on her way to being a legitimate businesswoman but she wanted to go for a run as she had been doing for the past two weeks, so she got up and got dressed in her shorts and tank top along with her running shoes. Pep faced deep paranoia from the life she lived so she always made sure she was strapped but this morning she felt as if she didn't need to walk with anything since nothing has happened thus far. She was afraid of routine, it made it easier for people to track her and keep tabs on her but lately things felt normal and Pep felt a happiness she never expected to feel.
Grabbing a granola bar and the shake that Tash had made for her the night before, Pep made her way out to the driveway for stretches and warm up. The same thing that Pep was afraid of was the same thing occurring at the current moment, for the past two weeks Pep had started warm up at 5:35AM and then after she had finished with the shake and granola bar she left the empty bottle on the top step and left off. It wasn't until only about a week ago that Pep noticed her shake bottle moved from off the step by Tash at 6:30AM when she woke up and a high protein breakfast sitting under a mesh cover waiting for her when she got back. Tash had also formed a routine to clean up after Pep and to cook her breakfast before going back to bed.
It was a little after 7 AM and Pep was on her way back up the first hill before she made it to her street, her earbuds were in and she was singing along to Florence + The Machines. She felt off, something felt different from the other mornings, Pep decided to take the longer route which meant she had to walk through the bushes that would lead her to the back of her house. Pep usually got back to the house by 7:30 AM, when she broke through the last set of bushes it was nearly 8 AM. At the back of the house was Tash hanging out clothes singing loudly, their closest neighbor was a good distance away so she wasn't disturbing anyone this early in the morning.
Tash screamed out, "yo what the fuck, you scared the shit out of me." She held onto her chest looking down at the wet, white shirt that was now in red dirt.
"I'm sorry." Pep wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"Why are you walking through the bushes? How long now have I been suggesting that you get the perimeters of the house fenced off? You can even take some of the land because it's free space right now and I can even get a pool or we can extend the house." Tash rambled.
"Something didn't feel right so I took the longer route." Pep explained as she moved to sit on the step.
"You're just paranoid." Tash rolled her eyes. She finally took up the stained white shirt and held it up to Pep. "You know this not gonna come out, right?" She asked.
"Is it one of my plain white tees? Just throw it out." Pep shrugged her shoulders, the white shirt was the least pressing matter on her mind right now.
Tash mimicked Pep by shrugging her shoulders as well and dropping the shirt into the bin. "The grass needs to be cut and you fired the gardener." Tash pointed out.
"It was either that or I killed him." Pep stared at the unused backyard.
"What? Why?" Tash didn't even bother to look around at Pep, she basically knew most of her facial expressions.
"Did I not tell you?" Pep hissed her teeth and said, "babe, I rewatched the security footage a day that I had left you alone here and he was looking through the kitchen window staring at you and jerking off."
"You fired him because him did a back him fist?" Tash actually looked around this time.
They stared at each other before they both broke out into deep laughter clutching at their stomachs. "This serious man, mi know mi look good but geez. Men are disgusting." Tash pretended to throw up.
