Rejected At First Sight (Spinoff Series)

3

Hey guys! This first part of the story is a little bit like the original, but I promise I find my own way in a little bit! Keep reading!

Ashlyn Jesse

Saturday and Sunday go by quickly, leaving my arms exhausted from the continuous motion and several splinters in my fingers from assembling furniture. Despite my early morning runs accompanied by my dad, the restlessness never left my system.

I slammed my hand down on my beeping alarm clock. Throwing my legs over my bed, I sat up, throwing my hair in a high pony and quickly got dressed into black athletic shorts and a black tank top. Slipping on my red and yellow running shoes, I bound down the stairs.

"Good morning AJ." My dad said as I enter the kitchen. He had a cup of coffee and wore a big smile despite the early hour.

"Hey dad." I smiled back and grabbed my favorite bright red mug out of the cupboard, which was part of a set that we've had forever. Pouring myself a cup of coffee, I take a seat on the counter.

"You know," my dad started, "if you keep barreling down the stairs like that, this early in the morning, you're going to wake up your mother."

I swallowed a gulp of coffee roughly. "Mmm. I'll take the risk."

"I don't think you're mom would appreciate that answer very much." Dad said while putting his empty mug in the sink.

"What does mom appreciate these days?" I say quietly but my dad easily catches on. We share a sad smile.

"Well, I love your endless joy in the morning." Dad said. "It's nice to see that it hasn't changed. And it's nice to know whenever you're coming downstairs." He laughed.

I laugh along with him as I finished my coffee.

We make our way outside and begin our run, navigating through the dark streets. The sun was peeking out from the horizon, but the trees were blocking most of the light. I follow my dad as he takes us to the edge of town and I lead as we turn around and head back towards home.

Not knowing the unmarked trails through the woods yet, we have been avoiding running into the forest.

We enter through the garage, slipping off our muddy running shoes and walk through the kitchen in our sweat soaked socks. I see my mom sipping out of a mug as she sits on the dining room table. We had our thick rustic table and matching chairs delivered yesterday afternoon.

"Good morning!" I say cheerfully as I grab a pitcher of water from the fridge.

She smiled at me, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "You seem very upbeat."

I nod at her as I pour water in two glasses my dad offers me. "Yeah, running here feels different. I guess it's because we haven't been running through the forest like we usually do."

When I look back at my mom she is wide awake. ''Oh." She says in a short chirp. "Yeah. I'm sure once you two get back on the trails, you'll feel better." She glances uneasily at my father.

I look towards dad only to have him grab the water glass out of my hand and turn away from me.

Shrugging it off, I down my own water. "Yeah." I agree to my mom and put the pitcher back in the fridge. "Well. I'm going to go get ready."

I walk upstairs and into my bathroom. Stripping off my running clothes, I throw them in the laundry basket and turn on the shower.

After showering, I throw my hair up in a towel and wrap another around myself, making my way back to my room and shutting the door behind me.