Shattered Trust

Chapter 6

Sergei woke up at the usual time the next morning, 5:30 am. He had slept a bit better last night but was still a bit drowsy from yesterday. Oddly enough, he felt like going for a run. He wasn't sure why he did, but he did. He moseyed off into the kitchen where he put some water on to make coffee. He made a bit extra, he was going to need it if he decided to run. He stepped outside onto the front porch in his bathrobe while he waited for his water to boil to get an idea of what the weather was like. He was surprised at how cool it was for July weather. It had rained all night and was still overcast. It would surely get hotter as the day went on, but this was the perfect weather for running. Maybe it would help relieve some stress. He was truly heartbroken over Julie. He thought that she truly cared about him. And he desperately wanted to keep seeing her, but could he really trust her after this? Could they hold a healthy, mutually trusting relationship after all of this?

He wasn't sure, but the sound of the water boiling through the open front door from inside the house interrupted his thoughts. He poured a mugful from the coffeepot and ambled off to the bathroom to get ready. He quickly washed his face and slid a pair of running shorts and a T-shirt on. He finished his cup of coffee and quickly chugged a glass of water before stepping out into the muggy, morning air. It wasn't hot, but it was humid. It looked like it could rain, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. He did a few quick stretches before setting off.

He thought a lot about last night, and he realized he never gave Theo an answer. The confrontation between him and Julie had distracted from the reason they had met there in the first place. He was sure he would likely hear from Theo today. He had an answer ready, but he had a different problem to worry about now. He had to decide whether he and Julie could stay together. He knew that she wanted to, she told him last night she did. But was it for the reason she said? Did she want him for him or did she want him for her job? Was she just following orders from her bosses? Was he just another assignment to her? He had never felt the way he felt towards her with any girl he had ever dated, and though they had only been on six dates, he felt they had had a special connection. Now he questioned the legitimacy of that feeling that he had thought was mutual.

After about a mile, he reached the small gravel road he always ran along. It was perfect weather for running, and though the scenery out that way was always nice, it was particularly pleasant today. The rain had made the trees and foliage seem more vibrant and green and the overcast clouds blocked the sun from being overly bright. He always found it incredible how quickly the scenery changed from suburbia and houses to rural farmland and what seemed like would be miles from the city. This wasn't even a mile and a half from the city, and he could look to his left and see a huge, fenced-in field with a barn off in the distance, and to his right just trees and undergrowth that blocked the view of houses and city skyline.

About three miles in, he felt a raindrop hit him, then a few more, and pretty soon it was raining steadily. He turned back and began the run back home. The rain got heavier as he ran. He usually quite liked the rain, but running three miles in it wasn't exactly ideal. Not even two miles of running in the steady rainfall and he was drenched. He finally reached home and checked his watch as he stepped up onto the porch. It was 7:34, which meant he had been out just over an hour. That meant he ran about a ten-minute mile. He could have done better, but he was fine settling with those numbers.

He was careful not to track too much mud into the house, but it was difficult to avoid. He poured himself a glass of water in the kitchen and stood at the kitchen table as he finished it, before heading off to the bathroom to shower and get ready for the day. As he did, he wondered whether or not he would hear from Julie or Theo today. He frankly didn't want to see either one of them, as he was quite miffed at them to say the least. He figured he would likely hear from Theo for an answer, but he didn't know about Julie. Part of him hoped she would just leave him be, but another, smaller part of him wanted to see her. He wanted to try and work it out, but he also wasn't sure if it could work. He knew that they hadn't been seeing each other long, but he thought they had something special. Right now all he could do was wait and see if he heard from them.