𝐟𝙪𝐥𝐥 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚 ┃ 𝐥𝙪𝒌𝙚 𝐩𝙖𝒕𝒕𝙚𝙧𝙨𝞸𝙣

Chapter 8

"I'm sorry Luke, Reggie said it was out on the piano so I figured it was fair game to sing." I tell him.

"It's not." He furrows his eye brows at me. "Never touch my stuff ever again." He storms over to the piano and yanks it away, poofing out with it. Ok then. That hurt. That hurt a lot.

"Told you." Alex looks exasperated at Reggie.

"I thought he would take it better than that!" Reggie tries to defend.

"Reggie just shut up." I roll my eyes and set the guitar down. "I'm going to change and go for a run." I tell mom. She looks at me kinda worried, reading my mood, but nods.

"Take your phone." She reminds me. I nod and head to my room. I change into running shorts and a tank top, pulling my running shoes out of my closet. Kota walks past my door, stopping in it.

"Anne?"

"I'm going for a run, alone." I tell him. He nods, and shifts his weight back and forth on his feet.

"How charged is your phone?"

"Enough." I tell him, checking the battery. It's at 44% which will get me through a run. I grab my wireless headphones and my phone holder, slipping my phone into it and my arm into the slot, after turning on my running app and music. Putting Let You Down by NF on, I head out the back door once I get my shoes on.

"Be careful!" Mom calls, and I nod, before turning the music up.

I get about a mile and a half out before my shins start hurting. I haven't run in a while, so I decide to head back. Besides, by the time I get back I'll have gone about 3 miles. Turning around, I see a flash of movement and look. Alex is way too tall for the bush he's trying to hide behind. I roll my eyes and click my music up a level, letting Don't Let Me Down by the Chainsmokers roll through my ears. I take a short walk break, before going to start running again.
"Anne!" I swear I hear my name get yelled, and when I turn to look I see why. There's a car coming up behind me, and behind the wheel is Tony. Shoot. I hit pause on the music, and bolt down the closest alley way, weaving my way through the alleys until I'm back out on the main road. He's sitting on the corner, waiting for any sign of me. Before I can step out, I get grabbed from behind. I'm panicking, and turn to swing before my hand goes right through them.

"Stop! He'll see you!" Alex scolds me. "Sit tight. I'm getting Luke and Reg." He points to a corner I can ball up in to hide and I do as instructed, before he poofs out. I send a SOS text to Mom, before the tears start falling.

"Anne!" I hear my name get aggressively whispered. Looking out I see Reggie. "We gotta move! He's getting out of his car!" I'm so screwed. Mom texts me back, telling me to meet her at the Orpheum.

"How far are we from the Orpheum." I ask.

"A mile that way." Alex points in the direction. "Luke is nowhere to be found, I'm so sorry." He explains my obvious looking for Luke giving me away.

"I can do a mile in 6 1/2 minutes, can you guys keep up with that?" I ask, frantic.

"I mean, I can try." Alex says, but Reggie shakes his head.

"I'm not that fast, if Luke were here he would have no problems he always ran a fast mile."

"I ran Cross Country with Kota." I explain my mile time. They nod.
"We can take turns, running with her and poofing ahead to be able to keep up." Alex says. I nod.

"Good plan, let's go." I pull myself up out of my hiding spot, and go back into the alley. I stop in my tracks as I hear someone coming from the way I'm heading, and then hear

"Come out come out, wherever you are."

I bolt the other way. Alex does his best to keep up with me, and Reggie poofs ahead to be ready for when we get to him. About a quarter mile later I see him standing there ready to run while Alex is dying behind me.

"You didn't tell me you were this fast!" He gasps, still trying to keep up. We get to Reggie and Alex poofs out from behind me, Reggie scrambling to keep up.

"I'm not a jock I don't run!" He yells. I laugh and cough a little. I haven't pushed my body this hard in a long time, especially since I quit two years ago.

"Anne!" I notice Alex in front of me, standing next to the one person I was NOT expecting. Luke. When? How? Then I hear the rawr of the engine behind me and I'm reminded again why I'm running in the first place.

"Half mile, you can do this!" Reggie yells from behind me, and with that I'm up to Alex and Luke. Luke takes off running next to me, and I'm a little shocked at how easy he paces with me compared to Alex and Reggie.

"This doesn't mean we're ok, it just means I hate him." He grumbles to me, referring to the psycho car driver trailing me. I nod. He's still pissed. Hearing squealing tires, I panic internally, and that's when I realize I can see the Orpheum. Without a single glance at Luke or the car following me, I charge the "finish line" like Kota and I used to do, sprinting towards where Mom said she would be. I look for her car and see it in front of the building. Pushing myself harder, I literally can't feel my legs anymore but it's fine because my only goal is to make it to Mom.

I make it to the car and dive in, fumbling for the door because my adrenaline is going too fast.

"Where is Alex? I sent him to watch you!" Mom smacks the wheel.

"Right here, I was with her, I saw him and alerted her!" Alex pops up in the back seat. I feel like I'm not getting any air at all, I haven't run that hard in so long and have had no recovery time. I lean down, putting my head on my knees, feeling like I'm fighting for every breath.

"Anne?" Alex panics a little.

"I'm fine. Haven't done that in a while." I cough out. And with that, we head back to the house.