I didn’t get much sleep at all. My eyes were droopy as I peered at myself in the bathroom mirror. I had dreamed about Thayer and his father hitting him and got myself so worked up that once the sun broke through the horizon I got out of bed, knowing sleep wouldn’t be on the agenda.

I showered and dressed in my usual running attire of black shorts and a green tank. I always felt much more clear headed after I came back from a nice long run. I brushed my wet hair and threw it into a thick braid that fell down my back before setting off to the kitchen to see if there was anything to eat.

Lots of leftovers greeted me when I opened the fridge. It looked like every relative had brought a different dish but there was nothing I wanted to eat for breakfast. I moved containers around until I found a yogourt, which I devoured hungrily. Thankfully my mom had the forethought to order grocery delivery after we had gotten there the day before.

I grabbed my running shoes and went out to the front porch and sat on the rail while I put them on. Although the sun was trying to shine through the clouds, it wasn’t cold and I could hear the ocean waves gently hitting the beach. I looked out and watched more clouds rolling in and knew the sun wouldn't have a chance of making me overheat as I ran. I checked my cell and was surprised that it was only seven in the morning. It was the summer and I usually made it my goal to sleep in as much as I could. The gulls cawed and screeched above me and I watched them for a moment. Maybe they were going to be my early morning wake up alarm until I got used to them.

I left the porch and stood in the driveway stretching and breathed in the crisp ocean air. It tasted a bit salty and I wondered if I would ever get used to it. I started my jog slowly and paced myself, jogging down the side of the quiet road. There was a path closer to the beach and I veered off the road and down to it. It was hard packed so I wasn’t afraid of tripping on loose rocks and gravel, which was a habit of mine. It snaked around the beach and since the tide was in I could feel the water spraying every once in a while as the trail got closer to the shore. I wasn't sure where the road led to yet and I didn't want to find myself out of breath and miles away, so I stuck to the trail going right as the road turned left.

About twenty minutes later I decided to turn around. I was getting pretty far away from civilization and not knowing where the trail ended up was kind of freaking me out. My cousins had told stories of bears and cougars that lived in the forests around Summerside and meeting one while I was out jogging wasn’t high up on my to-do list.

Once the road came back into view I decided I would take it back instead of the trail. There were no houses built up this far yet and the trees were still pretty thick. I watched birds fly over and I saw a rabbit quickly hop back into the bush as I jogged by. I decided I would have to take a drive around the neighbourhood and see where the road went and if there were any trails off of it.

I was rounding a corner, my mind on the stories that my cousins told the night before when a flash of silver appeared and I tripped over my feet and fell forward on the hard asphalt. My hands flew out first and thankfully took the brunt of the road rash instead of my face. A car screeched to a stop and the driver jumped out. I looked up and noticed it was Thayer Hill stomping towards me. Oh great, Mr. Happy himself.

“What the hell were you doing?” he exclaimed as he came over to where I was peeling myself off the road. His eyes flashed and his mouth was turned up angrily. He grabbed under my shoulders and hoisted me up. “I could have killed you!”

I pulled away from him and bent to dust my knees off and noticed the blood on my palms. “Ouch!” I said and winced. Rocks and stones were embedded in my hands and I watched as the blood pooled around ripped skin.

“Jesus! Here wrap up your hands,” he said as he pulled his shirt over his head and put it around my hands. I stopped wincing and looked at him from under my lashes. He was pretty hot in a shirt but there wasn't any way to describe him shirtless other than using words I didn't want running through my mind. He definitely worked out. A lot.

“What were you thinking? You were running down the middle of the bloody road! I could have killed you!”

“I wasn’t running down the middle of the road.”

He made a face. “Yeah you were. I hardly had time to stop!”

“Maybe you shouldn’t drive so fast then! Clearly you weren’t going the speed limit!” I sucked in a breath as I unwrapped my hands and thrust his now bloodied shirt at him. It hit him in the chest and fell to the ground between us.

He ignored the shirt as he stared at me, his nostrils flaring. “Oh so this is all my fault?”

“Well it certainly isn’t all mine!” I growled and turned away, taking a couple steps before the pain in my ankle registered in my brain. “Ow!” I yelped as I tried to steady myself. Before I knew it my ankle gave out and I was on my way to the ground. An arm snaked around my waist and I was lifted up into Thayer’s arms before it had registered.

“Put me down, now,” I demanded and he shook his head.

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“Yeah, that’s not going to happen. Just stop squirming while I get you to the car.”

I shook my head and tried to get out of his embrace but he had a vice-like grip on me. And he was naked from the waist up! “I’m not getting in your car.”

He snorted. “Oh. Ok, I’ll just put you down and you can walk home.” He started to let go of me and I grabbed around his neck as I fought falling to the ground. I knew I wouldn’t get very far on my twisted ankle but I wasn’t relishing him taking me home. “I thought so.”

He stalked to his car with me in his arms, carrying me like a baby and I wanted to die of embarrassment. He manoeuvred me around so he could use his one hand to open the door and then sat me sideways on the seat. He crouched down in front of me and felt along my ankle. I sucked in a breath as his fingers probed a sore spot.

“Thankfully it’s only bruised. Unfortunately you’ll live.”

I frowned. “Don’t sound so happy about that.”

He made a face and sat back on his haunches. “Listen, about last night…” he trailed off and ran his hand through his hair. “I was pretty harsh. I shouldn’t have gotten mad at you for trying to help. It’s just that..." He stopped talking and closed his eyes before pinching the bridge of his nose. "It's just that...my dad’s a pretty intense guy. He has a lot of pressure put on him…”

“That doesn’t excuse him hitting you. Nothing excuses that.”

He looked down at his shoes and then took a deep breath. “I know Anna, I know. And I’m not making excuses. It’s just the way it has to be for now. You just need to stay out of it, ok?” I raised a brow as he shook his head slightly and sighed. “Can you just say ok? Please?”

I chewed on my bottom lip for a moment. “It doesn't make sense. What does your mom say? Does she know?”

He groaned and ran his hands over his face. “You know what? Just forget it. Turn around and I’ll give you a ride home.” He stood up and waited for me to turn in the seat, bringing my legs in, before he closed the door and jogged around to the driver's side of the car. The car smelled of him, clean soap and warm spice. I liked the smell of the boy, but I wasn’t sure if I liked the boy...yet.

“What about your shirt?” I asked.

His hands gripped the steering wheel as he stared straight ahead. He finally opened the door with a groan and got out. After picking up the shirt he went to the trunk and opened it. I couldn't turn around to see what he was doing so I put my seat belt on and stared ahead. He was back in the car quickly, dressed in a clean blue shirt instead. “Better?” he asked sarcastically and I nodded. “Great.”

He took off, spraying rocks from his tires as we sped down the road.

“Aren't you going a little too fast?” I managed to squeak out after we took a corner so fast I was surprised the car stayed on the road.

“Yep. Don't you like going fast?” A sly smile played on his lips. I shook my head and he quickly geared down making the car slow down quite a bit. I ignored him and just stared ahead, even though I could see him keep looking over to me. “And just to make it clear, I didn't try to run you over. I just didn't think anyone would be up this early and in the middle of the road.”

“I know you didn’t purposely try to run me over. But you couldn’t see me because you drive way too fast. It's not a raceway.”

“This is a roadway though, some cars drive fast on it,” he said, mocking me.

“I know that Einstein but if you drove the speed limit, you would have seen me on the road before you were seconds away from smearing me like paste into the asphalt.”

He groaned. “Ok, that’s going a bit overboard. I wasn’t even that close to you.”

“I think you were.”

“I know I wasn’t.”

I gave my head a quick shake and crossed my arms over my chest. Why was he so obstinate? We both fell silent for the rest of the drive. I wondered if there would ever be a time we’d get along. He seemed so broody and angry, I wasn’t really sure how to deal with him.

When we pulled up to my house a few minutes later, he parked in the driveway and went to get out but I shook my head. “I’m fine, I don’t need your help Thayer. Thanks for the ride.” I opened the door and swallowed a little cry as I put some weight down on my ankle. I could feel his eyes watching me as I hobbled out of the car. I managed to get the car door closed and tried awkwardly to hop over to the back of my parents car to steady myself. I didn't even want to think of having to hobble up my front stairs but I also didn't want Thayer to think I needed his help.

His car door slammed and he was there in seconds, scooping me up into his arms again. “Why are you so stubborn all the time?” he asked grumpily as he carried me up the steps.

“Why are you so angry all the time?” I countered but he ignored me as he bent me towards the keypad on the door. I put the code in and he brought me into the house.

“Where’s your room?” he asked as he stood in the living room and I felt my eyes widen. There was no way I was going to have him carry me up to my bedroom. That just wasn’t going to happen, ever.

I pointed to the kitchen that was at the back of the house. “Just set me down at the table, please.” He nodded and brought me to the kitchen table. He kicked a chair out with his foot and then sat me down gently in it. I had to admit, he was really nice to look at and he smelled dreamy, but he was angry and hostile more so than not. Was it because his dad was horrible to him? Or was there more? Did his dad treat both of them as his personal punching bags? There was so many questions I wanted to ask him.

“Your house is laid out opposite to mine,” he said as he sat down beside me, his eyes darting around the room. I chewed on my bottom lip and he looked at me with an exasperated sigh. “What?”

“What do you mean what?” I asked.

He reached out and slid his finger over my lip before dropping his hand to the table. “The chewing on your lip thing. You do that a lot.”

“I do?” I frowned. “How do you know? You’ve been around me all of three minutes.”

He chuckled dryly. “It certainly feels like way more.”

“Haha, you’re so funny,” I said sarcastically. We sat quietly for a moment before I opened my mouth to ask him about his dad but he stood up quickly, almost knocking the chair over in his haste.

“I have to go. You should get awesome ice on that ankle. Maybe have your parents take you to the hospital and have it looked at.”

I nodded. “It’s fine, my parents are doctors, they’ll make sure I’m ok. Thanks again for the ride home.”

He nodded and looked at me for a moment but said nothing. Before I could say anything he quickly stormed out of the house.