CAKE

Forty-Six

Kathryn
7 months (since Ace left)

Letting out a breath, I force myself to get out of bed. It's been 7 whole months since Casey left and things still haven't fallen into place. Everything just feels useless these days. Breathing, eating, sleeping, what do I do any of those for? To live? I haven't been alive since Hope died.

Opening the room door, I make my way down the hallway and into the living room, spotting Emily watching the news. Her blue eyes land on me and she smiles softly. "Morning," she mutters standing to approach me. I watch the woman silently before glancing around, surprised that Sophia wasn't also up.

"Care for some coffee?" the blonde questions entering the kitchen. I nod my head and follow behind her. "You're up early, any reason?" she questions as she fixes a cup for me. I bite my lip before shaking my head and asking her the same question. 

She smiles and her tired eyes meet mine, "Work, unfortunately. I wanted to wake up a little earlier so I can go for a morning run, I tried going up the stairs the other day and I was pretty much out of breath after the first 10 steps."

I chuckle softly, knowing I was probably in the same shape or worse. "Can I go with you?" I ask, knowing she would allow me to. The blonde smiles and nods her head, "Yeah, sure. I could use some company it's pretty boring in the neighborhood this early in the morning."

Nodding my head awkwardly, I take my cup of coffee to my room so I can get in better running attire. By the time I come back out, Sophia is awake. She's dressed in a silky nightgown and her hair a mess and it was obvious she didn't want to be awake, but I'm sure a cup of caffeine will fix her mood.

I meet Emily by the front door and we leave the home. I decided to bring my phone along, knowing some music on this run would help me this morning. Emily clearly had the same idea as I watch her put in her earphones. 

She throws me a quick smile as we walk to the end of the driveway. We stretch quickly before beginning our run down the neighborhood street. Michael Jackson's, You rock my world blasts in my ears though honestly, this was probably a terrible song to run to. But it was the first thing that played.

I somehow manage to keep up with Emily who was a lot faster than I thought she'd be. We run for a mile before taking a break. I pause my music and remove my earphones, slightly surprised when I hear a horn honking. Emily and I move quickly across the street, apologizing to the driver for stopping in the middle of the street.

It wasn't our fault. Well, technically it is, but we're pretty much out of breath and moving an inch seems impossible.

"Fuck, why did I think this was a good idea?" the blonde groans loudly as she collapses on a bench. I chuckle softly and wipe the sweat from my forehead. "Why did you let me do this?" she cries, forcing her blue eyes on me. I roll my eyes with a light smile. "Because I was under the impression that you wanted to exercise," I spit.

I slap her leg so she can scoot over so I can take a seat. Just as I do, a dog makes his way toward us. "Aw, you're a cutie," Em coos as she begins playing with the golden retriever. I nod my head in agreement but glance around for the owner.

My eyes meet honey brown eyes and immediately my face falls. It's not that I didn't want to see him—no, it was exactly that. I didn't want to see him right now. However, the light-skinned man smiles the minute he recognizes me. "Who do you belong to?" Emily questions. I groan silently, she just had to ask.

"What a pleasant surprise, I wasn't expecting to run into you here," he mutters, smiling that undoubtedly gorgeous smile at me. I roll my eyes quickly, hating that he was using his charm. Blue eyes move between the man and myself in confusion. "Sorry about Alfred, he gets really rambunctious and I accidentally let go of his leash," he mutters, his eyes never leaving me.