Counter Lotus

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Fog rolled over the high hills. With the sun not up yet, blue light and the fresh cool air surrounded me as I headed down the road and jogged into the woods. Yes folks, it sounds crazy, but I actually did enjoy running in the mornings. Nobody was awake, nobody would bother me, and it helped kick-start my days. I wanted to bring that routine to my new life and get back into it.

Unfortunately, that couldn't keep what happened at the beach from invading my mind. Especially when I took the same trail that lead me to the cliff. It made me stop and just stare at the endless waves. Waves that could have claimed my life the other day. What in the world was below the surface? What grabbed me?

The water possessed answers I would probably never have – and I had to accept that. For how much I hated time passing, I was anxious for time to blur that scary memory. Or maybe I would eventually just convince myself the cause was something natural. Whichever happens first would be fine by me.

Last time I reached the cliff, I turned around and headed back. But I noticed an opening in the woods ahead where the trail continued, so I happily followed it into the trees. Dim light illuminated the dirt path I was jogging. It was only a few minutes later that the ground jutted uphill to the right of the trail. Soon, it turned into a moss-covered rocky incline. Thank god the trail was taking me around the base of it instead of over it. Though I loved the beauty of the unpredictable terrain, I wasn't used to running through it. I was already sweating like a disgusting hog.

Running next to basically a 10-foot sheet of rock, it was difficult to see far ahead when the trail started to curve around it. Then again, I didn't think I would need to worry about any on-coming traffic. If there was one thing this place was teaching me though, it was to expect the unexpected.

Or expect to always crash into the same fucking person.

Well, I didn't literally crash into him this time, but I was close. After following the curve, I could see further down the trail – and it made my eyes widen. What are the chances? Like seriously? I slowed to a stop as I watched the man running towards me. Seeing someone else on this trail wasn't what stunned me. It was who was on this trail.

The familiar man was going in an all-out sprint, but quickly slowed when he saw me – and half rolled his eyes when he recognized me. By the time Peter stopped in front of me, I heard a sigh of annoyance leave his lips. "Wonderful. You again."

I wasn't sure what was more shocking: the fact that I ran into him again, or how fast he had been running. Like guys, he was going fast. Even though he was clearly a runner, what kind of pacing was that? And how in the world was he not out of breath like me from it? Ugh, why was I even wondering? He was just an all-around weird guy. The dumb argument we were about to have justified it too.

Wearing a muscle shirt and polyester running pants, sweat glistened along his uninterested brows. "You know, I shouldn't be surprised that you've proved yourself again to be utterly clueless."

"Clueless?" I panted, resting my hands on my hips.

"You're supposed to run from the direction I came from."

All I could do was stare at him. I mean... where should I even start, folks? Should we discuss the fact that this was the third fucking time I was running into him? Or that he thinks dirt nature trails have directional laws? Despite how stupid this was, I tried staying nice.

"There is a right and wrong direction?" I asked lightly.

"Yeah, there is."

"Well, that just sounds... sorry, but it sounds stupid," I scoffed.