Blank Slate

Chapter 4 - Payton Taylor

It turned out that Oliver was not a bad runner even if he grumbled about it under his breath. His long legs ate up the miles without a problem. However, he did have a hard time focusing on where he was going instead of marveling at the forest around them. At one point I ran straight into his back when he stopped dead in the trail to watch a deer pick its way through the trees. The sudden stop caused me to lose my balance and I would have fallen backwards if Oliver didn't reach out and grab my elbows to steady me. Even with the quick speed he had to use to catch me, his grip was gentle. I quickly regained my balance and stepped out of his hold. I didn't like to be touched, even if it was gentle, and the whole incident made me lose my peaceful focus.

"Isn't that so cool," Oliver asked with his face turned in the direction of the deer, thus not noticing my quick retreat from his grasp. I turned my attention to the forest and saw the large animal with fur made up of dozens of shades of brown with white fur covering it's underbelly and cute stubby little tail. I had never seen a wild animal up close like this before and I was surprised by how big yet graceful the animal was. Why was it not spooked by our trail of runners?

"It's a wild animal," Payton murmured back, "I am sure we can find another one to ogle at later. But right now, we are being left behind." I stepped around Oliver and started down the trail again. But I turned to watch the deer startle and leap further into the woods. I did have to admit, that it was pretty cool.

The sound of my feet on the dirt path mixed with Oliver's panting breath formed a rhythm that lulled me into my beloved running trance once more. I thought back to the miles upon miles I ran at the behest of my martial arts instructors. I had trained in half a dozen different arts, but one thing they all had in common was to hone the ability to run. If I ever found myself in a situation that I couldn't fight my way out, I was confident that I could run faster and further than anyone pursuing me.

About three hours later I jogged around a corner and saw the group of recruits gathered in a loose circle outside of Whistler's stone gates. Some were bent over with their hands on their knees while others where sprawled on the ground. As I approached, I locked eyes with Brett as he straightened out of a hamstring stretch. His left eye was just as black as Oliver's and there was a fist sized bruise clearly visible on his jaw. The look of raw hatred on his face punched through the pleasant haze the run had left me in, and a zing of adrenaline run down my spine.

I straightened my spine and lifted my chin to meet his gaze straight on. This I could handle. I was no stranger to working next to hostile men, and my fight-or-flight response was heavily skewed towards fight. If Brett wanted to make an enemy out of me, I would be ready.

"Hey, has he said anything to you?" Oliver asked as he came to stand behind me. "Because if he does, I will talk to Cole and let him know that they attacked me first. That you stepped in to help me out. Plus, both Vincent and Brett made the first move against you. You were just defending yourself. Well yourself and me."

I turned to look at Oliver in shock and disbelief. I was a lone wolf. Had been for my entire life. I had learned the hard way that the only person I could rely on was myself. People I had known for years, grew up with even, had never gone out of their way to help me out. Yet this man I had known for less than twenty-four hours was willing to step up to not only the people that attacked him but also the founder and CEO of a multimillion-dollar corporation for me? That didn't make sense. And it was so far out of my comfort zone, I didn't know if this was something I could handle.

"What?" Oliver asked, "Why do you look like I just asked you to disarm a nuclear bomb."

"Nothing." I dipped my head to hide my eyes from his as I replied, "Let's just focus on the program. I can handle Brett."