Page 36 of Embers in the Dark

She stares at me an extra beat and I can’t help the fact I just stare back. I’m frozen in place.

I open and close my mouth, the words caught in my throat. I don’t know where to start. I open my mouth again, about to say something when she cuts me off.

“I’m not sure what I expected, but seeing you stand there and not respond wasn’t it. This feels eerily similar to your silence via text, but it hurts even more.”

She looks down, takes a breath then whispers something to herself that I can’t make out and walks off. The door slams and I flinch.

I stand there for some time in the empty space, processing everything she just said, still unsure what I should do. This whole time she hasn’t just had feelings for me, but she has fully loved me. I’ve fucked this up and it didn’t even start. I should’ve pulled her into my arms and kissed the hell out of her, but instead I left her with nothing. I’m such an asshole.

I turn off all the lights and make my way down the hall. I stand outside her door, I can hear her walking around her room, and I consider knocking. I hold my hand up but decide to let us have some distance tonight. A lot was said, and I want to give us some time to cool off. I need to figure out how to respond. Hopefully in the morning everything will look a little clearer.

Unfortunately, I barely sleep. I toss and turn most of the night and when I finally start to drift off, all I hear are Baylee’s confessions. The moment I wake up, silence is the only thing that greets me. Her bedroom door is open, with an empty room to show for it.

I sigh and decide to make my way to the gym. I text River, Clay, and even include Hunter in the thread. Hunter is the only one that’s available to meet up.

I meet him down at the park as it’s still a cool enough morning. I get down there and he’s filming a segment to post later to his social media page. He’s got his jump rope out and the view of Boston Harbor behind him.

“Hey, man! Beautiful day out,” I greet him.

“Can’t beat it,” he says, smiling from ear to ear. It’s hard to find Hunter in a bad mood.

He’s got his hat on backwards and no shirt, with his tattoos on full display. His basketball shorts are a bright blue today and his shoes match.

“Do you have shoes that match all your shorts?” I laugh.

“Yeah, pretty much,” he responds. “Sponsors send me all sorts of stuff. You have no idea the random things I have sent my way.”

“Have you ever thought of doing your workouts outside the firehouse?” I ask him.

“Huh, I haven’t, actually. You think chief would be okay with that?” He looks over at me hesitantly.

“It can’t hurt to ask. Start with the lieutenant and he’ll go up from there. I mean, if it looks good for the firehouse, it might go over well overall.” Anything that shines a good light on the house as a whole, I don’t see the harm.

“Yeah, I might do that. Plus, my sponsors might actually send some good stuff to the house. I’ll see what I can do,” he says. “Thanks, man.” He slaps my shoulder. “You want to go for a run?”

“Sounds good,” I tell him.

We set a good pace, and I get lost in my thoughts. Soon, I look down and realize we’ve been running for forty-five minutes. Something about running by the water is relaxing and makes me forget about all the craziness in my life.

Before we know it, our run around the harbor is finished and we’re both covered in sweat. The humidity is at a record high today, so I had to forgo my shirt early on during the run. While we stretch, I enjoy shade under the tree as people walk past us.

“You adjusting well to Boston?” I ask as I stretch my calf.

“Yeah. Still acclimating to everything, but I like it so far. Nothing like Vegas, though,” he says as he takes in the harbor.

“No shit? I had no idea you were from Vegas.”

“Yeah, I don’t talk about it much.”

“You have any family back there still?” I ask.

“My parents are there as far as I know. I honestly don’t keep up with them. Haven’t seen them since I left.” Discomfort is evident in his tone.

“Damn, sorry man.” I can tell this isn’t something he’s comfortable sharing.

“My old man isn’t the best guy, and my mom didn’t win any awards either. The minute I could leave, I did. Let’s just say, they were just as happy to see me go and I never put much effort into keeping in touch,” he says as we both make our way toward my truck.

“And you joined the military after high school?” I feel compelled to learn more about him even though I know he isn’t really wanting to talk about his past.

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