Page 95 of Pulse
Chapter 29
Ren
Ash never left my side all night.
Usually, I’d find it totally swoon worthy and still be in bed asleep in his arms, but that wasn’t my reality. Instead, I’d left him asleep and ventured out into the morning where the only people around were the garbage guys with their truck and the birds. Couldn’t forget the birds. The flowering gum across the street was swarming with little green, red and blue Rosellas as they squawked and screeched in their ADD need for a sugar high.
I walked down to Sydney Road, feeling like the only person in the entire city awake at this hour. I needed some me time so I could think about what to do. I had to do something. A new mindset, a strategy for countering this uncertainty that Hammer had poisoned me with. If there was something I could do, I still wasn’t sure what it was.
Stepping around the corner onto the usually bumper to bumper Sydney Road, I saw the sign for the coffee shop was out on the street. I glanced through the window and saw Seth behind the counter playing with his phone. I hadn’t seen him in months, but he hadn’t seemed to have changed at all. He was still this tall, lanky hipster with his artfully arranged hair, glasses and designer stubble. He was just…familiar. There wasn’t a soul in sight, so I pushed open the front door.
The scent of roasted coffee hit me square in the face as I stepped inside, the little bell over the door jingling. Seth glanced up and instantly pocketed his phone when he saw it was me.
“Ren Miller?” he asked, feigning confusion.
“The one and only.”
“What’s got you up so early?” He glanced over my shoulder. “And so alone?”
I shrugged. “I needed a walk.”
“Where is everyone?”
“Josie’s in Sydney.”
“I know. I’ve seen her photos on Facebook. You should really get one of those you know.”
I raised my eyebrows and screwed up my nose. “I’m fine with obscurity, thanks.”
“Everything okay?” he asked, leaning over the counter.
I shrugged.
“I’m taking that as a no.”
“I’m just… Things are hard right now.”
“Where’s Ash?”
I wanted to say that I needed a break, that Ash didn’t understand, but that was only because I hadn’t told him the real reason I’d let Claw KO me. In short, I was humiliated and I didn’t want him knowing. I was meant to be strong in this.
“At Beat, I think,” I replied.
Seth straightened up and glanced around the cafe. “Look, it’s pretty dead in here, I’m sure Joseph won’t mind if I sit with you for a while.”
I stared up at him and wondered why he gave a damn when I hadn’t seen him in so long.
“It’s cool,” he said with a lopsided grin. “Life gets busy. You’re a super Street Fighter.”
I couldn’t help laughing at his stupid video game reference.
“What do you want? Hot chocolate?” He pulled down a mug and began dumping powder into the cup and smearing chocolate sauce on the inside. “On the house with all the trimmings. I’ll even give you an extra marshmallow.”
