Page 52 of His White Moonlight
“You need to figure out a way to manage your temper.”I gestured down to his fisted hands.“You’re going to end up in a memory care facility before Mom and Dad if you don’t.”
“I’m upset that you think people will take away what you like.”
I snorted, since he was one of those people, and started jogging again.Alternating between jogging and walking was part of my cool-down process.However, Bennett caught my arm to stop me.
“Talk to me, Wrenly.Why do you think you can’t have what you want?”
“Because I can’t even leave the community without permission, Bennett.Do you need it?Do Mom and Dad?Aiden or Karter?No.Just me.I’m only allowed to do what I’m allowed to do.Not what I want to do.Not since the day I?—”
I looked down the path, hating what I’d been about to say.I loved Mom and Dad, but sometimes, I hated them too.
“Please let go of my arm,” I said.“You’re going to leave a bruise.”
The uncomfortable pressure of his grip vanished.
“I don’t know you,” he said.His words carried pain and disbelief, which I thought was laughable.
“Of course you don’t.I’ve been gone for seven years.Before that, you were gone for five.We’re pretty much strangers, Bennett.”
I started jogging again, uncaring if he was with me or not, until I reached the gate.There, I paused to make sure he was close.He stopped jogging, only a few steps behind me.
We stared at each other.For the first time ever, Bennett looked like he had no idea what to do.
“Do you want to keep running, or should we head back?”I asked.His shirt wasn’t even a little sweaty, while I could feel my sweat running down my back.
“What do you want to do?”he asked.
“Head back.It was a good run.If you’re up for one after work tomorrow, I’m game.”
He nodded, and we walked together through the gate.
“Did you run often at school?”
“Yeah,” I said.
“Where?”
I glanced at him.“That’s a weird question.Where do you think I ran?”
“They have one track, and you never used it.So where did you run?”
“How do you know I never used it?”
“It’s monitored, and the instructors said you never used it with the other students.”
I shook my head in a combination of disbelief and amazement.It didn’t surprise me that Mom and Dad had gotten updates from school, monitoring my activity from afar.It surprised me that they shared the information with Bennett and that they, along with the staff, had been so damn clueless.
“Yeah, well…there are a lot of places there that weren’t monitored,” I said, thinking of our rooms and how there’d been dead spots in the halls and grounds.Especially the one near the section of fence that I’d gotten really good at climbing over.
“Are you really not going to tell me?”Bennett asked.
“What does it matter?”
“I feel like you’re keeping secrets from me.”
“Who cares if I am?It’s not like you tell me every little thing about your life.”
“If you want to know something, I’d tell you.”
