Running Away (Finding Your Place Book 2)

by Rebecca Barber

  “I never thought…” I lied. I had thought. I’d entertained too many thoughts on the topic. Not that I wanted anyone to know that. Ever.

  “Yeah, you did. And it’s okay. Honestly, Derek is a great guy. He’s my…well, he’s my…I’m not actually sure what he is. I mean, we’re friends. We live together.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  “No, no. It’s not like that at all.”

  “Not like what?” Derek’s deep voice was unmistakable.

  Chapter 3

  Derek

  Watching Zoe and Mia walk through the heavy glass doors, hearing the hiss as they closed behind them, was pure fucking torture. The whole time they’d been out of sight I’d paced back and forth around this crazy waiting room. Seriously, what sort of gym has comfy, suede couches in the foyer and vases of fresh flowers? It was more like a god damn salon than a gym! But I wasn’t stupid. I’d done my research, and I’d been told this place was the best. So, Mia might be a bit eccentric and a bit scattered, but by all reports she knew her shit. That’s why we were here. Hell, if she skated around on roller-skates in nothing but a pair of gold spandex hot pants and a tube top I wouldn’t give a shit. Not if she was the one who could help bring back Zoe’s self-confidence. Fuck it! Now I had that image burnt on my brain and it was sending all my blood on a one-way mission. South.

  I watched as Mia gulped and a blush crept up her long, luscious neck. She was a tiny little thing, but she had everything I’d ever dreamt of. As she led Zoe though the doors, I’m man enough to admit I watched her tight little ass in those skin-tight pants sashay away. Maybe that’s the reason I noticed every detail about the waiting room. It was the only way I could keep my mind off the pocket rocket with the pixie haircut.

  “Not like what?” I repeated.

  Zoe smiled. A real genuine smile. In that moment, I didn’t give a fuck if I looked like the biggest moron in the world. I’d just seen a glimpse of the girl I prayed I hadn’t lost. She was still in there. She might have been buried deep, but she was still there. Now it was time for her to get her stubborn ass back to me.

  Zoe walked over to me and slipped under my arm. Instinctively, I hugged her to me tightly as I looked down at her. It was the first time she’d actively sought out any sort of contact without tears being involved since the funeral. “Derek, what exactly are we to each other?” she asked.

  Her innocent question almost knocked me over. I hadn’t given it any thought. I had never considered we needed a label. We were just Zoe and Derek. Nothing special. Nothing secretive. Just us. “Friends?”

  “Just friends?”

  “Fuck, Zoe, I don’t know. You know I love you.”

  To my left, I heard the sharp intake of breath and caught Mia’s quick movement as she scurried behind the high reception counter. I let my ego believe for a minute that she was jealous. It felt damn good. I squeezed Zoe a little tighter as I stole a glance at Mia.

  “So, Zoe, did you want to sign up and give it a go?”

  Zoe looked up at me for approval. There was a light in her eyes I hadn’t seen for a long time. She should have known that whatever it was that put it there, I’d never deny her. I nodded and untangled our limbs.

  “Can I just do one lesson and see how it goes? I don’t want to commit to something if I can’t follow through.”

  “Zoe, you’ll do fine. But that sounds like a great idea. We have a class tomorrow at two. Do you want to give that a try?”

  Panic washed over Zoe’s face and stole the light from her eyes. I fucking hated it. “She’ll be here,” I said firmly, my gaze locked on Zoe’s. She bit her bottom lip and I bent down and whispered in her ear, “I’ll drive you down, Princess, and I’ll sit out here in this pansy ass waiting room the whole time if that’s what you need. You won’t be alone. I promise.”

  “Oh…okay.”

  “Great!” Mia clapped. She was cheery. Too cheery. It was bullshit, the only thing was I didn’t know her well enough to call her on it. Not yet anyway. “Well, let’s get the paperwork sorted out and then tomorrow we’ll be good to go.”

  “Sounds good,” I agreed, nudging Zoe forward with my shoulder.

  It would have been so easy for me to swoop in and do it for her. It’s what I would have done in the past. It’s what Spencer would have done. Fuck, it’s what I had been doing. However, the time had come for me to stop pretending to be the superhero trying to save the day. It was time for Zoe to save herself. And if sexy little Mia could help with that, well then, I’d do whatever was necessary to make it a reality.

  While the two women fussed, I checked my phone. The new roster had just come out. I hated being the new guy. I got all the shitty shifts. Leaving the police force had been the right move for me. After arresting Kane, I just couldn’t do it anymore. I didn’t want to be the first person called to see people you loved dead. I didn’t want to have to arrest hard working friends because they’d made a mistake or tried to take a short cut. Being a cop in a small town was fucking hard. Every time something went down you were almost guaranteed to know at least one person involved. When I’d left I just didn’t have the desire to do it anymore. Thankfully I knew enough people, I’d picked up a job quickly working for a security firm with a bunch of good guys. It was no secret that they weren’t the sharpest tools in the shed, but they were decent, hardworking, honest guys. They were exactly what I needed.

  Taking another look at the roster, I groaned. For the last month, I’d been on the nightclub circuit in the city. It wasn’t hard and there usually wasn’t much going on. Check IDs, throw out drunks, and any sight of drugs, call in the boys in blue. It looked like I had another week at the same club. I’d lucked out and pulled the Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday night shifts. Same shit, four nights straight. If the money wasn’t so good, I’d just tell them to stick it.

  “Derek!” Zoe’s voice broke my through my internal battle.

  “Yep?” I smiled as I sidled up next to her.

  “I…I need…”

  Rubbing her shoulders, I couldn’t help the laugh that shook my chest. Zoe was the funniest girl in the world sometimes. She could ask me for anything and I would move heaven and earth to make her smile. It was one area of her life where I’d just simply stepped into the hole Spencer had left. Every time, nerves would overcome her and she struggled to get the words out.

  “What do you need, Princess?”

  “An-emergency-contact,” she blurted out all in one go. She was so damn cute. If I didn’t know every single thing about her and hadn’t known her my whole life, then maybe I’d see her as something more than my sister. But I had. And I couldn’t erase that history. I never would. It was something no one else had. It was ours and ours alone. Something I didn’t have to share. So, whether she liked it or not, she had a big brother for life.

  “Didn’t you just put my name down?”

  “N-n-no.”

  “Well, why not?”

  “’Cause…”

  “Here,” Mia cut in, handing me the clipboard. Glancing down, it was covered in all of Zoe’s details until the blue scribble stopped. She needed an emergency contact name and number. Without hesitation or a second thought, I added my name and number. It wasn’t until I moved on to the next question I realized her hesitation. ‘Relationship to contact.’ Well, fuck me! Now we had to define it. With two women staring at me, I quickly answered the question and handed the clipboard back to Mia.

  “All good?”

  “Yeah…thanks.” Mia’s voice wavered. I know she hadn’t read my answers. Her eyes hadn’t once left mine. She had these mystical, magical deep blue eyes that I couldn’t stop staring at. After a long moment of silence, Mia pulled her gaze away and addressed Zoe, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Zoe. If you get here about ten minutes before class, we’ll get you set up.”

  “Okay. Thanks.”

  “No worries. See you tomorrow.”

  “See you tomorrow, Mia,” I replied with a wink. It might have been wishful t
hinking on my part, but I would have sworn I saw her shiver at my words. Barely able to contain my ego, I ushered Zoe to the door and held it open for her.

  Leading Zoe towards my truck, I realized how much I really meant it. I’d definitely be seeing Mia tomorrow. And if I could somehow swing it, the day after and the one after that as well. She might have only been tiny, but with a few words and even fewer glances she’d already captured my attention…something no one else had achieved in a hell of a long time.

  Chapter 4

  Mia

  I watched them go. There was a story there. A dark story that obviously hurt, but one I desperately wanted to know. The way his worn jeans moulded his perfectly biteable butt made my mouth water. Then there was his shirt. If I thought for a moment he filled it out well from the front, then the back view was something else altogether. My fingers itched to run down his muscles and feel them tense beneath my nails. Collapsing into the cheap desk chair, I dropped the clipboard and ran my hands over my face. It had been too long. Clearly. I was drooling over some guy I’d probably never see again. I knew I should file the papers away and prepare for my next class, but curiosity had me firmly in its clutches. As much as I knew I shouldn’t look, I couldn’t seem to help it.

  Scanning down the page, I found Derek’s writing. It was typical male hand writing―barely legible and all over the place. That didn’t matter…just what he’d written. His name, Derek Cartwright. A phone number with the comment hastily added beside it, ‘call any time,’ then the relationship section made my heart stop. In the brief encounter I’d had with Derek, he’d come across as a guy of very few words. He seemed like the kind of guy that would be honest, even if it was brutally so, but the few words he did use would be meaningful. Every. Single. Time. Swallowing the nerves which had settled in my throat, I checked what he’d written. ‘Big brother, guardian, best friend, flat mate, confidant.’

  “Well, shit!” I sighed, dropping the papers to the desk.

  “Everything all right, Mia?”

  My head shot up. I’d been so caught up in my Derek Cartwright dreaming that I hadn’t heard the door chime as an overweight, middle age lady named Hannah shuffled through the door.

  With my hand pressed to my chest, I willed my racing heart to steady. I needed to get my head out of my ass and back to reality. I had a business to run and it didn’t care about men with eyes you wanted to drown in or an ass so tight you had to bite your lip just to stop you reaching out and swatting it.

  “Everything’s fine. I was just caught up in some paperwork. You know how it goes.” I shrugged, clambering to my feet.

  “Unfortunately, I do.”

  “You’re here for the class, aren’t you?”

  “Yes. I take Julie’s self-defence class once a week.”

  I watched as a blush coated her bloated cheeks. Another reminder why I worked as hard as I did and why I insisted I do this my way. People like Hannah wouldn’t be seen at a normal gym. A gym where meatheads hogged the equipment and admired themselves in the mirrors. This was a place where people like Hannah were welcome and safe. And that was something you couldn’t underestimate the importance of providing.

  “Great! Well, Julie’s out sick today, so I guess you’re stuck with me,” I forced out cheerily. Usually I love taking classes, but for some reason I was just not feeling it. Maybe I’m catching what sent Julie and Mackenzie down. “Why don’t you head on through? We still have a couple of minutes before we get started!”

  “Great!”

  Despite my lack of energy and enthusiasm, Hannah’s smile was infectious. Suddenly the bounce was back in my step and I wanted to get into it. I wanted to kick something. Somehow, I’d rework the routine…it was one of the many perks of being the boss.

  When the lock clicked into place I let my shoulders slump. I could already feel the bruise starting to take shape on my left side from a misjudged kick earlier. It had been a long day, and even though I know I should’ve scooped up at least one pile of papers and worked on it tonight, I just couldn’t be bothered. Tuesday nights were hard enough without thinking I’d be able to fit paperwork in as well. Checking in both directions, I crossed the road and took the stairs into the parking station. Most days I caught the tram into the city, but Tuesdays I started early and had to be home as soon as I could get away. I was one of those pathetic twenty-six-year-olds who still lived at home with my parents. I still slept in my childhood bedroom. The same room I’d made childish dreams and adolescent promises in. It was still the same. I’d painted the once pale green walls white and replaced the comforter, but ultimately nothing had changed. It was still the same bed head, just a new mattress. Mum said it brought her comfort. Me, it made me feel safe, so I didn’t really give a shit. Mum was happy and I was safe, there was nothing more I could ask for.

  Jumping behind the wheel of my blue bug, also known as Betty, the love of my life, I headed home. Taking every back road and shortcut I’d learnt in the past three years, it took barely fifteen minutes before I pulled into my designated spot in the driveway. Grabbing my bag from the backseat, I locked the car and headed inside. I needed a shower before I got roped into helping with dinner. Shaking my head, I don’t know why I thought it would be any different. Every Tuesday was the same. I’d race home, change into something respectable, and help Mum finish up the cooking. Five minutes before it was ready to serve, in would trudge my brother Ashton with his snarky, sneaky wife, Willow. I couldn’t stand the waif of a woman, and it was no secret. My whole family knew. So did she. From the moment Ashton brought her home, I didn’t trust her. There was just something about her. She was one of those weird vegans who criticized anyone and everyone who ate normally, despite the fact that my brother was always the first person lined up at the barbeque to grab the biggest, rarest hunk of steak known to man. Eventually we’d get through the fake pleasantries and air kisses before settling down at the table. Just as everyone prepared to devour the mountain of food Mum had more than likely spent the better part of the day preparing, in would float Josie.

  I loved Josie. She was my baby sister and my best friend. Josie was probably the only person in the world I trusted with all my secrets…and I had more than my fair share of those. Josie was everything I wished I could be. Young, free spirited, trusting, ambitious. Ready to take on the world. In truth, I was a bit jealous of her adventures, but I’d never begrudge her for them. We’d chosen different paths. Every step of the way we’d supported each other and when one fell, usually me, the other was there to pick them up, dust them off, and help them get back on their way again.

  With memories of our stupid adventures floating about clouding my vision, I stepped into our house and into the time warp. Sure, appliances and furniture had been updated as the years passed by, but the house was still dated. From archways between each room, to the wooden architraves around the wide windows opening onto the immaculate gardens…and the beige. Everything was either brown or beige. It was almost as if colour was banned from our home. But that’s exactly what it was. Our home. The truth was, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

  “Hi Mia. How was it today?” Mum called, spying me coming through the door.

  “Hi Mum. Today was a hard one. Julie and Kenz were sick, so I was on my own. All good. I’ll just wash up then I’ll be out to help.”

  Toeing off my runners, they stood out in the pile of bland brown and black leather shoes lined up precisely. My neon pink runners made a statement and I loved it.

  “Don’t rush, sweetheart. Everything’s under control.”

  “Okay,” I offered, knowing she was lying. It was the same conversation we had every week. Nothing was ever under control. There was always something that needed to be done. Shaking it off, I headed towards the back of the house and the sanctuary of my room.

  Four long hours later, Ashton had taken the bitch home before she’d gotten herself bitch slapped. Josie and I tolerated her snarky comments and put up with her nasty barbs most of the time, but
when she criticized Mum’s cooking, mind you on the meal she had to prepare specially for her, all hell broke loose. What made it even funnier was I wasn’t the one who let rip first. Josie beat me to it. Now, Josie and I sat outside on the deck finishing the bottle of wine we’d opened, just shooting the shit.

  “What the fuck does Ash even see in her? I mean seriously…”

  “Maybe she’s really good in bed.”

  I spat wine everywhere. I should have been prepared for something inappropriate to come from Josie’s mouth. Now I’d wasted a mouthful of this wine and I was covered in sticky liquid.

  Josie giggled. “Well, I don’t know. Maybe she is.”

  “That was not an image I needed in my head. Thanks.”

  “Anytime.”

  We just sat there staring into the nothing, sipping quietly. It was nice. With our lives so different, I don’t remember the last time we’d taken a moment to just stop, sit, and be. I missed Josie, I just hadn’t realized how much. Until now.

  “How was Italy?”

  “Full of Italians.”

  “Josie…”

  “Oh, and pizza and pasta.”

  “You’re terrible.”

  “You know it!”

  Reaching down, I grabbed the bottle and poured the dregs into our glasses. It was our second of the night. Anymore and I’d be battling the mother of all hangovers tomorrow morning, something I needed like a hole in the head.

  “What’s new with you, anyway? Meet anyone interesting?”

  I felt my cheeks burn. Had I met anyone interesting? I’d unquestionably met someone intriguing. “Where would I have met someone?” I dodged. I wasn’t ready to say anything about my stupid school girl crush on the intriguing Derek Cartwright. Not yet. Besides, what was there to say? It’s not like we were friends or even acquaintances. We’d met. Once. Nothing to get my panties in a twist about. All I had to do now was convince my traitorous body.