Free Run by Holly Hood

time to see Lainey pulling away from Mason’s lips. She jumped to her feet and let out an embarrassed laugh.
    My stomach dropped. I was shocked Mason would kiss her. Lainey wiped her lips free of her smeared lip gloss. Mason came over to me.
    I tried not to act shocked.
    “You don’t want to see the water?” Lainey asked, jumping in between the two of us. I kept my eyes on Mason ready to deck her. He rolled his eyes, irritated by my attitude.
    “No, I think I need some sleep,” Mason said.
    “Yeah, looks like it,” I mumbled.
    Noah grabbed my arm, letting Mason go ahead of us. Mason shot me a look, knowing full well there wasn’t a thing he could say to me now.
    My heart ached.
    “I told ya,” Noah said in a singsong voice as we headed back to the house.

June 25 th
     
    The next two days flew by. I stayed inside most of the time, barely showing my face to the sun. It was clear I was upset…for many reasons. First of all, I was angry that I let Mason have the power to upset me. I’d let him crawl inside my mind and behind my emotional barricade. I thought I was okay with the feelings he was starting to show.
    But now, seeing Mason do what boys do best, the feelings had almost vanished, leaving me angry at everything. I was starting to care less and less about anyone. My skin had thickened with every blow to my heart. It made me wish I was more robotic by nature—having no human feelings or cares.
    I finally ventured outside to enjoy the sunny day. I walked barefoot through the grass, and it tickled my feet. As I walked around, I admired the natural beauty of the land Roger and Anna owned.  Yeah, it was hard to hide inside on a day like this.
    Anna was in the yard hanging colorful quilts on the clotheslines. Her white dress blew to the side like ivory petals, making her look like a flower, tiny and delicate. She always had a smile on her face. I sat beneath a big tree, eventually lying back in an attempt to clear my mind and relax.
    “Are you hungry, sweetie?” Anna asked. I stared up at her, the blue sky behind her making her saintly looking.
    “No, not really,” I said softly, breathing in the fresh air.
    She dropped the wicker laundry basket in the grass and took a seat beside me. Her dress slid up past her thighs as she wrapped her arms around her legs. And she didn’t seem to care. She stared off, lost in thought.
    “Roger tells me your mom and you don’t speak anymore,” she said. She kept her gaze straight ahead. I sat up, propping myself up with my elbows.
    “It’s been a couple years,” I lied. I wasn’t sure what to say.
    “He also tells me you’ve been through a lot in your life–and you’ve had no real role models.” She eyed me, waiting for a response.
    I sat up straight. I wasn’t one to divulge much information about my family. I never talked with anyone about them. Oh, Mason knew some things, but he didn’t know everything. Mason knew only what he’d witnessed himself.
    “We can’t all be so fortunate to have what you guys do,” I said defensively.
    “I’m not trying to upset you. I’m just trying to show you there are women that are good, that have good hearts.”  She smiled.
    My heart sped up rather than calmed down. I swallowed down the anger I could feel bubbling in my soul.
    “I wouldn’t know, I’ve never known a single person like that in my life.”
    “That’s very sad. You’re a nice girl, Kendall,” she said.
    “You don’t know anything about me. Nothing nice comes from a rotten life like mine. I do what I know. That’s all I can do,” I said, lying back down. I reached down with my hands and pulled at the grass.
    Anna stood up. She knew she wasn’t getting through to me. Some people just couldn’t be helped.
    “I had a rough life growing up. And then I met a wonderful man who loves me, scars and all. There is always someone out there willing to give you a shot,” she said softly, heading into the house.
    I closed my eyes. Sometimes people were