The next day, I dragged myself out of bed at half past five and squeezed into my new tracksuit. In the cool chill of morning, I was a little less enthusiastic about this outfit than I had been yesterday. Even yesterday I hadn’t been all that excited about it – I just didn’t want to argue with Jo. And to be honest, I didn’t think Adam would care what I was wearing as long as it wasn’t the gross old thing I’d had on the day before. I doubted this was going to have him falling over me.
As it turned out, I was completely right, though not for the reasons I expected. The person who wandered in through my door that morning was not Adam, but Tim.
“Morning, honey.” He looked at my outfit. “Nice. Might be a bit cold, though.”
“I’ll be OK once we start running.” I hoped. “Where’s Adam?”
Tim raised his eyebrows. “I thought you’d be happy with the exchange. Didn’t think you guys were that close.”
“Jo made me buy this tracksuit because she wants me to seduce him.”
“McKenzie off the cards, then?”
“McKenzie was never on the cards.”
Tim nodded and said patronisingly – and sarcastically – “Of course he wasn’t.” Before I could argue, he continued. “Adam got called out a few hours ago – there was a break-in or something and he’s got to sort it out.”
Yeesh. I didn’t know what ‘sorting out’ a break-in involved, but I didn’t envy him – it sounded like it might take work, and he’d had even less sleep than I had over the past couple of days. My limbs felt like lead, so I could only imagine how he was feeling. One time I’d stayed up for thirty-six hours straight and I’m pretty sure it was the closest experience I’ve ever had to being high. I was imagining that was the kind of territory Adam was in, although maybe he was just one of those people who never needed sleep. He seemed the type.
We stretched a little before hitting the pavement at a slow pace, warming up. My general fatigue was not helping with morale for this run – I could feel every part of my body jolt each time my feet hit the cement. Tim looked at me in concern. We’d made it about a kilometre when he first spoke.
“Are you OK?” he asked. “You haven’t been whining nearly enough.”
“Tired,” I mumbled, not being able to form a more complex sentence in my current undead state.
“It’s time to pick up the pace.” He began to jog faster, speeding ahead of me. I watched him zoom away and maintained my slow lumbering. Ahead, between me and Tim, there was a construction site to the right of the footpath. I groaned inwardly. The builders were already working on the site, and one man in a high-visibility vest and a hard hat was standing near the entrance watching me approach.
I jogged towards him, willing him to look away and remain silent (largely for his own safety). Tim reached the end of the block and turned around to see where I was.
“Lookin’ good, love,” said the builder/foreman/lecher. Of course, my new tracksuit had given him the idea that I was approachable and would be somehow amenable to catcalls. This was a huge mistake, as I was not amenable at the best of times and this morning was definitely not that.
I stopped and turned to face him.
“Pardon?”
A couple of other builders nearby had stopped what they were doing to listen in on us. I noticed the lecher start to blush.
“I – I said, um, that you were looking good,” he said, flustered.
Any other morning, this man’s life might have been in danger. Today, though, I was too tired to attack him with my fists, so I’d have to take him down with my words.
“So glad you interrupted me to tell me that. Maybe you should try exercising too. Like maybe you could exercise your ability to shut your fucking mouth.”
As I jogged away, I could hear the other builders jeering at the guy who’d hassled me. Good. Maybe he’d grow as a person because of it. I caught up to Tim.
“Honey,” said Tim, eyes wide. “Are you sure you’re OK? You didn’t even slap the guy. That’s not like you.”
Too tired to formulate a response, I just kept jogging and rounded the corner at the end of the block. Unfortunately, I wasn’t watching my footing and caught my toe on an uneven crack in the concrete. After flailing for a couple of seconds, I felt the ground rushing up towards me, seemingly in slow motion. Sighing inwardly, I managed to put my hands out to save myself, but the momentum I’d built up from even my slow jog had sent me flying when I tripped and I skidded along the cement on my hands and knees.
“Shit, honey,” said Tim, rushing over to help me up. I stood, breathing quickly, partly from the jog but mostly from the pain. “Are you OK?”
“I’ve injured myself so many times, broken so many bones,” I said, “and yet grazing my knees never stops being painful.”
My outfit had offered no protection when I fell, so my bare skin had hit the pavement directly – and stayed there. My knees and the heels of my palms were grimy and bleeding. They felt very hot and were stinging, and I could feel blood dribbling down the front of my shins. I stared blankly at my hands. Not as bad as the last time this had happened. That had been on gravel and the doctor had to pull bits of rock out with tweezers. Not that the memory of my former injuries did anything to lessen the pain now.
“I guess the jog’s off for today,” said Tim, pulling out his mobile. “I’ll give Adam a call and see what he wants to do.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s our company doctor, honey. Remember?”
Oh, right. Of course. Did I mention that Adam is a doctor? Probably where he learned his exceptional bedside manner.
Tim spoke on his phone for a few minutes before hanging up. “Adam’s going to come and pick you up and make sure you’re OK.”
“How sweet.”
Tim snorted. “Do you want me to ride with the two of you? Mediate the conversation?”
“Nah, it’s OK. Adam and I are basically besties now.”
Tim started laughing. “Yeah, right.”
“No, seriously! We hung out last night and it wasn’t even terrible. He smiled, Tim. I didn’t even know he could do that.”
Tim’s eyebrows were sky high. “Seriously? You made him smile? I didn’t think you were capable. Like, I think you’re hilarious, honey, don’t get me wrong. It’s just that Adam can be a little… taciturn.”
“I didn’t know you knew such long words,” I teased.
He smiled. “What did you do? To make him smile, I mean.”
“I, um…”
Tim’s grin broadened at my obvious hesitation. “Yes?”
“I cried.”
Tim began laughing, then caught the look on my face. “Wait – you’re serious?”
He doubled over and laughed even louder. I rolled my eyes and sat in the gutter, cringing as the newly formed scabs on my knees cracked when I bent them. Tim wiped away his tears and came to sit with me.
“I – sorry, honey,” he said. “It’s just too funny.”
I nodded. “I know.”
“Why were you crying? Are you OK?”
“Yeah,” I answered, not planning on elaborating.
“You were at McKenzie’s party, right?” he asked, obviously fishing for more details.
I sighed. “Yes.”
“And?”
“There was someone there who used to be a friend of mine. She isn’t anymore. I wasn’t expecting to see her, it brought back some things, and then McKenzie was a dick.”
“McKenzie made you cry?”
Tim’s face had grown serious. I tried to hide my surprise. Tim and James were friends, but I guess Tim liked me better because he looked ready to take action on this information.
“I can look after myself,” I said.
“I know,” Tim said. “But if McKenzie was mean to you, then I’m on your side.”
“I don’t want you to bash him or anything.”
“Fine, sure.”
“I mean it! I’ll bash him myself if it comes to that. Less chance that he’ll arrest me.”
“OK, maybe I’ll just punish him with the silent treatment instead.”
“Always a good option.”
Tim put his arm around my shoulder. “He’s a dick. You should seduce Adam instead.”
“I’m sure I look like a master seductress with the blood dripping down my legs, sitting in the gutter on the side of the road.”
He shrugged. “Adam’s into some weird shit.”
I laughed. Shortly after, I noticed a black car approaching. It was still pretty early in the morning so there weren’t many vehicles on the road. “I think my ride’s here.”
We stood to let Adam pull up by the curb. He parked and stepped out of the vehicle, walking around to greet us. He glanced down at my knees briefly before turning to Tim.
“You need a ride?”
“No, I’ll jog back,” Tim responded. “I need the exercise.”
Adam nodded and gestured to me to get into the car. I said goodbye to Tim and climbed into the classy sedan. All the B-Co company cars were fancy and expensive – something to do with the luxury image of the company. And the fact that they were rolling in cash.
“How did I ever become friends with someone who says ‘I need the exercise’?” I mused aloud.
Adam rolled his eyes, but I thought I could see the corners of his mouth turning up slightly. Hah! I knew we were besties now.