Fast forward one year, Dad took a job promotion and moved to Seattle divorcing Mom three months after he caught her cheating. The ink on the divorce papers weren’t even dry when she and Dennis Burns had a large lavish wedding in front of the entire town. I refused to go and spent the day with Beckett and Ben down by the lake. I hated my mom for sending my dad away, and I hated Dennis even more for being involved in breaking up my family.
Beckett and Ben were my saviors at the time. I’d sneak out most nights with a bag and stay at their tiny apartment. Mom never noticed or just didn’t care at the time. I was sixteen and Beckett and I had been together for a year. He was patient with me and never pressured me to do anything that I didn’t want to. We’d fooled around, a lot, but hadn’t gone all the way yet. We had such grand plans of getting out of this town, but one night changed all that. My world shattered again like it had a year earlier, and I moved to Seattle about two months later to live with my dad and never looked back.
After stripping all my clothes off, I place myself under the scalding water to cleanse all thoughts of the past and crazy night away. I’ve learned over the years that you can’t change the past; you can only learn from your mistakes and move forward. The hard part is not repeating the same mistakes.
Once I’ve finished with my nighttime routine, I throw on some pajamas then head to my study area. I need to finish up some work I’ve been putting off since I relocated here a week ago. After dabbling around on my computer when I moved to Seattle with my dad, I’ve found that hacking is my calling and ended up graduating in computer science at MIT. Of course, I was hacking before college, but now I can manage to crack into any system I want, which is how I make a good dime, and not have to punch into a clock every day.
After clicking a few keys, I log in and check my inbox to see if I have any outstanding emails from new clients. I’m known as Ghost on the internet and am in demand when something colossal happens. My junior year at MIT, the United States Government contacted me through the web and had me hack a foreign nation to gather intel. Three days later Uncle Sam deposited a cool half mil in my offshore account. Lately, I have been doing some medial work that doesn’t take too much effort, but at least it’s given me a chance to settle here in Sweetwater.
When I left this town six years ago, coming back to this place was never on my radar. I’d planned to go home to Seattle, but Dad had just married Claire. They had been dating for three years, and I didn’t want to interrupt their honeymoon stage by being in the way. I know I’ve got enough money to buy my own place, but I am hoping to save that for my retirement. Coming here was a last-minute decision and after running into to Beckett, it makes me regret coming at all. I thought that I was over being mad at him for what he’d done, but I guess some wounds never heal completely. Don’t get me wrong, I have not an ounce of feelings for the guy, but the thought of someone I trusted betraying me like he did still twists a knot in my stomach. Dad says it’s because I’m just a loyal person to a fault and when it’s not reciprocated it makes it feel a million time worse.
I check the twenty-five emails in my inbox and I find most of them to be small jobs that can be done within an hour or so. Giving it a hot minute, I prioritize them then move on to the larger money emails. Upon organizing the files, I find three that will set me up for the next year, so I open the first one. Most of the time it’s large companies that want me to hack a competitor’s system to gain the upper hand. Which is completely and morally wrong, but why waste such brilliant talent, right? Besides, if I wasn’t doing it then someone else would be. Why can’t I gain some money using my talent?
I’m a night owl, so I work through the early morning and sleep during the day after my morning runs. When my alarm croaks at 5:45a.m., I save my encrypted files then go in search for my running gear. I split my ten mile daily run into running five in the morning then five in the evening. I’ve always had a lot of energy, even as a child, so burning that off helps clear my mind and body to relax. It also helps me sleep better after a long night of sitting on my ass in front of a computer screen.
After lacing up my shoes, I walk by the mirror to make sure nothing is hanging out and that all my lady parts are covered. I’m in long, black, tight fitting running pants that hug my body, a black sports bra with a loose teal soft razorback shirt and matching teal shoes. One thing I did learn in college was how to dress. My roommate was a fashion expert and gifted me her clothes every few months that she designed and made. She taught me how to dress for every occasion. Her thoughts on being stuck with a computer geek was that I was her blank canvas during our four years of college. I was resistant at first but quickly found that she didn’t take no for an answer easily.
Quietly as possible I walk out to my car and see the kitchen lights on in the main house. My mom is the trophy wife of the mayor of Sweetwater which has her out late attending a lot of social gatherings and such, so I know that she’s not the one prowling around this early in the morning. Dennis was elected four years ago and is said to be making some changes around the town that everyone loves.
As I unlock my car I hear a throat being cleared.
“Morning, Raegan.” I turn toward the voice calling out.
“Morning, Dennis,” I say in return and continue to the car.
“You know if you want to work out, we have a gym in the house you can use.”
“Yeah, I know, but I prefer the fresh air,” I say with a tight smile.
“Okay, have a good day. Oh, I know your mother is planning some early dinner thing tonight at The Slanted Porch around six.”
Wonderful, just what I needed. An evening socializing with the elite of the town is not my cup of tea.
“Thanks Dennis, I’ll talk to her when I get back,” I mutter. I really want to roll my eyes but refrain.
“Sure, honey. See you tonight,” he quips then hops into his truck and pulls out of the driveway.
After getting into the car, I drive to Fraley Park this morning to change up my routine. I try to alternate different parks in Sweetwater so I don’t get bored running the same path. After parking in a spot I reach in my console grabbing my earbuds. Once I have those in place, I secure my keys and phone in the back pocket of my pants and start my run. I found that after moving to Seattle with my dad in high school, running really helped clear my thoughts and pushing myself was a way to release stress and frustration.
After a while, my body starts getting into a rhythm with the beat of the music playing in my ears. My body feels good and alive. I zone out the world, clearing my mind. It isn’t until the halfway mark where I turn around that I notice a motorcycle following me. What in the hell? Slowing my pace to an almost stop forces the motorcycle to stop as well.
“What the hell? Are you stalking me now?” I question, a little mad that my stride was interrupted by this man.
“Wildcat, I was just out for my morning ride when I spotted you. No need to call the police,” Kane jokes with a smirk on his handsome face and a new ballcap turned around on his head.
“Riiight,” I sarcastically say.
“Are you running back to Newman Park?”
“No, I’m at Fraley Park this morning. Why?”
“Just wondering where I need to avoid.” He shrugs with a devious smile. “What are your plans later today?”
“Thought you said we should steer clear of each other,” I say, throwing his words back at him.
“Maybe so, but we both know that you’ll have a hard time staying away from a stud like me.”
His statement makes me roll my eyes and hold in a laugh. Seems to me that he is the one having the hard time.
