Brooke
Brooke stood in the parking lot, staring out at the lake and the paved trail beyond. It had always been one of her favorite places, somewhere she could come in any weather and run. Today, though, it felt wrong. Like she should turn around and leave.
She wasn’t physically up to it, but that wasn’t the point. She needed to be here. She needed the fresh air, the quiet, and being outside gave her the space to think.
She needed to breathe.
Plus, she worried that if she didn’t go today, she’d be too scared to ever go again. She’d chosen the lake because it was well used and wide open. There was no place for anyone to hide.
Even if she couldn’t run, she could walk. Sort of. She certainly wasn’t going to be doing any speed walking, but what could she expect?
She checked her messages, hoping Tyler had replied to her text while she was driving but she didn’t hear the notification. Nothing.
Maybe she should put the phone away and let the rhythm of movement ease her aching heart. She rubbed her forehead, her fingers drifting toward the bandage. Her head still hurt—her entire body, really—but it was nothing compared to how much she missed Tyler.
More than anything, she needed to hear from him, to talk to him and find out how he was holding up. As hard as the last twenty-four hours had been for her, they were nothing compared to what he was facing.
The thought of calling him lingered. He should have been off work. Maybe he would answer this time. There was probably a valid reason for not responding before. She stood there, thumb hovering over his name in her contacts.
A car door closed, and Brooke looked behind her.
Tyler stood three spaces down beside his truck, one hand still on the door handle.
They stared at each other across the parking lot.
Her heart kicked into a faster rhythm. All the things she’d wanted to say to him, all the texts he hadn’t answered, all the doubt Joe had planted earlier—it all tangled together in her throat.
Tyler took a step toward her, then stopped.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey.” Her voice sounded like it belonged to someone else.
“I didn’t know you’d be here.”
“I didn’t plan to be.” Brooke tucked her phone into her pocket. “Are you going for a walk?”
“Thought I’d try running.” He gestured at his athletic shorts and T-shirt. “You always say it clears your head.”
“Does it?”
“Don’t know yet. Never tried it that way before.”
Brooke noticed the tension in his shoulders and the dark circles under his eyes, the way he held himself like he was bracing for another hit. “I could run with you,” she heard herself say. “If you want.”
He gestured to her head. “Are you supposed to be running?”
She gave a small, shrugging smile. “Probably not. The doctor said to take it easy for a few days. I should probably walk.”
“You probably should.”
“I don’t want to keep you from getting the workout you were hoping for.”
Tyler hesitated. “It’s probably good to walk, too, right?”
“I’m sure it is. There’re all sorts of studies about walking and mental health.”
He studied her face like he was trying to read something there. “Okay.”
