Blue258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoxmOvReJTZ
I went to bed early; I desperately need a decent night's sleep.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfpFoMwfQz
Half an hour later, though, I'm still staring up at the stained ceiling, sweating, and cursing Hunter's stepfather.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMua533jDbJ
Even with his stepson living in the house, the sonofabitch won't spring for decent air conditioning. Or do much else to fix this place up. It's literally falling apart.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXksmXzFkXu
Maybe it's precisely because Hunter lives here that his rich AF stepdad is such a cheapass. The two of them seem to despise each other. The one time I met him, the tension between him and Hunter was so thick, so weighted with contempt and hatred, that it actually made my relationship with my father look good.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBJmy8aAQsn
That kind of blew my mind.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSj6CoWDgD7
I sit up and switch on the lamp next to my bed, then grab the guitar leaning against the nightstand. The instrument's dinged wood has almost as many battle scars as I do. But it's kept me sane, or at least saner than I would have been without it. No doubt in my mind about that.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoiy0RiI473
Plus, it was the last communication I'll ever have from my old man, his peace offering.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIFYqaDct7K
And I never even thanked him for it. I figured I'd have plenty of time later, after I let him suffer for all he put me through. All he put my mother through.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKh6dgtUoxo
But all of us ran out of time.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIQefY5AHAg
Sweat is soaking my back, and I can't stand to sit here any longer. "Fuck this," I mutter, jumping off the bed and heading out to the porch.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOMn4nuEWDX
I've still got the guitar clutched in one hand, and I'm thinking maybe I can play for a while out here where it's cooler. Maybe that will soothe the craziness in my brain enough that I can finally fall asleep.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvZ7xfZHyV4
Slumping onto the squeaking porch swing gives me a sinking feeling, though. It's too damn noisy out here to focus on the music. Or on anything else, for that matter. A screeching army of cicadas is in full effect and has shattered my plans.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlSZV73Ce2O
Frustrated, I swing back and forth for a few minutes, risking splinters by dragging my bare feet over the rough boards of the porch. I'm trying to empty my mind.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLM0OlGDW4C
Then I realize I'm hearing noises above me. Still holding the guitar, I step off the porch and look up toward Keegan's room.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP4oA6Nrde2
And there she is, sitting on the roof near her bedroom window, dressed in some flimsy little pajama thing that, all by itself, is threatening to give me a friggin' hard-on.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKYuoyElJCo
Jesus. I don't know exactly what it is about this girl. But damn, she gets to me.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgkrrPx48BW
I take a deep breath, staring up at her. It looks like she's writing something.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY2C35K6Iqa
"Hey," I call up to her, crossing my legs in what I hope is a casual, not-trying-to-conceal-the-front-of-my-boxers kind of way, "you discovered the best spot in the entire house!" My words echo in the night air.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXpVzzWv2Qt
There's a long, kind of painful pause. Keegan closes the notebook she was writing in.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLbs02i33pO
"Hey," she finally responds, sounding less than thrilled at my interruption.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9hwJpoeEul
"Feel like some company?" I hadn't planned to say that. It just popped out.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYzRvDw1kft
And again, there's another long pause. Ouch.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGyqwrdSiQV
"Sure," she says after what feels like a hell of a long time. Again, she doesn't sound too enthusiastic.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4d0WeLwiW9
I guess I should take the hint, stop being such a weirdo. But dammit, I'd like to get to know her better. We're going to be living together, after all.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLzkz3erL3c
I turn toward the tree and jump up into the lowest branches, the guitar still on my back.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN9j75gyIVN
Yeah, I should take the stairs to her room like a normal human being. But Blue-to-the-Rescue always likes to make a big entrance.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgg6C18iYiO
The guys in my unit nicknamed me that after I helped a group of Afghan civilians stranded in their flooded village. At the time, I liked being called that.
It fit the stupid idea I had of myself as some kind of hero.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoPG9bZapN4
I was young and really dumb back then. And coming to the rescue is what I thought I was doing later on, when everything went so wrong over there. I was just trying to help. Or so I've told myself a zillion times. But I doubt anyone else would see it that way.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvWp9W6B3Lm
I keep climbing, trying to get away from the memories. Like that's ever going to happen.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdQbV7z8ukn
"What are you doing?" Keegan asks, surprised. Is it just my imagination she sounds a little excited, too?258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm85zvM89Wq
I grin up at her as I reach for another branch. "I'm coming to see you."
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