Blue178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCDiOewEFpr
I went to bed early; I desperately need a decent night's sleep.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvijOJlS6vM
Half an hour later, though, I'm still staring up at the stained ceiling, sweating, and cursing Hunter's stepfather.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjcQzfchD1f
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.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAWYy8QJ31P
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.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoFjbN9hMin
That kind of blew my mind.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGY6kDkVG7x
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.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWOhhrX3w30
Plus, it was the last communication I'll ever have from my old man, his peace offering.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6EySFLEmcG
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.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsK7qCoVmDF
But all of us ran out of time.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsxwdZilCEQ
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.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡokat32aGj5
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.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZYUHvwc3rx
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.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvXTpFVa3cj
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.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSlj1aV3OZq
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.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc82jaugu4M
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.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZfWpsg2a3Z
Jesus. I don't know exactly what it is about this girl. But damn, she gets to me.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwJXIiyvWK
I take a deep breath, staring up at her. It looks like she's writing something.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq0l6hAOTan
"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.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQRTbIqCVAp
There's a long, kind of painful pause. Keegan closes the notebook she was writing in.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcgH6i15BYl
"Hey," she finally responds, sounding less than thrilled at my interruption.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoQtg2g7LAU
"Feel like some company?" I hadn't planned to say that. It just popped out.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCh3PcVSPkL
And again, there's another long pause. Ouch.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPd5d6PM89y
"Sure," she says after what feels like a hell of a long time. Again, she doesn't sound too enthusiastic.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrvnSCmnELs
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.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlHoQfT7XCR
I turn toward the tree and jump up into the lowest branches, the guitar still on my back.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVl7wDexiXV
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.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeRsy2aNedn
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.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUk27TLUwuz
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.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzHnWY5Wec3
I keep climbing, trying to get away from the memories. Like that's ever going to happen.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwqDzSjaRQU
"What are you doing?" Keegan asks, surprised. Is it just my imagination she sounds a little excited, too?178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5yVWjSncpZ
I grin up at her as I reach for another branch. "I'm coming to see you."
ns 15.158.61.20da2
