Blue217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2KFT673CoJ
I went to bed early; I desperately need a decent night's sleep.217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKSgW8RaNRq
Half an hour later, though, I'm still staring up at the stained ceiling, sweating, and cursing Hunter's stepfather.217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx287OhLbq3
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.217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZF0e3r0bb1
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.217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1SgWGhYaKz
That kind of blew my mind.217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ395Hgu98Z8
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.217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjiW3EkfSML
Plus, it was the last communication I'll ever have from my old man, his peace offering.217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnF7nvuJFCx
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.217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH0sBAqw2OP
But all of us ran out of time.217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5uSVsPyMvN
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.217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeMaGe2QXew
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.217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJgqPFrjG5Y
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.217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQx64QjzlSr
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.217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ94OxzENgdu
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.217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgITiqUN0by
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.217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ40JUNUTeKx
Jesus. I don't know exactly what it is about this girl. But damn, she gets to me.217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfuBKywK1FE
I take a deep breath, staring up at her. It looks like she's writing something.217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlljjUgb3Zn
"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.217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3jSktzqIKM
There's a long, kind of painful pause. Keegan closes the notebook she was writing in.217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfJYyQ6qg4O
"Hey," she finally responds, sounding less than thrilled at my interruption.217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRmKrFfkU3c
"Feel like some company?" I hadn't planned to say that. It just popped out.217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNsfiaWHn3Y
And again, there's another long pause. Ouch.217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTGNFAoFIsg
"Sure," she says after what feels like a hell of a long time. Again, she doesn't sound too enthusiastic.217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH6KdyFdcoh
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.217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk3w4Qpkrj7
I turn toward the tree and jump up into the lowest branches, the guitar still on my back.217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNWYBDrMAJ4
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.217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdmlgFhOS9t
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.217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCaMdCweSAE
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.217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhIltxn8V66
I keep climbing, trying to get away from the memories. Like that's ever going to happen.217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkcgUJ8jtMI
"What are you doing?" Keegan asks, surprised. Is it just my imagination she sounds a little excited, too?217Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ54ZoPx5RIc
I grin up at her as I reach for another branch. "I'm coming to see you."
ns3.19.120.1da2
