I want to run to feel again.

[no_voice]

Jason still doesn't know what to make of Darrow. He has his Welcome Packet, so to speak; a lot like the Orientation Packet at Saint Cecilia's, only with actual money, and a new phone unlike any he's ever seen before. He has keys to his own apartment, which also strikes him as odd and out of place. He's only recently a legal adult; how can anyone see fit to entrust him to his own place?

He crashed that first night with Noah, which was a relief, all things considered. He would have, most likely, attempted some kind of escape if he'd wound up sleeping alone. Especially after everything that happened.

He has all the makings of a new life here, Jason thinks. But he cannot reach out to those he left behind. His parents, Nadia, his friends - Peter. They are all in their own existence, believing him dead and moving on without them. And so he has to try and move on without them too.

Currently, he's throwing himself into exercise to distract himself. Ocean View Apartments, being located rather close to the beach, provides a perfect route for running. Jason, barely sleeping, wakes up mere hours after putting his head against his pillows to run while the sun is still in the process of rising. The aching of his muscles doesn't eliminate the pain and sorrow he's left behind, but it does make it easier for Jason to breathe. At least, for a little while.

He's coming home from one of these runs now, sweat soaking through his shorts and wife beater; even through his running shoes. He's ready to hurl himself into a shower when he reaches the front entrance. Which is when, of course, he realizes one very fundamental truth: he left his keys on the counter.

"Son of a bitch!" He curses, moving to lean against one of the railings by the door and hoping desperately that some kind soul or other will eventually come by to open the door.

Comments

[incognoscibilis]

"Twenty-four," Adam said, nodding toward the second floor. It was higher than his old bedroom in the trailer but not as high as his little attic nothing at St. Agnes. Definitely though, it wasn't high enough to keep Ronan from climbing into his window.

"I don't think I've seen you in the halls before."

[no_voice]

"Only ten numbers apart, what do you know," Jason eases into a joke, cracking another smile. He's grateful to be on another topic altogether. As they walk, it becomes easier for Jason to ignore the distinct unease that arose from the previous turn in conversation.

"I just got here recently, myself," Jason admits. "Almost a week ago, now."

[incognoscibilis]

Adam filed Jason's reaction away, knowing that it would always serve him well to know what made people angry or upset. There were few things more important in the world of Adam Parrish than knowing how to avoid someone's anger. This was the reaction of prey animals who knew their only hope was to be faster and fleeter than the thing that wanted to harm them.

Adam Parrish had been born prey.

"I've been here since July," he said, following down the hall for lack of anything better to do.