Oranges & Roses

Free Yourself

Unedited.

Chapter Thirty-Four 

I woke up feeling like crap. My hair was a complete mess, my eyes were puffy, and my heart felt like it was stomped on and then ran over. Michelle wasn’t here which in my opinion was good. I didn’t need the third degree and I didn’t want to talk about it. From now on, I would act as if it didn’t happen and when it came time to leave, I would move on. This was not going to set me back.

I would be fine.

At least that’s what I kept telling myself over and over again as I got up to get ready to go to the gym. I needed to get some exercise in and then I needed to eat. Despite what they tell you, sex does not count as your daily dose of physical activity. When I got out in the hall, I ignored Lindsey who was apparently up to bat on the guard duty food chain. He wouldn’t follow me as long as Michelle was still in her room. Of that I was sure because he didn’t trail me to the bathroom whenever I needed to go. He would rely on the guard by the elevator to pick me up and follow me up to the gym.

So efficient.

The only problem with the gym was I had to mix with the cop element. I hoped Rey wouldn’t be there or anyone else who might judge me for who I used to be. Thankfully they pretty much annoyed me and the suit following me stopped at the door. The track was devoid of people while the weight room and basketball court were packed.

I really hoped someone taught them that it wasn’t just about muscle mass but cardio as well.

Can’t work out if you can’t breathe. Guess that’s where the basketball came into play.

I did my eight laps around the track, which correlated into two miles, and did my cool down lap of jogging before doing yet another lap of walking. When I got to the entrance to the track, since it was set apart, a familiar face was standing there waiting on me.

One I actually welcomed.

“Houston,” I said joyfully before jogging over to give him a hug. He wasn’t expecting the hug but gratefully accepted it. “What are you doing here?”

“I just got here and wanted to see how you were doing.” He looked me over for a second before tilting his head towards the track. “Want to do another lap so we can talk?”

“For you? Sure.”

We set off at a leisurely pace and maybe got to the first shoulder before he said anything. “So I want you to know that I figured it out.”

I looked at him, confused. “Figured what out?”

“What happened to you that night.” Ah. Now that made sense. It actually took him longer than I thought it would and I started to think he cheated by looking at what Rey might’ve reported. I dismissed that thought quickly though because I never told Rey about the technical details of that night. “I was thinking about it when you left my apartment the other night and I took another look at the report, at the facts. When it finally clicked, I took my suspicions to the Chief before I left, and he confirmed it.” He glanced down at me. “You made him a promise that you would stay clean in exchange that he would keep the miscarriage out of the file.”

I shrugged. “I was young. He took pity on me.”

“He’s a kind man, the Chief. He saw the same thing in you that his nephew did.”

“Which would be what?”

“The same thing that everyone eventually sees in you. That you could and can be saved. Plus he didn’t want to see you and the situations smeared across the front page of every newspaper in the country. That would’ve done even more damage to your psyche.”