The Boston Brute

Maleficent

Running has always been your favorite way to clear your head. After your break up with Dean, you ran 3 days a week for almost a year. Rain, sleet, snow, heat, or freezing cold. Concentrating on not passing out while you gasp for breath did a pretty good job at distracting you from your thoughts of asshole men who didn't deserve you.

You trotted down the stairs, rolling your eyes when you saw Connor standing in the kitchen shirtless. "Jesus, do you live here now?"

He smirked, standing up from his bent-over position in the fridge and drinking OJ straight out of the container.

"Gah! Connor!" You walked over and snatched the carton from him. "You're disgusting."

He chuckled, running his fingers through his bedhead. "I love this, it's like living with my little sister again."

"Well. I'm glad one of us is enjoying it." You grumbled, putting the OJ back in the fridge and pouring yourself a glass of water. You took a large sip, eyeing Connor over the brim of the glass.

He gave you a once over, arching a brow. "Are you going on a run?"

"Yes. Don't act like it's so crazy to see me exercising."

His smirk grew. "It is crazy. You've gone crazy."

Rolling your eyes again, you took another big gulp, finishing off your water. "I did this after my breakup with Dean. Wheezing and feeling like I'm about to keel over dead is a better distraction than watching TV all day while stuffing my face with Ben and Jerry's, which is honestly what I'd rather do."

"You going through a breakup that I don't know about?" He asked, raising an eyebrow again while he peeled one of your clementines.

"Whatever I'm going through feels an awful lot like a breakup. And it just so happens to be your fault. So thank you for that." You replied, snatching the unpeeled fruit from his hands. "He'll be worth it, my ass." Separating one of the wedges, you popped it into your mouth. "In case I don't come back, I'm running along The Charles."

"Can you at least tell me which trail so I know where to find the body?"

"Dudley." You replied, chewing on the orange still.

Grabbing your car keys from the entryway table, Connor laughed. "You're driving there?"

"Connor, it's like a 4 mile run from here. I'm trying to clear my head, not drop dead on the side of the road. Plus, I have to work... If I ran there and back, it'd be lunchtime before I even showered."

He snorted out a laugh, grabbing another one of your clementines from the bowl on the counter. "Call me if you need to be resuscitated."

Once you got to the trail entrance, you parked your car and stood outside of the driver's side door while you stretched. The sun rose over the river, reflecting an ombre of yellows and oranges onto the water. This is something you'd miss about Boston. You would never tire of the beautiful sunrises and sunsets here. Sure, when you inevitably moved out to the west coast, there would still be sunrises and sunsets, but there was just something about seeing the sky come to life over the cityscape that made you feel at home.

There are really only 2 things you'd miss about Boston.

1. Marlowe.

2. Sunrises over the city.

That's it.

You've spent most of your adult life here and you would miss two whole things. Maybe that should've made you sad, but it didn't. No baggage and no connections mean it's easier to up and leave when you need to and as soon as you have enough saved, that's exactly what you're going to do.