Page 6 of Wings of Destiny

I got up and headed toward the kitchen, my mouth salivating.

“Looks like someone slept hard. Nice hair.” His voice teasing.

I stopped and sprinted to my bathroom.

Oh lord.

I had raccoon eyes and looked like I had a freaking rats nest on my head. I grabbed my brush and ran it through my hair as quickly as I could; splashed some water on my face and wiped what was left of the mascara on the—now blackened—hand towel. I walked back out to the kitchen to see Seth doubled over laughing.

Ass.

“Jerk. I’ll have you know, my sleep schedule has been screwed up lately. Between school, work, and these freaking nightmares”—I paused as I caught him swiping a tear from his eye—“Gee, could you laugh any harder? Jerk.” I stuck my tongue out at him.

“Alright, alright, sorry. Just the look on your face was priceless. Want some coffee?” He slid me a cup across the counter and I snatched it, needing the morning boost.

“Actually, I was wanting to run something by you. I had another dream yesterday, after class.”

His brows furrowed, confused. “What do you mean?”

I explained what happened and his confused look morphed into one of concern. He was processing.

“Did this guy say anything else to you? Before he…Before you woke up?” The way he said it was like he almost knew something about it. I cocked my eyebrow at him.

“No, that was it. They just said ‘be prepared,’ pushed on my chest, and I woke up. I think.”

Did I wake up? Thinking about it, it was almost like I didn’t wake up and just ended up back in my car.

An uneasy feeling settled over me.

Seth was definitely worried about something. “Well. What do you think it means? Because honestly I’m confused as hell.”

“Hmm.” He was thinking. Minutes ticked by and it felt like we’d been standing there forever.

“Hello. Earth to Seth.”

“I think I need to talk to one of my buddies. He might be able to help.”

Why would Seth need to talk to a buddy about my dream? It was a dream, a weird one, but it can’t be that serious that he’d need to consult someone about it.

He grabbed his keys and headed out the door. “I’ll text you later.”

My brows furrowed. I stood there confused and wondering what had him worried. I shook it off and chalked it up to overthinking then grabbed some cleaner and finished cleaning from the night before.

Once the apartment was spotless, I checked my phone.

Still no text from Seth.

I chewed my lip between my teeth for a moment before deciding there was no point in waiting around. I threw on a pair of running shorts with a black T-shirt, grabbed my keys, and headed out the door, locking up behind me. It was beautiful out; a comfortable heat from the sun with a light breeze and not a cloud in the clear blue sky.

Perfect weather for a jog.

I double checked my shoelaces and took off.

Three miles into my run, I felt my phone buzz. I stopped at a nearby bench using the opportunity to rest for a minute. It was a text from Seth saying we’d talk after the movies tonight. I took that as a good sign, if it was urgent or important, he’d want to meet up sooner. I texted him back and slid my phone back into my pocket. I still had a few hours before they picked me up and decided to run a bit further.

By the time I made it back to my apartment, I’d jogged almost eleven miles. Lost in thought, running further than I’d originally planned and drenched in sweat. I pulled out my sweat-slicked phone, suddenly very grateful that I had caved and gotten a case for it, and checked the time.

Still have about an hour to spare.Fastest run of my life apparently.

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