Page 6 of Unconditional

It only took a few minutes before I jumped up from the bed, knowing sleep would not return and condemning myself to another day of neglecting my business and life to continue a fruitless hunt for my shithead little brother.Forcing myself to follow through with my list of Non-Negotiables was, as per usual, more difficult than anything, but I did it.

Crawl out of bed

Brush my teeth and wash my face

Protein shake

Two-mile run

Gym

Shower

Coffee and eggs

Two chapters of reading

It was the same routine every day, no matter what else was going on.It kept my mind clear and my body healthy.By the time I completed the list, I was awake and ready to get through whatever hellscape my life would be that day.

I was on the last page of my second chapter of reading when my phone chimed on the coffee table in front of me.My jaw clenched, irritation that I had forgotten to turn off my notification alerts for my reading session flaring through me.I forced myself to finish the page and slammed the book shut, not remembering a damn word in the last three sentences.

But when I picked up the blasted device to see who was interrupting my daily routine, the irritation left my body, replaced by an odd flipping sensation in my stomach.

“miselyXfisher posted for the first time in a while.Check it out!”

I gritted my teeth, deliberating if it was worth clicking on the notification for several long seconds before jabbing at the screen.Misely was the leggy best friend of Milo’s little girlfriend, Birdie.The first time I’d seen her, she’d left me annoyingly speechless.Not that that was a hard feat by any means since I leaned more in the direction of silence anyway, but it didn’t change the fact that she had caught all of my attention.

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