9. Cleo

9

CLEO

The bird chirping was fucking annoying.

I clacked my fingers against my laptop, each key making a light tap that satisfied my ears. Flicking my eyes to the nearly empty document open on the screen, I groaned.

This is infuriating .

My chair squeaked against the wood floors as I pushed my chair away from the desk in my tiny office. Usually, the morning birds were a comfort. But now they just kept interrupting my attempts to write. I only had a few minutes before I needed to take off for my softball game.

I'd woken up early because the bright fall sun streamed into my bedroom. So I'd gotten dressed, ate breakfast, and then sat in front of the screen, begging words to flow from my mind down into my fingers.

"Ugh." I leaned back in the chair and let out a sigh.

After a moment of trying to steady myself, I checked the clock. It was just about time to head to the game but it was the last thing I wanted to do right now.

At least it would be a convenient excuse to avoid this idea for a little longer.

Standing from my desk, I pushed in the chair and slammed my laptop shut. I tucked in my loose jersey – a cotton t-shirt. The waistband of the tight, white polyester pants was loose enough to slip the shirt into.

I walked through my clean apartment, a small place above the bookstore that I'd been in for as long as I could remember. The sun was peeking through the east-facing windows as New Winford started to wake up.

By the front door, I slipped on my game-day slides and tossed my dirty cleats into the worn duffel bag stationed by the exit.

Before I left, I scanned the couch for Finn's usual napping spots. The tabby cat was perched on his cat tree, soaking in the early morning sun after getting his breakfast.

I smiled at his sweet, sleepy face. "See you later, Finny."

He only lifted his head when the front door opened, droopy eyes barely opening to see where I was going.

I took the stairs down to the street quickly, barely holding on to the railing.

When I stepped outside, locking the door behind me, I poked my head to the doorway next to the apartment entrance. It was the front door to the bookstore, securely locked with all the lights inside turned off.

With an assured nod, I headed behind the building to the tiny parking lot where my Corolla was waiting for me. It was a few years old, some dinges decorating its sides. But it did the job and I didn't need much.

I tossed my bag into the passenger seat and hopped inside, pulling out of the parking lot and making the quick drive through town to the park. Unlike the kids leagues, which played at the New Winford Town Park, the rec league was relegated to a small field at a park just outside of town.

Once I parked and hopped out of my car, I could already hear the sound of softballs smacking into leather gloves as my team warmed up. Hopefully, Bri wasn't waiting for me.

But as I crossed the dewy soccer field that led to the chainlink fence of the softball diamond, I saw her tightening her cleats in the dugout. She let out a massive yawn just as I entered the concrete cave.

Patting her back, I chuckled. "You look like a bag of shit."

Bri rolled her eyes. "I'm starting to think you don't know how to be nice."

With a shake of my head, I led Bri out to the field to take our positions as the game was about to start. As we walked, she told me about her late night in the hospital with Sarah Greenwood's entire family.

We walked about twenty yards apart. Raising my voice, I watched as the first batter stepped up to the plate. "What were you doing there?"

"Robin asked me to come help with Sarah's kids while we waited for her to get there." Bri shrugged, a light blush teasing her cheeks.

I tilted my head, my eyebrows wrinkling. "Where was she?"

Leaning down into position, she quipped, "On a date." Our pitcher got into position as she prepared to throw the first pitch of the game, forcing me to hold back my gawking as I prepared to receive the play.

"Christ," I muttered. The more Bri talked about her complicated love life, the less I wanted to date. A part of me wanted to want it more. But after the way Cat had hurt me, I wasn't sure love was worth the risk.