With her head so full and with absolutely no desire to keep interrogating, Odette decided it would be in her best interest to go for her jog. She'd initially had no plan to do any form of working out today, but few things cleared her head better than a good run. She couldn't exactly borrow the battle arena for an impromptu dance practice at this hour, so a run was the best bet.
She was glad she'd opted to bring a pair of shorts along, because
fuck was it hot. She'd actually stripped herself down to her sports bra and laced her jacket around her waist instead. It was good nobody was around; layering a track jacket on top of a compression sleeve was already an excruciating fashion choice in island weather, and sweating herself out with a run didn't help that one bit. Plus, her shoulder scars needed to breathe too, lest her doctors come for her about it again.
"How are you doing back there, scumbag?"
Odile was strapped unceremoniously to the top of Odette's backpack. Normally she'd have fucking hated being stuck there, but she had no will to fly.
"̵H̴n̵n̶n̵n̸g̸g̸g̵g̸g̶h̴h̴h̸h̶h̷.̴"̵
"Again, I can put you back in the ball if that's better."
Somehow, that sounded worse. The idea of not being able to physically cling to Odette right now made her feel like she might collapse inward on herself.
"̵H̴n̵n̶n̵n̸g̸g̸g̵g̸g̶h̴h̴h̸h̶h̷.̴"̵
Odette just exhaled. She kept it controlled so she didn't lose her momentum. "Sure thing. You got it."
Enora effortlessly kept up with Odette, staying at a speed that allowed her to linger at her side. She'd occasionally sneak glances at Odile, becoming progressively more perplexed with each following look. Seeing her so beside herself was weird. Not unheard of, but really weird.
She had so many questions, but assuming she was only going to get mere grunts in response, she felt it best to just focus on her breathing and pace.
Odette eventually slowed to a stop somewhere down the cove, allowing her head to hang to give herself a break. As she breathed, she allowed herself to look around, taking in the cove's shimmering sand, and the waves that lapped at the shore. It almost looked inviting enough for a swim. Almost.
As her heart rate slowed, her brain traveled back to the events of the morning. All the evidence, all the talking, all the levels of fucked up it was.
She furrowed her brow upon remembering the text she'd sent Laura. She hadn't gotten a response, which wasn't a big deal. However, she hadn't seen her anywhere all morning.
A very minute sense of dread creeped up her spine and threatened to give way into her stomach as she pulled out her phone. Would it even be worth it to text her again? Chances are she didn't even get the first message. Or maybe she did and she just didn't want to respond? Or maybe she did and wanted to respond and couldn't because she's also gone missing? Also, wasn't double texting somebody you just met bad?
"I hate communication," she grumbled as she unlocked her phone and pulled up their messaging thread.
Hey, hope this isn't creepy. Just making sure you didn't go missing too. Shit's fucking weird out here. Lmk.
Straight, to the point, and no red tape. Blunt was sometimes best; she learned that from Clovis. She had to have heard that scream and at least had an inkling of an idea that something was wrong. Which meant this was okay. A friend looking out for a friend, right? She guessed they were friends, or at least acquaintances that decided to keep each other in the know. That was pretty friendly. And for all she knew, they weren't even going through.
She sent the message before she would allow it to give her a headache. [[
@unrepentantAuthor]]
