Exit Wounds | Noah Sebastian

N I N E

"Lanes," Finn groans beside me, I crack my eyes open, my mouth feels like sandpaper.

"Finn," I reply, I know we are both miserable from the tone of his voice.

"Are you hungover?"

"Yes," I say pulling myself out of the bed.  I pad to the kitchen to grab a kombucha for the two of us and hand him one.

"No, that shit is gross," he shakes his head at me.

"I promise it will make you feel better," I force him to take the drink.  Truthfully, I hated the taste too, but I kept them around for when I drink too much.  I wasn't sure what it was, but it was a miracle cure for hangovers.

"So, I was really drunk last night, but it seemed like I interrupted a moment between you and Noah," Finn says before taking a tentative drink and making a sour face.

"You were definitely drunk," I scowl, turning my own drink up and searching the cabinets for a pop tart.

"I don't know..." he teases finally finishing his drink, "I hate that you were right about this."

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" I ask him, desperate to get away from this subject.

"Unfortunately," he kisses my cheek, "see you Friday."

I watch him disappear up the stairs and I know I'm alone when I hear the door slam shut.  I didn't have any plans today, and I knew being alone with my thoughts wouldn't be good for me.  I had been trying way too hard to not think of Caleb at all, but I found my thoughts drifting to him.

I feel like I should have noticed the signs, maybe if I had been paying more attention, I could have stopped this trajectory somehow.  I knew things weren't great with us, but I thought it was because we had been together so long.  He was bored or I was getting on his nerves.  I had felt both of those feelings for him on occasion, like when he never helped around the house or made me cook when I didn't feel like it.  I knew things weren't perfect, but I thought we could have worked through anything.

We had talked about getting married, for fuck's sake.  I guess the promises are just words now as I wipe the tears that had escaped my eyes.  He didn't want to work on anything, he never told me he was unhappy.  He didn't even help me move my things out.

Despite all of this, I still missed him fiercely. Before we started dating we were friends, and he quickly became my best friend. I told him absolutely everything. I guess he didn't feel like he could tell me everything.

I wipe my face again and reach for my phone. It chimes with a message from Finn.

Wanna float tomorrow

Fuck yeah

I wasn't going to wallow in self pity, so I threw on some clothes and drove to the boxing club Noah had taken me to yesterday. It didn't matter that I was still sore from my session the previous day.

I pull open the doors, suddenly overwhelmed by myself and not quite sure what I should do.

"Back already?" Dan chirps, slapping a hand onto my shoulder.

"I had so much fun yesterday that I think I would like to make this a regular thing," I lie. He didn't need to know my personal issues.

Dan led me over to a reception area and I had to sign several papers saying I couldn't sue anyone if I got hurt. He waived the membership fee for me since I was providing free advertising and I was very grateful for that.

"Delaney, this is Damon, he's a trainer here and he will help you be more productive," Dan stood next to a tall man with bright blue eyes and his hair was pulled into a bun at the nape of his neck.