Fourth To Run. Carys Jones

blades of grass dampened his bare skin.

      “I just woke up and realized you weren’t there,” he explained. “Are you alright?”

      “I’m fine.” Brandy’s lips arched in to a perfect smile and she turned away from him to look back up at the sky.

      “I just couldn’t sleep,” she admitted. “I’d forgotten how still the night is here. I never thought I’d miss the sound of car horns.”

      Aiden carefully looped an arm across her shoulders. He felt Brandy relax beneath his touch. She was cold but her skin remained smooth.

      “I always used to sit and look up at the stars when I lived in Avalon,” Brandy recalled wistfully.

      “So much changes down here but they remain constant.”

      Aiden tilted his head upwards so that he too was gazing upon the stars. It was a clear evening so his vision wasn’t obscured by any stray clouds. All he could see was the impressive infinity that was the universe. Stars glittered against the dense backdrop of the night sky like the rarest of diamonds. Presiding over them all was the silvery face of the moon; full and magical.

      With a twinge of regret Aiden realized that this was the first time since moving to Avalon that he’d actually taken the time to fully appreciate the majesty of the night sky. Without the lights of the city to battle against, the natural wonder of the stars in the heavens looked most impressive.

      He remembered how as a boy living in Greensburg he’d look up the stars as he lay side by side with his friends in the grass. Seeing those distant suns somehow emboldened them and made them want to do great things. All except Justin. He would roll onto his side and curse the stars for their ability to make his existence seem insignificant.

      “There is so much beauty up there,” Brandy whispered in awe. Her soft voice brought Aiden back into the moment and he pulled her close to him as they both continued to look up.

      “I wish we could see all the stars, but some are too far away.”

      “I remember you telling me once how just because we can’t see a star it doesn’t mean it doesn’t sparkle.” Aiden recalled fondly.

      “You remember that?” Brandy lowered her gaze so that she was looking in to his eyes.

      “Yeah,” Aiden admitted with a shy smile. “I remember everything about you.”

      Beneath the glittering stars he tilted his head down towards Brandy and softly placed his lips upon hers. It felt so good to kiss her, so natural. He raised a hand to stroke her cheek, savoring how she felt beneath his fingertips. He had yearned for so long to be able to touch her in this way.

      *

      Aiden woke up and stretched. He expected to find himself in his own bed but his senses were suddenly jolted into a state of alertness when he registered the morning sun pressing upon his eyes and the grass beneath his back. Sitting up, Aiden felt lightheaded for a moment, but as the feeling swiftly passed he realized he was in his own back garden. The events from the previous night filtered back to him like a pleasant dream. He’d wandered downstairs and found Brandy sat upon the lawn and then…

      A cheeky smile streaked across Aiden’s face. He rubbed his cheeks which were already bristled with morning stubble and awkwardly stood up. His entire body ached from sleeping against the hard ground. But despite the burning tension in his joints, his mood was as bright as the golden morning sunshine. The stars overhead were now gone, replaced by a brilliant ocean of seemingly endless blue sky.

      Aiden entered his house and was greeted by the hearty aroma of freshly brewed coffee. He followed the scent towards the kitchen where Brandy was hovering over the stove making pancakes, still in her nightdress.

      “Did we actually sleep in the garden?” Aiden laughed as he came up behind her and placed his hands on her slender waist.

      “Well, you did,” Brandy laughed lightly. “I just sat and enjoyed the quiet.”

      “I thought you missed the noise of the city.”

      “I do.” Brandy nodded. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t also enjoy the quiet. I’d forgotten all the things I liked about Avalon. Like how bright the stars shine here.”

      “Yeah,” Aiden felt intoxicated by Brandy’s presence. She had the power to make him forget about almost everything. But there was no escaping reality, no matter how much he yearned to.

      “Shit!” Aiden’s eyes shot up at the clock on the wall. It told him it was seven in the morning. He needed to be getting ready for work.

      “I need to go and shower, I can’t be late again!”

      “Don’t you own the firm?” Brandy shouted after him as he sprinted up the stairs towards the bathroom.

      “Yes, but try telling Betty that!” Aiden called back.

      *

      It was just before eight when Aiden arrived at the offices of Copes and May and, predictably, Betty was waiting outside the front door, her purse neatly clasped in her hands. She smiled thinly in greeting at Aiden as he hastily locked his car and fumbled for the keys to the office.

      “You know, Betty, you don’t have to wait for me to arrive before opening up,” Aiden told her for what felt like the hundredth time.

      “Nonsense,” Betty chided him as she politely waited for him to open the door. “I want you to feel like this firm is yours. Opening up each morning will give you a sense of ownership.”

      Aiden wanted to point out that the firm would feel much more like it was his if Betty would stop insisting on telling him what to do. But he was grateful for the old woman’s guidance. She was, after all, just keen to help and make the transition to their new working model all the easier.

      Even though the hour was early it was already hot outside. Aiden was glad to enter the dark coolness of the office. Each morning he made sure to turn on the air conditioning so that Betty couldn’t overheat.

      “Here’s to a good day,” Betty smiled as she purposefully walked past him towards her desk.

      “I’ll go get us some drinks.” Aiden nodded at her. The routine was always the same. Aiden would open up and then head across the street to pick up some drinks and snacks for them. But the weight of words still unspoken were beginning to weigh heavy on Aiden. Betty was oblivious to the fact that Brandy was now living with him. It had been three weeks and she’d yet to step foot beyond his house. He knew he couldn’t keep her a secret forever. And once one person knew, the whole of Avalon would know. Gossip spread faster than any virus ever could.

      Aiden was just starting to feel like he belonged. In the morning people would greet him with a smile. In bequeathing his firm to Aiden, his late colleague Edmond had publically placed a seal of approval upon the younger man and Avalon had responded. He wasn’t a pariah; he was almost one of them. If the town learned that Brandy was now in his life all that would change, he’d go back to being demonized. As loath as he was to admit it, Aiden quite liked being in people’s good graces. It certainly made working in Avalon much easier.

      “Here you go.” Aiden placed a Styrofoam cup of earl grey tea and a croissant upon Betty’s desk. She nodded politely at Aiden and then returned her attention to her computer screen where she was already busily managing emails which had come in.

      Aiden moved beyond her towards his own office. It was a sleek, modern space with hard wood floors and a grand desk boasting two computer monitors. Cooled air was already circulating thanks to the air conditioning system. Aiden dropped his briefcase by his desk and sat down in his leather chair. With a sigh he recalled that it hadn’t always been like this. When he first worked at Copes and May, the offices were shabby and he hadn’t been alone. His graze drifted, as it always did, to the part of the room where Edmond Copes’ desk had once stood.

      A hole opened up in Aiden’s chest as he recalled the older man who had brought him to Avalon in the first place.