Page 71 of Runaway Road (Runaway 1)

“I’m okay.” A total fucking lie.

“Liar.”

I huffed. “I’m not okay.”

“Is this about . . .”

“No, this isn’t about Thomas.” I blew out a long breath, so long, she thought she’d lost me.

“Londyn?”

“I’m here.” I looked in my rearview mirror, hoping to see Brooks and knowing I wouldn’t. “I think I fell in love with someone.”

“Already?” Sh

e laughed. “That doesn’t sound like a problem to me.”

“I just left him.”

“Ah.” The line went quiet.

“What do you mean, ah?”

“Nothing.”

“Gem. Tell me.”

She sighed. “It’s just . . . this is what you do, Lonny. You get scared and run.”

“What?” I switched my grip on the wheel so I could put the phone to the other ear. Clearly, I wasn’t hearing her correctly. “I didn’t run away from Boston because I was scared.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Ouch. Okay, maybe calling my friend wasn’t the right decision today. Gemma and I were always brutally honest with one another, but I wasn’t emotionally stable enough for brutal today. Maybe I should have delayed this call a week or two.

“I left Boston to start over,” I said. “It’s time to simplify my life. I don’t have this overwhelming desire to prove myself, Gem. I’m not like you. I don’t need the money and the status.”

“I don’t need—ugh.” She paused. “This isn’t about me, and I don’t want to fight.”

I unclenched my jaw. “Me neither.”

“I’m trying to help. You sound miserable. If you truly love this guy, whoever he is, then why are you leaving?”

“I don’t know,” I confessed.

“Are you afraid you’ll find something real there?”

“Maybe I’m afraid I won’t.”

“Oh, Londyn.” There was a smile in her voice. “It sounds like you already have. So why are you leaving?”

“I need to give this car to Karson. I need to see that he’s okay.”

“Do you have to do it today? Or tomorrow? Why not stay with this guy for a little while longer?”

“Brooks. His name is Brooks.”

“Why not stay with Brooks?”