Chapter 5
Upon waking up the next morning, the first thing Courtney decided to do was head outside for a nice, long walk.
After her tiff with her mother the night before, Courtney had remained seated in her chair for a good twenty or so minutes, mindlessly admiring the polished wood cabinets and running her fingers across the smooth, cold countertop. She was mildly surprised when the door to the kitchen slid open a crack and her most recent opponent's face appeared. Judging by the lack of color in the woman's cheeks, she seemed to have fully regained her composure, but Courtney knew better than to push her luck. She nodded at the news that "Mr. Caldwell" had left, keeping her eyes on the floor as she stood and retreated up the stairs to her bedroom. The rest of the afternoon was spent lying stomach-down on her bed, alternating between rereading the crumpled note and batting it between her hands.
Having skipped dinner again, Courtney made sure to stop by the kitchen to grab some breakfast before venturing out. The girl purposefully ignored her mother standing by the sink as she popped a slice of bread in the toaster. She hadn't spoken one word since their fight, and at that moment she had no intention of remedying the situation. Wrapping a thin cardigan around her shoulders and sticking on some old sneakers, Courtney snatched up the toast and strutted out the door.
Her mother didn't spare her a glance.
The late winter air was crisp and cool, but not freezing—perfect for clearing her mind. In less than five bites, the girl devoured her breakfast, then breathed in deeply. She didn't smile, but the creases in her forehead smoothed considerably. She kept on walking.
Around a mile into Courtney's stroll, a long line of trees dotted with benches appeared to her right. The green leaves trembled on their branches. Without a second thought, she turned and headed in their direction, not even pausing to look both ways before crossing the street. It didn't matter though. From what she could see, the park was abandoned, as were the roads surrounding it. Stepping up on the pavement on the other side, she resisted the urge to hug herself as a particularly cold blast of air assaulted her frame and her mind drifted to more unpleasant things.
Like her mother. Why did the woman have to control her whole life? It wasn't as if whatever Courtney did would make much of a difference to her; she was already one of the biggest lawyers in the business; she didn't need any help with her career. Why did she even bother? The ludicrous notion that the woman's actions were simply a twisted expression of her love for her daughter made Courtney scoff. Her mother didn't even respect her—there was no way in hell she loved her. All she wanted was for the girl to be out of her hair.
The wind blew at her again as if in agreement. Courtney sunk down onto one of the wooden benches to avoid crashing headfirst into a tree. Tucking her fists underneath her chin, she released an audible groan. Tears of frustration pricked at her eyes, but they didn't fall; she wouldn't let herself be weak.
The most likely explanation was that her mother just didn't want her becoming an embarrassment. A stain on her pristine reputation. That was probably it. She didn't want Courtney to do something stupid and ruin the family name, and by controlling her life she was making damn certain that something like that could never happen. The thought angered Courtney. It almost made her want to deliberately cause a scene, just to irritate the woman. Key the Caldwells' cars. Drop out of high school. Take up pole dancing.
The corners of her lips flickered upwards for half a second. She'd be disowned in a heartbeat.
Courtney lifted her head from her hands and shook herself abruptly. No. She shouldn't waste her time contemplating those things. She was supposed to be relaxing, escaping all the home drama, not working herself up over it. Standing up, the girl closed her eyes and stretched her arms out by her sides, letting her fingers flex into the now still air. When her eyelids lifted a minute later, she felt decidedly calmer.
Playing with the frayed edges of her sleeves, Courtney took a quick survey of her surroundings. There was still no one else around, fortunately, but the sun was slightly higher in the sky than when she had first sat down, bathing the treetops in a warm light. The breeze, however, was just as cool. She guessed the time to be about nine-thirty.
The brunette hummed to herself as she started walking the paved stone path that wound through the grass and trees. Her hands were wrung loosely together in front of her, bouncing against her leg with each step she took. She let her mind empty as she watched birds flit between trees and clouds float across the blue sky. Gradually, a smile took over her lips.
Several minutes passed in this tranquility before Courtney suddenly became aware of what sounded like footsteps coming from behind her. They were quick and light, as if the person was running. Courtney's brow furrowed in confusion, but she nevertheless moved to the side of the path. Perhaps someone was trying to jog past her? Sending a nonchalant glance backwards, she attempted to glimpse who it was. Her feet halted so quickly that she almost fell over.
The path was empty.
For a moment, Courtney just stared in disbelief. She could have sworn she'd heard someone running behind her only seconds ago. But, ever too logical to believe they had literally disappeared, she brushed it off as her imagination. She had been acting paranoid lately, no doubt because of the whole "stalker" incident. It seemed a lot longer than two days since that whole thing had gone down.
She pressed her fingers hard into her temples. No, stop it. That was another thing she shouldn't be musing over.
Determined to divert her thoughts from ever more dangerous waters, Courtney returned to her stroll with renewed vigor. Normally she would be heading back home by now, having had her fill of nature and wanting to get back to studying for next month's tests. But today, she intended to be as far away from her mother as possible.
No more than three minutes later, Courtney heard the steps once more. These were louder, faster than the ones from earlier, and they made her heart beat even harder in her chest. She didn't want to look back, afraid of what she would—or wouldn't—see. She picked up the pace. Unfortunately for her, her pursuer only seemed to speed up in response.
Just as Courtney was considering breaking into a sprint, a hand reached out and grabbed her shoulder. Lurching backwards at the contact, the girl spun around, fists at the ready, to come face to face with—
"Bridgette?"
The blonde, dressed in a light blue tracksuit and wearing her hair up in her usual ponytail, grinned at her friend's baffled expression. "Hey, Court," she replied, pulling a pair of earbuds from her ears as she spoke. "What's up?"
Courtney's jaw dropped. She smacked Bridgette lightly on the arm. "'What's up?' What's up is that you nearly gave me a heart-attack! You can't just—just sneak up on me like that!" Pressing a hand to her forehead, she squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to calm down a bit. "I'm sorry, Bridgette. It's not you, I just... I haven't been all there recently." Her tone was genuinely apologetic. "I didn't mean to yell at you." Luckily for her, Bridgette looked nothing more than amused.
"Hey, don't worry about it. Besides, it's not like it hasn't happened before," she added cheekily, laughing at the glare the brunette shot her. "What? It's true."
Courtney rolled her eyes, but chuckled along with her friend. "I suppose you're right." A possibility coming to mind, she paused and glanced around momentarily, then asked, "Hey, um, not that it really matters, but how long were you following me for?"
Bridgette raised a pale brow at the question. "I don't know. Maybe a minute, two tops. You were walking pretty fast. I had to almost sprint to catch up to you. I was starting to think you were running away from me." It was said casually, lightheartedly, but her face hinted at a question. Courtney pretended not to pick up on it. She wasn't sure she could explain it herself.
So, she changed the subject. "Well, anyway, what's up with you and Geoff these days?" With some extra effort, she managed a teasing smirk to compliment her words. "Have you admitted your undying love for each other yet?"
The effect was immediate and exactly as she hoped. Bridgette's cheeks flushed deep red, as if they had been stained with wine. She stuttered out an incoherent denial. Her previous suspicion had clearly been forgotten. "Wh-what are you... We're not... It's not... I'm..." A momentary lapse, and then a futile, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Courtney half-grinned. She'd forgotten how entertaining heckling her best friend could be. "You don't have to lie to me, Bridgette. I saw you making googly eyes at each other in the cafeteria last week."
The other girl's mouth fell open. She lifted a finger in protest, "I was not making googly eyes at him. I was just, erm, admiring his..." Bridgette faltered at the disbelieving look Courtney was giving her. Her hand dropped to her side. "Okay, I was checking him out. But," she added with a sheepish smile, "Can you really blame me? He is pretty attractive."
Courtney rolled her dark eyes as the pair continued down the park path. "Oh, yes, because wearing a cowboy hat 24/7 is so fashionable these days."
"I happen to think it's cute."
"Uh-huh, sure."
Having run out of things to say, Bridgette simply huffed and went quiet for the next few minutes. But it wasn't the strained, apprehensive quiet Courtney had grown used to lately. This was comfortable, and it brought her the peace and security that she hadn't been willing to admit she needed. She did need it though, and rather desperately. With Bridgette she felt at ease for the first time in days. If there was some way to thank her without also burdening her with the stress of the past week, Courtney would have done it.
She settled for grabbing the blonde's hand and giving it a squeeze.
A/N: (Edit) 12/19/20
Sorry for how short and relatively uneventful this chapter is, but I'm trying to build up to the right moment. Don't worry, Duncan and Courtney will meet very soon.
Anyways, thanks for sticking around! Shoot me a review if you have feedback :).
-Scraps
