Running Home

The crisp mountain whipped around me, beginning to redden my skin. This was my favorite place to clear my head, I could look down the cliff side onto the town below making up stories as to where each car was headed as it drove away. I wonder if someone is looking up towards the pass right now doing the same thing. I picked up my pace as I headed around the next bend of the mountain, the road was rarely traveled so I could really unleash and let go up here. The smell of pine trees and fallen leaves had overtaken the harsh summer heat, autumn was my favorite time of year. As I came around the last curve of the mountain, I saw the town quickly approaching, beginning to slow myself I noticed a few loose rocks tumbling down the cliffside ahead of me. I glanced up the mountain but saw nothing. Entering into town from this side brought you straight into a sleepy little neighborhood where most of the town lived. It was full of cookie cutter houses with fences that lined the sidewalks, perfectly manicured gardens surrounded each home, children and dogs played in the yards. If you closed your eyes and imagined the perfect place to grow up, this was it. I slowed myself to a crawl as I made my way down the street, trying to ignore the disapproving eyes coming from the residents. Shaking my head as a I came to the stop sign, I looked over just in time to see a woman ushering her son inside while glaring directly at me. I understood the looks, I'm sure moments ago their little street was silent only with the sound of chirping birds, frustrated I opened up my throttle and bellowed onto the main road.  Headed into downtown was filled with little shops with quaint window displays, I rounded the next street where the buildings began to look rougher, at the next right I smirked to see the white sneakers strung up on the electrical line. I pulled into Ty's Autoshop and hung my helmet off my handlebars, walking in I saw Ty slumped over the hood of some old fixer upper he'd recently drug in. He leaned out and gave me a smirk as I made my way into the office. The door hadn't even closed behind me as Ty walked in wiping his forehead with his dirty pocket rag. "Don't tell me you couldn't sleep again last night" he questioned. "I had another dream so I decided to go clear my head instead of sitting around waiting for you to get here" I replied. "You really should go talk to Doc about these dreams, no human can survive off of the amount of sleep you're getting" Ty looked at me concerned. I ignored him, wandering over to the refrigerator grabbing a leftover sandwich from yesterday and handing him a beer. Sitting down at the desk, he was still  standing in the doorway looking at me with a furrowed brow. "A guy came by looking for you last night, I think he had a job for you." He paused waiting for me to look up. "He didn't leave any information, he must be a friend of Kyle's I've seen them together a few times over at Dolly's" Ty stated. "Did he say when he'd be back?" I questioned. "You know you could work here fulltime, I have plenty of work and you know you'd like to spend all day with me" he smirked. Standing up I walked over and draped my arms around his neck, at a solid 6ft he was quite a bit taller than me, "Why so you can stare at my ass more than you already do?" I quipped. He gave me a boyish smile and scooped me up sitting me on the desk. "You know its not that" he looked at me with seriousness. Tytus hated my chosen profession but he couldn't say much about it because it was the reason we met in the first place. "Did he say when he was coming back?" I asked ignoring his tone. "8pm tonight. I planned to work late anyway so I'll still be here if you need me" he stated. I knew he hadn't planned to work late, he made it a point to leave on time on Fridays so he could get over to Dolly's and get our regular table before too many people filled in. I hopped off the desk giving him a playful shove in the chest as I headed out the door. Out back I made my way up the metal staircase to my apartment, Ty had rented it to me the moment I decided to stay in town. Unlocking the door, I noticed the pile of dishes in the sink that I'd been ignoring, filling a glass of water I went to fill my plant on the windowsill. I didn't have many possessions of my own since prior to moving in here I had practically lived off of my motorcycle. I decided to keep it that way in case I ever needed to leave again, my only exception was my plant, somehow it made me feel like I was finally settled down. I made my way into the bathroom, glancing at my appearance in the mirror, my face was covered in dust from the ride and my hair wasn't much better. I pulled my hair down letting it fall past my shoulders, running my fingers through it in attempt to remove a few of the knots before showering. Typically I would get ready and head back down to see if Ty needed any help before he closed, but the lack of sleep was catching up to me and I decided to try and rest before the evening began.