You Can't Run by Hope Davis (best way to read books .txt) 📗

for the cause of the fall. So, after an IV, he was discharged and sent home with orders to rest, as he did have a mild concussion.

She sent a quick text to Atlas letting him know she would be ready at nine or later, then she slid on her running clothes and headed down the stairs.

Running had helped Naya clear her mind ever since she was a little girl. She had never been crazy fast, but she was fast enough to become a police officer and that was all that mattered to her.

After lacing up her shoes she started the tracker app on her phone and slid it into her pocket. She was aiming for six miles this morning and she had just under an hour to complete them.

There was a light drizzle, typical for Denver this time of year, or so she’d been told. The moisture felt cool and invigorating on her face as she picked up speed. She had discovered there was a park about two miles from her house and she planned to run there to check it out.

As she jogged past the houses in her neighborhood, she couldn’t help but think they looked sad. She couldn’t tell if this was because of her dismal mood, or because a number of them were missing things, paint, porch railings, and some even siding and they felt neglected. She had often questioned why Vance had chosen the house he did but jogging through streets lined with houses like him she thought about it and decided he had probably intended to fix it up. That, and the newer properties in the area were much more expensive than he could afford, especially because he had always preferred stand-alone homes to apartment buildings.

After a few minutes she turned a corner and saw the park stretched ahead of her. It was nothing fancy, she could see a grassy field, a play area for kids, and what looked to be a charming trail that crossed the creek and headed into the neighborhood on the other side. She jogged in place while she waited for the light to change, when it finally did, she sped up a bit, frivolously jumping over the puddle on her path and heading towards the trail. She didn’t know what it was about running in the rain, but she could feel all the negative emotions leaving her body. She was feeling revitalized and full of life.

When the voice in her ear notified her that she had run three miles she made a quick circle and headed back the way she had come. As she came back through the park it was empty except for a woman with a black umbrella and her small dog who was having a blast splashing in a puddle. Naya smiled. She had always wanted a dog, but her lifestyle had never allowed it. Maybe someday when she retired.

She passed the same houses on the way back as she had before, and despite her improved mood, they still looked sad. She was fairly certain now that it was the houses themselves and not her.

A smile broke out across her face as her house came into view and as she came up on the walkway the voice in her ear chimed that she had completed six miles in fifty-four minutes and change. She stretched out as quickly as she could on the front porch before unlocking the door and heading inside.

The house was still dark, and Naya was sure Vance would sleep until noon after the eventful night he had.

After a quick shower Naya sat on her bed and pulled out her phone. There was a message from Atlas saying he would see her at nine. Perfect. That gave her just about an hour to make her phone calls and get ready for work.

She dialed the first number and the same woman from Home Health Care who had helped her before answered.

“Hi, it’s Naya Largusa.”

“Ah yes! I was just about to call you to check in, how is everything going with Derek? Well, I hope?” She sounded concerned and Naya was willing to bet people usually only called with complaints.

“Everything is great with Derek, he’s not why I’m calling.” She took a deep breath. “I’m calling because Vance needs  full-time care now. I wanted to see if we could up Derek to ten, or maybe even twelve-hour days, and then I would like to request that we have someone else assigned to us for the other four days as well.”

 She didn’t say anything for a second, and Naya could hear her typing.

“Okay well I can up Derek to three ten-hour days, but that will max him out since he has another contract. Let me see who else we have, one moment.”

Naya waited patiently.

“Okay I’ve got Elliot. He could take on the other four, ten-hour days? Or would you rather him do three twelve-hour shifts and I find you another aide for the last day?”

She rubbed her temples. This was all so stressful. She really didn’t want to have to make Vance get used to three people, two around all day every day already seemed like a lot. And either Kevin, Trevor, or Sebastian were all usually around in the evenings.

“Let’s just do Elliot and Derek. From eight in the morning until six at night every day please.” She would have to watch her time a bit better at work and try to leave a bit earlier, but with everyone she reasoned they would manage the ten-hour days.

“Okay no problem. I will contact them both. Is it okay if I send Elliot along with Derek on Monday to get acquainted and they can start the new schedule then?”

“Yeah, that sounds great. Thanks so much.” Naya was a bit worried about what she was going to do tomorrow, but it was Sunday and so it seemed