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Post by eroberts on Feb 13, 2007 16:21:47 GMT -5
Lilia dropped her bag onto one of the metal benches along the side of the track, and then knelt down to retie her shoelaces. It had been so long since she'd had an opportunity to really run. She'd missed it.
Lilia turned and smiled at Eric. "Not too fast, okay? I'm out of practice," she said, pulling her tank top down further over her hips. The top was too small, but it was the only thing she'd been able to find when she was rushing to get ready. It also had a tendency to ride up, exposing some of the scars on her back.
Lilia set off at a jog, waiting for Eric to catch up.
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Post by eric on Feb 13, 2007 16:26:35 GMT -5
As Lilia tied her shoes, Eric took the opportunity to stretch his legs a little. He played sports year round, so he was in good shape, but he always liked to warm up at least a little so he didn't injure himself.
He laughed at her comment. "You'll probably run circles around me," he joked, watching as she adjusted her shirt. They had had a really good afternoon, talking and getting to know each other. He hoped she wasn't getting shy again.
Sprinting to catch up with Lilia, Eric asked, "How long do you usually run? Coach makes us to 20 laps during Saturday morning football practice." He said, groaning, "Let's not do that many, okay?"
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Post by eroberts on Feb 13, 2007 16:30:47 GMT -5
Lilia laughed at his joke. "I doubt it. I'm pretty slow myself," she replied. She laughed at his question about laps.
"I usually run for about 30 minutes... sometimes longer, if I'm really stressed," she replied. She sped up a little bit, but not very much. She was still getting warmed up, after all.
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Post by eric on Feb 13, 2007 16:34:55 GMT -5
"Thirty minutes I can do," he replied, nodding. "But I hope you're not feeling stressed today," He matched her pace, sneaking glances down her waist as he noticed her shirt beginning to ride up as she ran. Old habits die hard, as they say.
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Post by eroberts on Feb 13, 2007 16:39:47 GMT -5
"Not today... today's been good," Lilia replied, smiling at Eric. She reached down and adjusted her shirt again. Her personal problems were not a topic of conversation she wanted to approach with someone she'd just met. She knew it would come up with Eric eventually, but she didn't particularly want it to come up just yet.
Lilia concentrated on running, and didn't notice that her shirt was riding up again. And this time it went high enough for the scars to show.
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Post by eric on Feb 13, 2007 16:49:37 GMT -5
Eric averted her eyes as she adjusted her shirt again, knowing he had been caught staring. He blushed a little, not wanting to come across like... well, like he usually was. "I'm glad." he said, "I had a great day, too. Wasn't expecting to meet someone like you when I woke up this morning, and I'm glad I did." He hoped he didn't sound too corny.
As they continued to run, Eric couldn't help but let his eyes travel down Lilia's slim form when her shirt began riding up again. His eyes widened and he stumbled slightly as he caught a glimpse of her bare back. It was covered in scars. For a moment, he couldn't form words. He wanted to ask what had happened, but he couldn't. His pace slowed and all he could do was stare.
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Post by eroberts on Feb 13, 2007 16:54:34 GMT -5
Lilia smiled at Eric's comment. "I'm really glad that I met you, too."
Lilia noticed that Eric slowed down and she stopped, turning around to face him. "What's the matter?" she asked. She thought that he might have rolled his ankle or something, considering the fact that he'd stumbled a bit. It wasn't until she saw that he was staring that she realized what had happened. She pulled down her shirt, wanting to cry. No one outside of her family had ever seen those scars before.
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Post by eric on Feb 13, 2007 21:00:35 GMT -5
Eric shook his head a little, realizing that he shouldn't be staring. Seeing the look in Lilia's eyes, he immediately moved toward her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't... I mean, it's just..." he stumbled. Taking a deep breath, he squeezed her shoulder gently and asked, "What happened?"
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Post by eroberts on Feb 13, 2007 21:04:56 GMT -5
"It's a long story," Lilia said. It was all she could do to fight back the tears that were welling up in her eyes. She sighed. "I... you're the first person who's ever seen that. Other than my family, I mean," Lilia said. She felt a few tears escape and quickly brushed them away.
"My real father isn't around because he went to jail when Dylan was two," Lilia said. She closed her eyes, unable to continue her story.
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Post by eric on Feb 13, 2007 21:08:46 GMT -5
Eric's breath caught in his throat as he watched Lilia struggle with her tears. Reaching out to her, he gently brushed the moisture off of one cheek. He saw how much trouble she was having trying to tell her story, and when she said her father was in jail, well, he was pretty sure he could guess at the rest.
Instinctively, he moved to comfort her, wrapping his arms around her and pressing a light kiss on her forehead. "It's okay," he whispered, rubbing her back gently, "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."
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Post by eroberts on Feb 13, 2007 21:16:29 GMT -5
Lilia let Eric pull her closer. All she really wanted to do was cry right now. After a few moments, she regained her composure and pulled away from his hug. "Thank you," she whispered, wiping away the last of her tears.
"I just... it's so hard to talk about it. My mom still won't admit that anything happened. She's never told Dylan the truth about our dad. He still thinks that I was in a car accident when I was little," Lilia said. She took a deep breath and looked into Eric's eyes. "Please, just don't tell anyone, all right?"
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Post by eric on Feb 14, 2007 6:06:35 GMT -5
Eric smiled sadly down at her. He couldn't believe Lilia's mother would lie about something like this. She was probably just trying to protect Dylan, but to make Lilia pretend... he just couldn't grasp the idea. Eric reached up and helped Lilia as she wiped away fresh tears. "I won't tell anyone," he promised, "But I want you to know that I'm always here if you need someone to talk to. I won't pressure you to talk about it if you aren't ready, but you can come see me or call me whenever you need to." Kissing her forehead once more, he took a small step back to look into her eyes. "Do you want to keep running?" he asked, "Or should we call it a night?"
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Post by eroberts on Feb 14, 2007 11:31:01 GMT -5
"Thank you," Lilia said. She sighed and looked around. "Let's just call it a night. They'll start wondering where I am if I don't get home soon."
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Post by eric on Feb 14, 2007 14:17:16 GMT -5
Eric nodded. He felt bad that the night was going to end on such a poor note, but he tried to remember that they had had a great day that day. "Okay," he said, moving away from her slightly and holding out his hand, "Let's get back to the car," He didn't know if she would be comfortable taking his hand, but he wanted to offer her any support he could.
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Post by eroberts on Feb 14, 2007 14:51:51 GMT -5
Lilia smiled a little at Eric's gesture. She took his hand, knowing that he was just trying to be sweet. "Sorry," she whispered. Lilia felt awful about ruining the end of their day. Everything had gone so well.
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