#*{badatconversation|interaction}

HE STILL DOESN’T KNOW HOW HE FEELS ABOUT HER. Being away at school allowed him to ignore her existence at first. Just as he did with all the others. But she’s still here. Despite his father’s old habits, Alex had yet to see another girl walk through the door saying she was dating his father. And even though there’s a part of him that wants to despise her as much as Leo does, Alex can’t bring himself to do it. Even if she probably knew more about him than he’d ever want her to. No matter how many times he’s told himself to get to know her, he can’t. Sure Cami isn’t his m o t h e r, but Alex never really knew Ariana Sinclair either. The little voice in the back of his mind always likes to remind him that she can disappear just as quickly as everyone else in his life did. And that thought alone has forced him to keep at a distance. 

HE ISN’T SURE WHAT EXACTLY LEADS HIM to his uncle’s house. But after an exhausting morning run and returning to an empty house, the boredom hit him like a freight train. He misses the endless motion in Boston. How people were constantly making plans and doing things. Ashcroft is one s t a g n a n t day that never wants to end, and he wonders if he’ll actually go crazy before the summer ends. Maybe he should bother to text back his high school friends and make plans. But that requires too much effort, and too much explanation on his part. So instead he’s found himself at Oliver’s. Part of him hopes his uncle is home so that he doesn’t have to return to an empty house, but the other part wonders if he’s being too intrusive. Can’t he just come over? Was it hypocritical to suddenly hang around your family after avoiding them most of the year?  

HE’S AWARE THAT HE SHOULD BE DOING more with his time off than moping around. It certainly wasn’t going to get him back to BU in the fall. But the thought of texting anyone from home to make plans feels too exhausting. It’ll require explanations. Why haven’t you texted us sooner? Why did you come home three weeks e a r l y? It’s a time bomb he’d rather leave ticking for now. But there are at least two people that don’t leave him restless at the thought of contacting. And perhaps that’s because of the blood the three of them share, or the fact that he can just look at either of them and say so much more than his mouth ever could. 

He decides to find one of them—his little brother. Knowing it’s likely that the other Sinclair is still home, Alex sprints up to his room. He steps over to the open doorway, bruised knuckles tapping lightly against the frame. 

HE DOESN’T KNOW WHY HE BOTHERED coming here. It isn’t as if he enjoys the taste of coffee, he d e s p i s e s it. The bitter taste, the pungent smell. Not that he’d ever indulge in a latte either. Even if it’s loaded in sugar the espresso still hits him like a freight train. But he has to keep busy. Even if that means tutoring kids on the side, and doing some stupid summer rec league so that his family stays off his back. And after attempting to help out a junior with his Trig final all morning, Alex Sinclair forced himself to drink coffee. His dark gaze bores into the cup, wondering if how long it’ll take to force the liquid down. If he can even hope to keep it down at all.

SLEEP NEVER COMES EASY FOR a restless mind. He’s used to tossing and turning until the rose tinted dawn stains through his windows, announcing yet another night without a decent rest. The psychiatrist, ‘doctor’ comes up with every trick in the book that’ll improve it. But she can’t comprehend the w i r e d thoughts that scream through his ears. Except there is one thing that tames his restless nature, or at least leaves him too exhausted to fight the chaotic dreams that threaten to surface. Running. He usually waits until the streetlights come on and it’s only him and the rare vehicle speeding toward their annual night shift. Tonight is no different as the streetlights reflect off his white tee shirt and a drizzle of rain dampens his chocolate curls.