Between You and Me

Chapter 23

She decided to sleep in the next day.

Maybe for the rest of summer break, that's what she would do. There was no rush to wake up early to sit around the house and do nothing. It was close to noon when she finally decided to get out of bed.

The house was so quiet. She went to the bathroom, showered, and did all her business before she dressed and headed downstairs. Still so eerily quiet. She knew Zee was at school, but Tristan was usually around.

She checked the kitchen, then the backyard, and he was in neither place. She poured herself some cereal stood at the kitchen table and ate most of it.

Maybe he was downstairs. She finished her cereal, put her bowl in the dishwasher, and went to the basement door. She should knock, but whatever. She opened the door and looked in. There were no sounds or anything, so she stepped down the first step. Could not see much from here, she would have to go all the way down the stairs.

This was the first time she entered the dungeon in years. What she saw took her by surprise. There were no large boxes all stacked and overcrowded on the walls. There was padding on the walls that helped hooks with equipment hanging on it. All Tristan's workout equipment. There were framed posts on the wall that looked fitness-related, Heart rate, upper and lower body exercises.

There were two stacks of hand weights against one wall and then multiple barbells on the other wall. There was a treadmill and some other kind of machine that looked like it had stairs on it. She went to climb on it and almost twisted her ankle getting off it. That was not the machine for her short legs.

There was a bench in the middle of the floor and a big weight machine with lots of levers and gadgets on it. Tristan must be serious about his workouts. She had never been to a gym or worked out in her life, she only knew of these things from TV. 

There were two crates filled with other exercise things she went through it a bit. She had no idea what some of the stuff was for, but obviously, the way Tristan's body looked, it all worked. He spent a lot of time down here.

It did not look like a dungeon to her anymore, it actually looked clean and smelled good.

She headed back up the stairs before he came home and caught her down there. She wondered if he would let her use his equipment if she wanted to work out. Maybe walk on the treadmill. Everyone needed exercise, right?

Tristan was not home, she figured that when she looked out the front window she did not see his truck parked in front. This would be the perfect time to go take a walk around the block, stretch her legs, and get some fresh air.

She grabbed her phone and keys, set the alarm, and then headed out the door, making sure to lock up.

It was a nice day outside, not too hot, a light breeze blowing through. She was dressed in shorts and a tank top, with sandals on. Maybe not good walking shoes. The park was not far, she would just go there and hang out for a little bit.

Her phone buzzed in her hand before she even got to the end of the block. She looked down and saw it was Tristan calling her. She smiled before she answered and did not know why.

"Hello."

"Where are you going all by yourself?"

She rolled her eyes. That darn pesky security camera was like a spy on her. She should have cut it off before she left the house, but either her sister or Tristan would have yelled at her about it.

"I'm just taking a walk to the park for a little bit to get some fresh air."

"How hardheaded are you? Didn't I say not to walk around the neighborhood all by yourself?"