Part 3

Samantha Marks had just moved back to town a few months ago. When she left all those years ago, the last thing she would have ever guessed was that she would find her way back here. In some ways it seemed new to her, in other ways it brought back old feelings she had thought she had left behind. This morning she got up early for her run. It was becoming warmer outside and she wanted to see the sun rise up over the hills.
It hadn't been easy for her to come back. Nothing had quite worked out the way she had intended. The house she had decided to rent was not available when she arrived. The landlord had decided to sell without notifying her. The job she had been promised suddenly disappeared and was given to someone with half her experience. Overall, it was hard for her not to think that she had just made the biggest mistake of her life. But mornings like this where the 100 year old Maple trees lining the street were beginning to leaf, the air was crisp and cool, and the color of the sky in the early morning light reminded her of why she came back to this town.
As she rounded the corner, her thoughts turned to the email she sent last night. Slight regret had begun to present itself. She knew he wouldn't reply. After all, the last time they spoke he hung up on her in the middle of a conversation and she never heard from him again.
Many times she would ask herself why she even cared anymore. His life was so different from hers. He was married now, with four kids. She was never the type to hold on to old relationships, especially those that had no where to go.
Her pace picked up and her breathe increased. She turned right and went up the hill toward the old McClellan house. She loved that old house. It had so much character and charm. "Why don't they build houses like this anymore?" she mumbled in between breaths.
She got to the top of the hill and stopped to catch her breath. She stood bent over with her hands on her knees, gasping. She took notice of the old Victorian, the woodwork, the arches, and the delicate panels colored in a bright yellow. She stood up and turned around to make her way back down the hill.
Ever since the day they met there was something special about their relationship. Sam had a lot of friends back then, and she was always out to have fun and socialize. But James had become the one person among them all that she could really trust. He was quirky, creative, dark and deep, extremely passionate and sometimes moody, but to her he was kindred spirit. He knew her backwards and forwards, inside and out. She remembered spending days with him, skipping school. They would wander off together finding their way into empty churches and old buildings. He would take photos, and she would talk to him about anything and everything. He just listened. She shared things with him that she had never told anyone. The depth of her feelings for him only got deeper with time. Sam knew it was those feelings that she could never really let go of, and why it was that every few years they seemed to somehow enter into each others lives.
TBC....