see the vultures circling in a dark cloud || justin and lisa
It wasn’t like Justin had fallen out with Lisa, because the whole Raegan incident wasn’t her fault at all. However, he knew that it could look that way to her which only served to make him feel guilty for avoiding her over the past few weeks, ever since Raegan had left, really. He wasn’t angry nor frustrated, but he just felt awkward. Every time he saw his ex he was reminded of the fact that he should be trying to patch things up with Raegan but wasn’t making the effort to. He wanted to but didn’t have the courage.
Frustrated with only himself, he nearly ran a mile when he turned the corner of the stables and saw Lisa there, grooming her horse. Thankfully, her back was turned to him so he could make a quick getaway, backing out of the barn and tip toeing his way across the gravel outside so he wouldn’t be caught.
He had done so well avoiding her, but then again he was always good at avoiding people. It was clever. If anything, people usually avoided him which was all due to the moody and hostile front that he put up to anyone that wasn’t Colton or a Robertson. Soon enough, Raegan had wriggled her way into the category but now he wasn’t too sure.
Pausing outside the stables to run a hand through his hair, he was torn between marching back to his garage and locking himself up until his cowardice and self-loathing festered into something much more unattractive and unwanted, or going back the way he had come from and face Lisa. She wasn’t just his ex-girlfriend after all, she was one of his best friends who probably didn’t deserve the way that he had been treating her recently. He knew it would only make her think that he blamed her.
Taking a moment to collect himself, he slowly turned and walked, heavy footed so the gravel crunched loudly underneath him, back into the stables.
He watched as Lisa worked at her horse’s man, combing through the tangles, and shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his dust covered jeans before clearing his throat ever so slightly. He wasn’t bold enough for a loud noise but the sound bounced off the walls of the stables anyway, echoing until it reached her and all he could do was give Lisa a sheepish smile as soon as she turned around.
“Hey,” he murmured, walking forward, glad he’d had the foresight to put his hands out of the way so his arms wouldn’t begin swinging around awkwardly.
He wandered over to one of the stacks of hay cubes and climbed up onto them, sitting himself down and looking at the beams of sunlight falling through the wooden roof, falling on the horses and splashing their coats with a dappled yellow. Basically, he was looking at anything that wasn’t Lisa.
“Dustin said you were here,” he lied, acting as if he’s purposefully sought her out. Dustin had said no such thing but, should Lisa ask the youngest Robertson, Justin knew that she would take his answer with a pinch of salt like anyone should take whatever spilled from that little psycho’s mouth.