I stare at my reflection and pump the weights, watching my muscles flex as I do. It isn’t a bad life. It could be better in some ways, but I’m sure as hell not complaining.
2
Mia
“Mia, you will love running the marathon, honestly! And it’s for such a good cause,” my best friend whines at me in a pleading tone while flicking the puppy dog eyes at me. “You can’t turn your back on it now. ”
“Don’t use the Cancer card on me, it isn’t fair.”
“I know, I know.” She rolls her eyes and plonks a cup of coffee in front of me. “I understand that’s harsh of me since you lost your mother to Cancer last year, but I don’t want to do this alone.”
I flick a red curl over my shoulder and shake my head. “I’m just not a runner, Kayleigh. Not like you. I mean, look at you. You have this gorgeous athletic body and you’ve kept up fitness ever since we left college. I’ve let it go and now I’m just the curvy chick who can’t run at all. I want to do a marathon, I want to raise money for charity, but I don’t think I can do it. I’ll humiliate myself in front of the whole of Las Vegas.”
“The marathon is popular, but not quite popular enough to have everyone out on the streets.”
“I suppose so, but I still don’t think I can do it.”
“You aren’t as unfit as you think you are. I know you can do it! We both can.”
Kayleigh rests her hand on my arm and she gives me a desperate glare. “I need you, Mia. I can’t do this without you. I can’t run twenty six miles without you there.”
“When is it?” I throw my hands in the air in dismay, giving myself away. “How long would I have to train?”
“Three months, which according to the schedule is plenty of time. We will just need to jog every day and maybe join a gym as well. We can do it. Honestly, trust me. We should at least try anyway.”
I roll my eyes, not liking how easily I can be manipulated by my best friend. “I suppose so.”
“Is that a yes?” She bangs her hands excitedly on the table, drawing the attention of the other people in the café. “Is that an actual agreement? You’re going to run the marathon with me?”
I narrow my eyes at her. “A very reluctant one, yes. I don’t know how happy I am about it.”
“Oh, that’s amazing news. I’m so happy.” She claps her hands together gleefully, her blonde pony tail swings around her shoulders. “I knew you’d do it with me.
We are going to kick ass. We don’t even need to finish it quickly, we can just do it at our own pace. Some people finish it in ten hours.”
“I am not running for ten hours. I will have to train harder.”
“Shall we go and join a gym now? Get you signed up?”
“You seem like you don’t trust me,” I giggle. “Do you really think I’m just going to ditch you?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. You need to do this anyway, for therapeutic reasons.”
“What do you mean about that? Therapeutic? You think I need therapy all of a sudden?”
She cocks an eyebrow at me. “You know what I mean. Wesley. You need to get past him.”
“Urgh, Wesley.” I roll my eyes. “Yeah, fair enough. I understand that.”
“It all links in together, doesn’t it? You’ll be raising money in memory of your mom and purging him at the same time. It all imploded all at once and I don’t think you’re fully past it yet.”
It’s hard for me to admit, but she’s right. I’m definitely not past it. I haven’t looked at another guy since I got rid of him, but that isn’t because I’m waiting for the right person or whatever, but because I can’t let my guard down. Things with Wesley were always bad, it was a toxic relationship from very early on, but the moment I caught him sleeping with another woman in my bed as I got back from taking care of my mom in hospital was the final moment. I kicked him out and told him I didn’t ever want to see him again.
Every time I lie in that bed and I close my eyes, I see that image. His naked butt in the air, her perfect legs wrapped around him, the screaming and squealing of pure pleasure…
I shudder, no longer wanting that image to be in my brain. Maybe this will help me get rid of the picture.
It wasn’t long after that I lost my mom, so the emotions are all tied together. The heart ache is mixed in with grief and it’s all completely shut me down. I guess in a way this could be a good thing.