I push up on to my tip toes to see what Kayleigh is talking about. “Should we get to the starting line?”
“We aren’t in any rush to finish it, are we? Let’s just hang back. Let the crowds go first.”
I nod and agree with her. “Yeah, I guess so. We don’t want to end up trampled.”
That takes the pressure off a little bit as well. Because I think if I do finish this, it will be the achievement of a life time. It will show me that I can do anything, it doesn’t matter if it takes me days to finish it as long as I do, and if we aren’t in the starting line then I don’t feel like I have to rush.
“Are you okay?” Kayleigh rubs my back. “You look like you’re panicking now.”
“I’m not. I’m okay.” I nod and focus on breathing. “This is going to be amazing.”
“This is what we’ve been working towards, all the fight has been for this.”
“Yep, that’s true. This is the final step that is putting the past behind me.”
“Exactly. This is like the first day of the rest of your life.”
“I like that. It makes me believe that anything is possible.”
“It is! Just look how far you’ve come in three months. Be proud, will you?”
I laugh at her and agree. “I am. I never thought that it would happen.”
“Well, it has. So now you just need to keep going in the right direction.”
“I will. The past is over now. It’s behind me. Done.”
That will not just have to include Noah too. I didn’t think it, I never expected him to be someone that I need to forget, but it is what it is. Today is the last day in this era. It is what it is. As I run I will need to shed his face, the way he made me feel, all the good times… and the bad too. I will need to forget and move past the lies.
“Come on then, everyone is rearranging themselves. Let’s get into position.”
People surround us, but I don’t acknowledge any of them, I keep my gaze focused on the starting line. That’s my goal for the moment. Once I pass that I’m in the right direction, heading to exactly where I need to be.
“Do you feel all stretched?” Kayleigh gives me a worried look. “You haven’t done much.”
“It’s fine. I feel okay.” I have no idea how stretched I’m supposed to be. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. We’re about to start now anyway so it’s too late. I’ll just have to keep my fingers crossed.”
The announcer says something, but it comes out muffled through the machine so I don’t really hear what’s being said. I can guess though, he’s telling us that it’s time for us to go. I steel myself, pushing all thoughts of my training in the gym, the time I s
pent with Noah, the other stuff to one side and focus on my much stronger body. At least I’ve worked hard, I can do it if I get into the right mental position. It’ll be fine.
“Okay, it’s time,” Kayleigh hisses. “Shit, I don’t know if I’m ready for this now.”
“You are. We are. It’ll be awesome. Trust me, we can do this.”
I take her hand and squeeze it reassuringly, which makes her smile at me. I can still see the nerves though. I just hope they die away once we start running, so we can focus.
“Okay, let’s do this together. Me and you against the world.”
Bang!
Then it rings out, the gun, and it’s time for us to go…
* * *
“This isn’t too bad,” I cry out to Kayleigh as I fly through the air about an hour in. “I feel all good about it.”
She pants and grabs a bottle of water from one of the people handing them out and she pours some of it over her. As she sucks the rest of it back and tosses the bottle into the bin, then she nods.