Page 33 of Forged Forever

Despite the new group of athletes, no one is a match for Holly in her race, as she handily wins the 200m. There’s a good reason she has three full scholarship offers.

We relax with our team, cheering for each member as they complete their first races of the season, until I need to stretch again for my second race. Holly and I join the twins in the middle of the track with Coach. After the track's clear, I take up my position as the third runner in the 200m relay. Twin one takes off like a rocket as the gun goes off, and I step into position. The handoff is clean as twin two shoots forward. When twin two comes around the curve, I start to jog. Another clean handoff has me running full tilt towards Holly. I maintain our lead as I pass the baton to her. She’s off without hesitation, creating a gap between herself and the other runners the closer she gets to the finish line. We win by a large margin, and the coach is very pleased.

Holly and I gather our belongings from the canopy and walk to the stands to join our group. I reintroduce Holly to Jake, get a hug from Seb, then take a seat. Grabbing my protein bars, I offer them to our group. Will is sitting in the camp chair again beside Jake. “How are you doing today, handsome?” I ask Jake. The sunlight is creating a glow in his hair, bringing out the caramel and sandy tones. His hair is luscious and shiny, so full of life compared to when he was in a coma. I never realized it before, but he only got a haircut once a month when he was with Mal. Now it’s back to growing fast and thick. I ignore the need to run my hands through his locks since we’re among so many others.

“Good Sum.” His replies, his bright smile making an appearance. “Happy I get to watch you run again.”

“I’m happy you’re here, too.” I squeeze his hand before finishing my granola bar.

E hands Holly and me our homemade protein salads for lunch, passing out sandwiches to everyone else. Being the sweetheart he is, he has enough for Ray, Will, and Jake. We chat about a variety of topics as we eat.

Ready for a bathroom break, Dad, Alex, Seb, and Holly join me. Despite it being close to a year since the kidnapping, we still travel in packs to the bathrooms during track meets. Holly pokes her head inside as Dad holds the door. A few girls are inside, so we wait until they’re done and then go in. I have a habit of closing and immediately reopening the door to make sure it’s unlocked. Something my therapist, Sarah, says is reasonable after what happened.

Jake leans in to check on me when we return. “Are you okay, Sum?”

“Yup. We’re all still paranoid about school bathrooms, that’s all.”

He squeezes my hand in support. Holly sees Jaxon returning, so we cheer when he runs back onto the track for his last lap. As usual, he wins his race.

Holly and I go back to the canopy, since my final race will start soon. We congratulate Jaxon as he cools down and drinks his water, and I let him know E has a salad for him when he’s ready.

I jog to the track when the final distance runner returns, encouraging Corry, the new 400m runner I’ve been working with, to stretch with me. “Let’s go for two out of three today, Summer,” my coach says. “Corry, give it your all and get qualifying out of the way today.”

“You got it, Coach,” we reply together. I’m feeling pretty good, so I’ll give it my all. I have lane two for this race, which is nice as I prefer the inside lanes. When the gun pops, I take off. I set my own pace, watching the other runners in my line of vision. Several wane as we pass the 200m mark, so I pick up the pace. I’m running flat out for the rest of the race and win. I check for Corry as I regulate my breathing, but she and Coach find me. She came in fifth place, but qualified, so I high-five her as we walk to the canopy. Picking up my bag, I say goodbye to Coach, walking back to the stands where Jaxon is finishing his salad.

People exchange hugs, and everyone gets ready to leave. I walk with Jake and Will to the parking lot. “What did you think of the meet, handsome?”

“You’ve gotten faster, Sum, and this school is fancy. Is yours like this one?”

“Similar,” I nod. “This school is a bit smaller in size, but our track is the same, just a different color.” Jake smiles up at me, his baby blues extra bright in the daylight.

Kissing his cheek goodbye after he gets into the vehicle, I thank the three of them for coming today. Waving to everyone else, I climb into Dad’s truck to go home.

The afternoon is quiet. After a hot shower and soak in the tub with herbs and Epsom salts, Dad and I do some grocery shopping and laundry.

I drive Dad and me over to dinner at Alex’s house when it’s time. Jake told me he was tired and chose to skip out on another outing today.

Alex answers the door, offering a hug and leading us to the dining room. It’s decorated with balloons and streamers in our school colors. An enormous banner in silver hangs from the longest wall, with the word “congratulations” on it. A buffet of nibbles and desserts stands behind the table. After saying hello to everyone, I slip out to the kitchen, where I find E and Mrs. Grant. “Hi.”

“Summer. Nice to see you, dear,” Mrs. Grant greets. “Will you tell Elijah he doesn’t need to help today? This is supposed to be a celebration for him.”

“You created the menu and did most of the prep, Mrs. Grant.” E rolls his eyes good naturedly at her.

“Aww, let E help. It brings him joy. That’s the best way for him to celebrate that I can think of.”

Sighing, Mrs. Grant nods with a small smile towards E. She’s not really agitated. I get the feeling she believes it’s her job to prepare the household meals and is uncomfortable when she doesn’t.

Nabbing a biscuit, I walk back to the dining room. Bay, Olivia, and David walk towards me as I cross the hall. “Summer!” Olivia runs forward, wrapping her arms around my waist for a hug.

“Hello pretty girl. How are you today?”

“Starving,” she moans, stepping back to rub her belly. “Dad wouldn’t feed me.”

Laughing, I gently push her towards the dining room. “There are snacks on the buffet.” She skips away, followed by David, as I say hi to Bay. “So, when are we going to hear about your visit to the university yesterday?”

“At dinner,” he smiles, ushering me to join the crowd. Oh, I hope his smile means good news!

We each take seats around the table as Mrs. Grant, Mr. Grant, and E set appetizer salads in front of us, much to Mrs. Grant’s chargin.