AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We’re silent but tears stream down my face, as it dawns on me that I’ll never run with my brother again.
All of the times we ran together play like a movie reel inside my head. Some make me laugh and smile and some make me cry harder.
It’s a late afternoon and Mason met me after school to run the track. I have a meet tomorrow that I’m nervous about and he promised to help me practice.
“Let’s start with a race as a warm up.”
I groan. “You know you're faster than me.”
“It’s no question I’ll win, sis. That’s not the point. The point is to run as fast as you can.”
“Really? I never knew what a race meant. Thanks for clearing that up.”
Mason tosses me a silly face, the typical one he made when he was a little boy and I was annoying the shit out of him. I cackle.
“Ready, set, go!”
We take off at the same time, both of us sprinting ahead, but of course he’s already ahead of me.
And he wins. Of course.
But when I cross the finish line, he grabs me by the legs and throws me over his shoulder, cheering and hollering like I’m the winner.
Like he always would.
The memory is comforting and excruciating at the same time. I choke on my sobs as the tears come faster.
Asher says nothing, but the pain reads loud and clear on his face.
Less than thirty minutes later, we’re finished and doing cool down stretches. My phone buzzes inside my pocket like crazy. I ignored it when I was running, not wanting to stop the flow. The word Mom flashes on the screen.
“Hey.” I answer. Asher’s next to me and looking a little red. I hope the run wasn’t too much for him.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you. I woke up early and wanted to go running. I didn’t realize how long I’ve been gone.” I tell my mom. “No, I’m not overdoing it. I’m with Asher.”
“Yeah, he’s hanging in there. Okay, I’ll tell him. Alright. Be home soon, love you, bye.”
I end the call and another realization hits that my mom will never not worry now. She knows the pain of losing a child now, so she sure will do her best to keep her other one alive. There’s so many ripples. So many things are different, so many lives impacted.
I’m sick to my stomach at the thought of it all.
“She okay?” Asher asks after I tuck my phone away.
“Are any of us?”
“Touche.”
“I better get back. We’re leaving tomorrow. When are you?”
“Probably tomorrow, too. I just gotta confirm the dates with work.”
“I’ll see you at home, then?”
Asher nods. I offer a half smile and turn to go.
“Want me to walk you back?”
I nod, relieved he asked because the last thing I want right now is to be alone.
