Page 95 of Walk With Me
I thank them and wave them on. I need a second to collect myself. The field thins out as people pass me. Becca and Bella see me and are by my side in an instant.
“We need to get that looked at,” Bella says.
“I will. You two go on.”
“Eden, we’re clearly not going to leave you.”
By this point, the three of us are the only ones around. Everyone else has disappeared around the corner.
“Please,” I say, almost pleading. “I want you to finish the race. Think of all the sponsors you’ve got.”
“Eden—”
“Bella, please.”
Neither are happy about it, but I can’t be around them right now. The truth is I’m gutted. Of course I can run another 5k, but that’s not the point. This one means something and I’m not going to finish it.
After a few more moments of arguing, they finally take off. Standing in the centre of the road, I rest my hands on my knees and take a few breaths. I hold up my hand to stop one of the faculty who volunteered to be a route chaperone from coming over.
When I feel back in control, I straighten up. Tears sting my eyes as I take in the road ahead. Trying one more time, Iput weight on my foot. Wincing, I manage a few steps. It’s hopeless. I can’t jog like this.
28
Sloane
My heart is pumping hard as I make my way towards the front of the leading group. Bryce is by my side, panting very much like the dog he is dressed as. The only people ahead are members of the track team, which figures. I’m not expecting to win, but I gotta admit it is a lot of fun competing.
We start to climb up a moderately graded road. We kept the route as close to Holcroft as possible so we didn’t annoy the local residents by shutting down their streets—plus the paperwork for permits is a bitch. Anyway, this is on a road wedidget permission to shut for a fewhours, and it seems like the locals are really into it. There are people cheering us on with high-fives and homemade signs.
There must only be a kilometer left when there is a ripple of unease. Runners are whispering and looking worried. Turning to the closest person, I ask what’s going on, and then I almost stumble. Eden is hurt.
Spinning on my front foot, I hightail it as fast as I can in the opposite direction. Everyone must know where I’m going because they part straight down the middle, allowing me through. The only person who doesn’t move is Kiera. In fact, she doesn’t even look at me as I sail past.
Whatever.
Panic reaches my chest as I run. I’ve no idea what’s happened. She could be badly hurt and on her way to the emergency room. God, why did I leave her?
Spotting Becca and Bella, I head in their direction. “Have you seen Eden?”
Becca nods. “She’s hurt her ankle. We tried to stay with her, Sloane, but she really didn’t want us to.”
“We’ll try to find Pia and Todd,” Bella calls, already jogging away with Becca trailing behind. Pumping my legs hard, I take off again. She can’t be that far behind us.
I round a corner and see her in the distance, bent over with her arms resting on her thighs. No one is approachingher, and I’m guessing that’s because she’s told whoever is chaperoning to leave her alone. She flexes her ankle a few times and hobbles forward.
God, my heart is breaking for her. I can already see the pain etched across her face and the tears running down her cheeks.
“Eden!”
She looks up at me with wide eyes as I almost slam into her. “Sloane, what are you doing?”
Ignoring the question, I run my hands over her body, checking for blood or bone. “You’re hurt. What happened? Can you walk?”
Clenching her jaw, she hobbles forward again. “Fuck! It’s my ankle, I think it’s sprained.”
“Did you trip?”
“Something like that,” she growls.
