“So what if I have.” He stepped closer, his hand tightening on my arm. I wasn’t even sure he was aware he was doing it. “Try out, Aria. You have nothing to lose.”
He was right. I didn’t have anything to lose, because I’d already lost it all.
* * *
ARIA
I stood on the sidelines and jumped up and down on the spot, warming my body up. I’d never run competitively, always doing it to find an escape, but this could change everything. If I made it onto the team, it could potentially take me away from this place. It could start something good in my life. But it could also make my escapism disappear.
Running was always my first port of call, but it was never my last. I used it as a buffer to stop myself from doing what I really wanted to, but it only worked half of the time. The other half I gave in. I let my body and mind have what it craved so much: silence. It was all I wanted. A reprieve from everything rolling around in my head. The memories, the image
s so vivid…
It was almost as if I were back there.
“They’ll never be able to get us once we’ve finished,” Dad’s high-pitched voice told me. There was something off about him, and as soon as he came into my room and told me we had to go to the store, I knew I had to go along with what he was saying.
He opened up another box of aluminum foil and attached it to the kitchen window. He’d covered every single surface, and all that was left now was this window and the apartment door.
“Tape,” Dad demanded, and I pulled some off for him and handed it over. “I’ll always keep you safe, Aria.” He stared down at me and held his hand out for more tape. His light-brown eyes were the same shade as mine, but right then, they looked so different.
Like there was something missing.
“I want all of you to run around the track five times.”
Cade’s voice interrupted my thoughts, and I stumbled back a little. I was heading down the dark path again, and I was scared of what would find me at the end of it. It was so easy to lose myself in the memories, and it was happening more and more lately, almost as if they were haunting me, trying to pull me back in and not let me go.
“Remember to pace yourselves,” Cade continued.
I tried to shake all of my thoughts and concentrate on what was in front of me: tryouts. Cade stood at the start line, his arm raised as we all lined up. I didn’t know most of the girls trying out for the track team, but one face I was more than familiar with: Jasmine. She was a cheerleader, so why the hell was she trying out for track?
Cade blew the whistle, and everyone took off. Some of them sprinted, others paced themselves, and I was right in the middle. It only took one trip around the track for me to zone in and lose myself to the rhythm of my feet slapping the ground. The more I ran, the easier it was to forget about the images in my head. Each beat set me off higher, and by the time I’d finished the fourth lap, there were only two girls in front of me.
I still had plenty of gas left in my system, so I took my time until I got to the halfway mark, and then I sprinted. I darted past one girl who was sweating so much she looked like she was having a shower. And I was only a few paces behind the girl in front of me as we both passed the finish line.
“Well done,” she said, her breath coming out in pants. It was obvious she was used to running like this.
“Thanks,” I replied and planted my hands on my hips, slowing down to a walk so I didn’t shock my muscles with stopping dead.
“I didn’t know you could run like that.” I finally took a proper look at her. I recognized her as a junior who had transferred here last year. She was at least four inches taller than me, and her legs were definitely that of a runner. Her short black hair was held off her face with a headband, and her straight nose led to dark-brown eyes. “You should have tried out sooner.”
I shrugged, not really wanting to overshare. “I normally only run for me.”
She nodded like she understood, but she couldn’t. No one ever could. “I get that.” She held her hand out to me. “I’m Reagan.”
I placed my hand in hers. “Aria.”
“Girls!” Cade shouted, and we both turned to look at him. He waved his arm, indicating for us to come back to him, so Reagan and I walked side by side toward him. I couldn’t help but beam at the grin on his face.
“You can both get changed and meet me in my office.”
The smile dropped from my face, a frown replacing it as I wondered what that meant. There were still girls trying out, and we were being sent to get changed. It didn’t make sense.
“But—”
Reagan grabbed my arm and pulled me with her as she walked away from him and across the field. “It’s a good thing,” she told me.
“It is?” I asked as we entered the locker rooms. I was only using them because it was after school, but had I known Jasmine was trying out, I would have gone to the bathrooms instead.