False Start by Barbara Valentin

Author:Barbara Valentin [Halliday, Gemma]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gemma Halliday Publishing
Published: 2014-11-06T05:00:00+00:00

* * *

Dawn broke on the morning of the 5k through a glorious red and orange infused sunrise. Mattie sprang out of bed before her alarm went off and put on her brand new running gear. The matching tights and jacket, dark grey with purple accents, were a gift from Claudia as a means of showing her support and apologizing for getting her baby sister drunk the weekend before. But first, she pulled on two gifts from Dianne—a long-sleeved T-shirt and matching black knit headband with "Team Plate Spinner" printed across the front and the Gazette logo on the back.

Catching a reflection of herself in the mirror affixed to the back of her bedroom door, she groaned, "I can't believe I'm doing this."

She laced up her shoes and headed to Old Town, a storied neighborhood south of where she lived, to meet Nick at the corner of North Avenue and Southport Street. From there, they'd walk the remaining blocks to the event together.

She arrived before him and stood watching runners make their way to the registration table on Wells Street, a north-south thoroughfare that was blocked off for the run. While she waited, the skies began to cloud over and the wind picked up. A few snowflakes danced through the air.

Runners were everywhere, some wearing more layers than others, but nearly all had their heads and hands covered. Mattie folded her arms across her chest and began bouncing up and down to stay warm. It occurred to her that she had no idea how Nick was getting there. Come to think of it, she had no idea where he even lived. He just told her where to be and always showed up before she arrived.

A knot began forming in her stomach. She reached for her cell phone to see if he had called or texted. Nothing.

Weird.

She texted him.

"Where are you?"

Staring at her phone, she waited for his reply. Scores of runners began passing by, laughing and chatting, making their way to the registration table. She checked her watch. Thirty minutes until the start time and they still had to pick up their packets and warm up.

Where is he?

The thought of shuffling for three point two miles alone in a crowd of strangers unnerved her. She'd just as soon go back home and crawl under her blankets than endure the embarrassment of huffing and puffing her way through the course solo.

"Hey, Mattie."

Turning in the direction of the voice, she was disappointed to see Charlie Clarke, a staff photographer from the Gazette.

"Hey, Charlie. What are you doing here?"

"Crenshaw sent me. Wants shots of you during the race, at the finish line, and with your family at the after party."

Mattie gulped. "My family?"

"Yeah, he's planning a big spread for your first race."

Feeling like she was in an elevator plunging a dozen flights a second, she stammered, "Well, uh, Charlie, my family isn't here."

Not cutting her a break, he asked, "Can you call 'em? Les insisted."

"No, I can't."

"Why not?"

Because they don't exist.

"Because," she tried formulating a viable excuse that Les would buy, "well, they, have a thing.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.