by Rua Hasan
“Let's head to the back. That's where all runners need to take their places.” I nodded my head and waved goodbye to my friends as I followed Naomi. There was a couple of minutes left before the race started and I couldn't control the excitement. We walked to the starting line with a bunch of other strangers from other schools. The race wasn't that long. It wasn't happening to see how long the runners could run but how fast they were so we wouldn't be here for that long. Naomi and I stood next to each other since we represented the same school and waited until everyone got into their places.
I felt my heart beat against my chest as I finally realized that this was going to be it. The time has finally come to see what I was capable of. To calm myself down, I looked at the crowd and saw all my friends sitting next to Ethan and his family. But what really made me smile was when I saw Ally sitting on Tyler's lap as they both waved at me. I waved back then turned to look at Naomi and stuck my hand out for her to shake.
“Let the best runner win.”
We then stepped back and got into our places as the guy holding a whistle and a flag walked towards the starting line.
“Get into your places everyone.” He said.
“On your mark.”
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
“Get set.”
I then opened it and looked forward at the distance I had to run.
“Go!”
And that was the last thing I heard before sprinting. I ran just like everyone else did but I only noticed a couple of runners in front of me which meant that all the rest were behind me. The path we were running on was a large circle which meant that our finishing line would be the starting. I forced my legs to move even faster as I pushed myself to my limits. There were three runners in front of me which meant that I was fourth in place.
I took a deep breath and blocked out all distractions as I tried to get past the third person on line. A smile then spread across my face as I passed the third person. My chest was moving up and down as we made the turn which would soon lead to our destination.
I forced myself to remember all those times I spent after school training for this day. I couldn't let myself down.
I ran past the second and was right behind the person first runner. I breathed in and out heavily as I paid no attention to those around me. I didn't even realize Naomi was almost catching up to me which would normally make me smile if I wasn't sweating buckets at this point. I gave her a short nod and ran as fast as I could. I smirked as I run next to the first girl.
I gathered as much force I had and ran past her. I was celebrating when I saw no one in front of me which meant that maybe I'd win the prize to achieve my goal. But all those ‘maybes’ disappeared when I heard a scream coming from behind me. I kept running and I was so close to the finishing line until I saw who it was.
I stopped in my tracks as I looked at Naomi's crunching form on the ground. I then looked at the finishing line which wasn't too far away. I could have won but leaving someone in need would haunt me forever. I couldn't believe it when the other runners ran past Naomi without giving her a glance.
Without any second thought, I started to run in the opposite direction. I said goodbye to the finishing line and ran towards Naomi to see what was wrong as the others paid no attention to us.
“Oh gosh, what's wrong?” I asked, worried.
Naomi looked up at me with sad eyes as she pointed to her leg.
“I think I broke my mechanical leg.” she whimpered.
I grabbed her by the shoulder and picked her up.
“Come on. I know it's hard but we have to do this.” I said as I threw her arm over my shoulders, giving her my body for support.
“W-what are you doing?”.
“What does it look like I'm doing? We're going to walk past that line together.”
“B-b-but then you won't win then! You have to! Isn't that what you want?” she asked as I continued to push her towards the finishing line. We managed to get close to it even though we were probably the last ones. I gave her a sad smile before answering.
“Sometimes life isn't always about winning the race,” I said as we stepped over the finishing line. “It's about finishing it.”
Chapter 40
It's funny when I thought that if I’d win race, I'd feel anything but success, yet all I felt was failure. How could I be so stupid? Walking past the finishing line felt amazing. I wasn’t sure how it would feel if I got the first place but I knew how it felt to walk over it as a winner. Yes, I might not have won the race but I felt good. I probably felt better than the person who won. At that very moment when I helped Naomi finish the race with me, I felt one thing–Happiness. I also realized that I didn't have to be the best to win.
I rushed towards my closet and looked at the time on my phone. I realized that it was seven thirty so I had only half an hour to get ready. Grabbing my favorite blue dress, I laid it on my bed and I couldn't believe I was doing this. I was finally going on a date with Tyler Grey! How did this happen? It felt as if it was only yesterday when I moved away to New York. I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. I was flabbergasted! I didn't expect it to happen but I wouldn't say I didn't like it.
I felt anxious remembering what happened two weeks ago. Tyler didn't want to be on crutches when we go out. I told him it was fine but he insisted do it once his leg felt better. Finally, the day came when the doctor said he could already move around, and he called me immediately.
He sounded so excited, like a kid on New Year’s Eve I couldn't reject it. I knew that I liked him a lot and I'd just be stupid to do that. I did wish that Naomi would have at least taken the first or second place but I guess this was our fate. Nothing could change it. But Naomi didn't seem affected at all. It was as if she won the lottery when we passed that finishing line two weeks ago
Everyone was cheering when we stood next to all the runners. My friends and the people I love were clapping and giving me encouraging smiles. Ethan held his thumb up proudly. Tyler placed Ally off of his lap and patted her head and gave me a nod. Noticing that he was walking down the stairs towards me, I was about to walk towards him to when I was pulled into someone's arms.
“Thank you so much!” Naomi cried. I turned around and hugged her back tightly.
“You're right. Winning the race doesn't have to be first in line. I don't know how to ever repa—”
“I didn't do it for you to repay me. I did it because I wanted to. I'm so glad that you are happy with the results.” I hugged her again. I noticed that she was only standing on one leg.
“Oh my god! Your leg! Are you okay?”
“It happened once or twice. I've been on these babies for almost sixteen ”. I'm used to it by now. I just need to show them to my doctor.”
“Sixteen ”?”
“Yeah, I was born with no legs.”
“Oh.”
Tyler called out for my name. Naomi gave me a wink and shooed me away towards him. Tyler came towards my way and wrapped his arm around me while I laid my head on his shoulder.
“I didn't win.” I mumbled.
“You might not have won the race but that doesn't make you a failure.”
He placed his finger under my chin, lifting it up so I could look up at him.
“In my eyes you’re the winner.”
I smiled at his sweet words.
“Thank you.”
He kissed my forehead.
“Anything for you, Gem.”
Once I pulled away, I looked down at the bracelet.
“Crystal.”
It was weird to hear my name come out of his mouth. I gulped down all my anxiousness and looked him in the eye, sensing that something serious was about to happen.
“Yea?” I asked, fiddling with my fingers.
I watched as his hands went up to the back of his neck, scratching it nervously.
“There's something important I have to ask you.”
“And what's that?”
“I w
as planning on asking you when you win the race but it doesn't matter now. You are a winner in my eyes and that's all that matters.”
He held my hand.
“There's something I've been wanting to ask you for a very long time, but I just didn't have the guts to do so and I was waiting for the right moment.”
“Okay …?” I asked.
“Crystal.”
He breathed out and closed his eyes before saying his words.
“I have feelings for you. I like you a lot and I would really like to take you out on a date.”
I was speechless. He dragged my hand up towards his mouth and gave it a small lingering kiss.
“Please give me a chance?”
He looked at me, waiting for a good answer. Did Tyler just ask me out on a date? He did! I just got asked out but Tyler Grey! I nodded my head immediately and let out a squeal of excitement as I wrapped my arms around his neck.
“Yes, of course!”
“I wanted to carry you right now and give you a twirl but I'm on crutches so …”
“I like you too.”
“I knew it! You just couldn't resist my looks!” he said cockily making me roll my eyes.
“Don't get ahead of yourself if I were you.”
“That's kinda hard not to do when you're mine” he whispered as he pecked my lips.
“What do you mean?”
“Well I've got the most beautiful gem by my side. Either I'm just damn lucky or I got the looks.”
“Since when were you this cheesy?”
“Since you fell from the heavens.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Oh now the pick-up lines?”
“Wait, there's more. I've been rehearsing every night.”
“It didn't work.”
“Huh?” He asked.
I pointed to the bracelet.
“You said this was a good luck bracelet. But I didn't win.”
“Well it worked for me.”
“What's that supposed to mean?”
“Well you're mine now so I guess the good luck bracelet did work.”
I looked back at Naomi and saw her talking to a woman. She could probably be her mom; I could definitely see the resemblance. Naomi was sitting on a wheelchair as a man inspected her mechanical leg. I was about to go walk towards her when I was surrounded by a bunch of crazy people asking for details.
“I knew it!” Jasmine squealed.
“Huh?” I asked averting my attention to her.
“He totally has the hots for you.” Eva grinned.
“I can already imagine how your babies will look like.” she cooed.
“What!”
“I call dibs on being the godmother!” Sydney raised her hand.
I lifted an eyebrow at her as I crossed my arms under my chest.
“No, I'll be the godmother!” Eva argued.
“Hey, I'm the one who said it first.” Sydney said.
“Really guys?” I rolled my eyes but none of them paid any attention to me.
“I already have the names.” Jasmine spoke.
“Listen, sis. We all know that I'm the most mature one out of all of us so I should be the godmother.” Eva said.
“No, you're not!” Sydney hissed back.
“For boys, I got Jackson, Carl and David.”
“Guys, I'm still here.” I waved my hand at them but they were too busy arguing to notice.
“Do I have to remind you of the time when you almost bombed Mom's kitchen?” Eva said.
“Lucas, Mark—oh, and let's not forget my favorite, Blake.” Jasmine counted on her fingers.
“That was by accident! And I'm not the one who forgot the food in the oven!” Sydney said.
“I also wrote down a list of girl names,” Jasmine said.
“I reminded you three times but you were too busy texting away on your phone.” Eva said.
“Liza, Lilly, Ashley, Rose, Tina, Lina.”
“GUYS!”
I yelled out finally catching their attention. All their heads whipped to look at me.
“First off, Tyler and I aren't going to make any babies any time soon!” I gave them all a pointed look, ignoring the disappointment written on all their faces.
“Second, if I wanted a godmother, then I'd choose Matt!”
“But Matt's a male!”
“Well he's a woman by heart... I think.” I scratched the back of my head making them all roll their eyes.
“Okay fine, I'd choose Jasmine.” I huffed out. I Ignored all their whines and protests, I turned around and walked towards Naomi who gave me a wave.
“Hey how are you doing?”
“I'm doing great. Just about to go home,” she said. I nodded my heads and noticed her eyes shift from behind me.
“Don't look back, he's coming.” she whispered.
“Who?”
“The one who's always looking at you with sparkling eyes.”
“Sparkling eyes?”
“Yeah, like there is no one else in the world but you.”
I felt arms make their way around my waist, bringing me towards a hard chest. I relaxed against Tyler's hold as he kissed the soft spot on my neck and behind my ear. Naomi gave me one last wink before turning around the wheelchair and strolling away towards where her mom was standing.
“Ready to go home?” he asked.
I turned to look at him and nodded my head smiling.
“Ready as I'll ever be.”
After dressing into the blue casual dress, I got a thin layer of makeup done. Tyler told me not to wear anything too fancy because we were going to meet at the park. I'm not sure what he had planned but giving it a good guess, I was thinking that maybe he had a picnic planned out. Grabbing my car keys, I locked my front door and made my way towards my car. Getting in, I started the engine and made my way towards the park.
Originally Tyler was going to pick me up and take me their like any normal date but I received a text telling me that he had an emergency family meeting and told me how he was going to be late for a bit. I didn't mind driving myself there at all. I was just a bit worried about what was going on.
It wasn't long before I made it to our meeting place. Getting out of my car after finally finding a parking space, I sat down on a bench. I took my phone out knowing that Tyler was going to probably be late for ten to twenty minutes. I scrolled through Instagram and Twitter and answered a couple of messages I received. Looking around I noticed that it was already dark. I looked at the time on my phone and saw that thirty minutes had already passed by.
I didn't want to call Tyler because I was afraid to intrude. So, I just sat there waiting. I waited and realized that everyone was getting ready to go home. I mean who would stay at the park late at night? I tapped my feet on the concrete floor and got up, deciding to take a walk. I was going to wait for another half hour. I had to be patient with Tyler. I'm pretty sure he'll be here any minute now.
I felt chills run down my spine as the weather started to get colder. I sat under a tree and placed my phone on my lap, in case Tyler called. I let out a nervous breath and rested my back on the tree.
When I finally opened my eyes, the park completely empty. Lifting my eyebrow in confusion, I checked the time again and realized that another hour had went by. Did I just fall asleep? I got up, dusting the dirt off of my now wrinkly dress and made my way out of the park. I headed towards my car. It was already ten o'clock and Tyler wasn't anywhere in sight.
What the hell happened?
I couldn't help but feel annoyed Tyler should have called me if couldn’t come. I was trying to hold back my tears and I couldn't lie to myself that I was pretty excited for this date. And now that it didn't happen, I couldn't help but feel disappointed.
I just had to know what happened. I wouldn't be able to lay down in my bed and sleep at night knowing that I just went home not looking for any answers. I parked my car and marched my way towards Tyler's house and rang the doorbell. I closed my eyes, counting to ten. I h
ad to calm myself down.
A tall man who seemed to be in his late forties opened the door. He was the same guy I saw Tyler hand over a bag of medicine and whom I assumed was his uncle—Paul.
“How can I help you?”
Emma rushed towards the door. She had black bags under her red puffy eyes and looked pale and tired.
I think this is not good timing.
Emma smiled.
“Crystal darling! I'm so glad you're here!” She pulled me into a hug.
“What's wrong?”
She gave me a sad look and flickered her eyes towards Paul.
“Did I bother you? I'll come back later if you want. I just wanted to see Tyl—”
“No. Don’t worry. I was hoping you'd stop by. Please do come in!” she pulled me inside the house and pointed at the stairs.
“Tyler is … Well, he is very upset at the moment and needs you by his side.”
She gave me a begging look.
“He's up in his room,” she whispered.
Looking up the stairs and back at her, I nodded my head and ran up to his room. This was going to be the very first time I entered his room and was very nervous. I didn't know what the hell happened but I tried not to ask any questions and pry into their private lives.
Once I was up the stair, it wasn't so difficult to find Tyler's room as there were only three doors. Two of them were opened. One was a bathroom while the other was a bedroom which looked like it belonged to his mom. I walked slowly towards the closed door and knocked on it slowly. I listened but heard nothing except for the heavy breathing and groans of pain. I bit my lip nervously as I turned the door knob and opened the door.
The sight in front of me made me gasp. I gasped as I stared at Tyler's curled up form in the corner of his room. His body was shaking while his hands were bleeding. I noticed a dent on the wall next to him but my attention was immediately brought back to Tyler who lifted his head up from his hands and towards me.
The sight of his face broke my heart as tears fell down his cheeks as his eyes stared at me.
Chapter 41
I never expected to see Tyler at this state. Whenever I looked at him, I always thought that he was a man of weird things. But the only time I only got a reaction from him was at the party. Bringing up his cousin could have pulled a string on him. Tyler had a weak spot when it came to his family.