The roar of the spectators grows louder as they drag themselves towards the finish. They are both silent for a moment, their faces lined with the effort of keeping moving.
‘Thank you,’ Tilly says, once they’ve been hobbling along for a while. ‘I really couldn’t do this without you.’
‘You’re welcome …’ There’s a moment’s pause and then, ‘And Tilly, I really am so sorry. For everything. I probably should have said that ages ago. I never should have kept my engagement from you, and I definitely shouldn’t have set up the dating profile.’ Harper’s voice is strained, not just with the exhaustion of carrying Tilly’s weight. ‘I was an idiot. It’s just that you’ve been so sad and I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to try andmake it better but I realize I only made things worse. I’ve done everything wrong.’ Harper’s voice cracks.
Tilly places her foot down a little too heavily and winces as pain shoots up her left ankle. Harper pauses, waiting until Tilly is ready to keep going.
Something inside her softens. Now that Harper’s here at her side it hits her just how much she’s missed her.
‘You haven’t doneeverythingwrong,’ she says. ‘You came to Bali with me and took me to Tuscany. You agreed to do this run. And I’m sorry too.’
‘What do you have to be sorry for?’ replies Harper with a strained laugh.
Tilly winces at another jolt of pain and a thought she’s tried to push from her mind.
‘When I thought that you and Raj had broken up … part of me was pleased. I love Raj. I’ve always thought he’s great for you. But I was … almostgladthat you were going through heartbreak too. I was pleased that I’d get to look after you instead of you having to look after me. What kind of sister does that make me?’
There’s a little pause and then Harper says, ‘A human one?’
‘Iamhappy for you. Really, I am. You and Raj make a great couple. I’m sorry I didn’t reply to your wedding invite sooner. Of course I’ll be there, if I’m still welcome.’
She turns to look at her sister’s face. Harper has her lips tightly pursed, holding back a smile that blooms suddenly into the real thing.
‘You idiot. I was never going to get married without you there.’
A wall of sound hits them as they pass alongside the red-brick curves of the Royal Albert Hall, crowds lining the street. Flags wave furiously and people whoop and clap.
‘I think we’re nearly there,’ Harper says, puffing with exertion.
‘My ankle really hurts,’ Tilly winces.
‘Just a little bit further, Tils. Let’s do this last bit for Joe.’
Joe keeps running for as long as he can. His routes become shorter, his pace slower.
‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ Tilly asks one morning as he reaches for his trainers, wincing as he does.
‘I want things to feel normal,’ he insists and she nods, lacing up her shoes and swallowing hard.
In a short space of time their lives have shrunk to the size of their flat and the hospital. Out in the park on their runs, Tilly can breathe again, memories of the latest hospital appointments blown away. With the breeze in her hair and the sound of Joe’s footsteps thumping doggedly beside her she can almost pretend that everything is OK.
One morning she wakes earlier than him for once, and starts dressing in her running things on autopilot. She already has her trainers on when Joe emerges, shoulders rounded and grey shadows circling his eyes.
‘Are you coming?’ she asks, kissing him on the edge of his jaw.
He slumps down on to the sofa and Tilly isn’t sure she’s ever seen him look so tired.
‘You go,’ he says.
‘That’s OK, I’ll stay here with you.’
Joe shakes his head.
‘Go to the top of the hill and tell me what the view looks like when you get back. I think I’m done.’
His voice is so resigned that it makes Tilly’s heart beat faster.She sinks down on to the sofa beside him, wrapping an arm around him. Hecan’tbe done.
‘When you’re better we’ll go running together again. We’ll run a marathon!’
