But she hadn’t quit.
“We’re getting close,” Tyler said as they raced down the sidewalk toward the finish line at Freedom Park.
“You keep saying that.” They picked up speed. She didn’t think she had anything left, but they were definitely moving faster.
“Because it’s the truth. You are doing this, Brooke.”
She nodded and kept moving, her shoes pounding on the sidewalk in rhythm with Tyler’s.
“Turn here,” Tyler said, guiding her left into the park. She was grateful for the cue; she was so tired she could barely tell where she was supposed to go, even with all the signs and cheering. At this point, she was moving almost entirely on instinct.
“There.” Tyler pointed ahead, where a small crowd had gathered. “See them?”
Brooke squinted. Her vision had gone fuzzy around the edges hours ago, but she could make out familiar shapes.
Gina jumped up and down. Nick was beside her, his arm around her waist. Joe had his camera. Steph was clapping. There were others from the running club, too,who’d crewed for her through the night, sleeping in shifts so someone was always there when she needed them.
When she arrived at an aid station exhausted, hungry, and disoriented, they were there to take care of her.
“They’ve been waiting,” Tyler said.
“For hours probably.”
“They’d wait days if they had to. You’ve got this. The finish is just ahead. Can you see it?”
Brooke wanted to cry. Or laugh. Maybe both. She’d dreamed about this moment for years. Obsessed over it. Failed at it. Almost gave up on it entirely.
And now she was here.
“I can see it,” she whispered.
“That’s right, babe.”
“I’m going to make it.”
“You’re going to make it.”
The crowd was louder now. Gina’s voice cut through the noise, shouting Brooke’s name. Nick whistled. Joe moved closer to the finish line with his camera raised.
Something caught the sunlight on Gina’s left hand. A ring. She filed that observation away for later, her brain too fried to process anything beyond putting one foot in front of the other.
“Hundred yards,” Tyler said. He was still right beside her, matching her shuffling pace even though she knew he could run circles around her right now. “You ready?”
“For what?”
“To finish strong.”
Brooke almost laughed. Strong wasn’t happening. She had nothing left.
But then she thought about everything that had brought her here. The training through winter cold and spring mud. The long runs that tested her limits. The mental workof not obsessing, of trusting her body, of letting Tyler and her friends help carry the load.
Everything with Edi. The attack. Nearly dying. Fighting back.
Surviving.
She’d survived. And now she was finishing.
“Go ahead,” Tyler said quietly. “Cross that line. I’ll be right behind you.”
