CHAPTER ELEVEN
The day before the marathon is gray and cloudy and weirdly cold...I have to put on a sweatshirt for the first time in months. I take a run in the morning, but a really short one and mostly out of habit. When I get back, I eat a good breakfast (plenty of carbs, like Wood's been telling me) and try to chill out, but it's hard. I glance at the clock like every ten seconds, but time seems to be moving especially slow, whether I'm watching T.V or reading or just staring at the ceiling. And the whole time, there's this buzz of nerves in the background...not quite as intense as last week's panic, but still kind of uncomfortable.
When 11:30 rolls around, it feels like it should be dinner time or something. I'm bored with everything and I'm starting to get a headache, probably from staring at the T.V screen too long. I try to take a nap, but I'm not really that tired, so I end up staring at the wall for two hours and only sleeping for thirty minutes. With nothing else to do, I call Melissa.
She doesn't pick up.
I call Rock.
He hisses at me that "it's not a good time".
I play with Red for a little while, laughing as he chases a piece of string like a kitten and almost having a heart attack every time his tail comes near something flammable. For the sake of the tablecloth, I eventually have to put him back in his ball. Tanya, who was watching him, seems upset and stalks away without looking at me.
I think about going over to the gym, Jared's gym, to see more of his Nonextants, but I know I won't. He's probably doing some last minute training and I have a feeling that if I showed up, he wouldn't be so friendly and supportive anymore.
Melissa eventually calls back, just as I'm eating dinner with Wood and Amelia. They don't even seem to notice when I push my chair back and retreat to my room. I flop on the bed next to Tanya (who growls) and answer the phone. "Hey!"
"Hi! Sorry, I saw you called before, I was outside."
"That's okay, I was mostly just bored," I roll over on my side. "What's up?"
We talk for a little bit, but it's mostly her - I don't have much to talk about besides the marathon, since I didn't do very much today. We end up talking a lot about a T.V show, which is fun for a while, until her mom kicks her off the phone.
I go to bed at that point, although it's so early that it's still light outside and I'm not the least bit tired. I try to convince myself that just lying quietly will help me drop off quicker, but my eyes are still open by the time the sun sets.
A low noise and a faint purple glow cast on the wall make me smile for the first time. I turn to see the familiar huge eyes, looking sad instead of evil or mischievous. It's alone too, no sign of the pink-tipped shrieker from the other night...maybe that's why it looks so upset.
"You okay, buddy?" I say in a low whisper.
It shakes its head and lets another moan, more low and melancholy than usual. At the sound, Tanya raises her head, ears pricked; but when she sees the gas cloud, she snorts and goes back to sleep, unconcerned.
I prop myself up one on elbow and raise my eyebrows sympathetically. "Did your girlfriend leave?"
It nods.
"Hey, it'll be all right. She was kinda loud anyway."
It smiles a little.
A thought occurs to me. "Hey, would you wanna hang around with me? That way you won't have to be lonely." And I'll have another Nonextant! I add silently.
It gives me sort of a disdainful look - not mean, exactly, but as if it's saying Thanks, but no thanks.
"I get it. You're a free...spirit." I chuckle at my lame pun and it rolls its eyes.
"Gimme a break, I'm stressed out!" I flop back onto my pillows and it floats over my chest, staring down at me in what would be an extremely scary manner if I weren't used to it by now. "I've got something huge tomorrow - maybe not as huge as that trial, but still pretty big..." I bite my lip, remembering something. "You helped me sleep that night, didn't you?"
It nods.
"Did I give you some kind of command?" No way did I just drop off like that. I was even more freaked out than I am now.
It nods again.
"What was it? No wait, stupid question, sorry," Like it's going to be able to tell me. "Can you do whatever it was again? I could really use some sleep tonight."
It looks at me expectantly.
"Damn," I guess I still have to give it a command. But it's hard because I didn't know I was giving a command at the time. I rack my brains, but that part of my life is just an unhappy blur. "Man, I wish I still had a shrink. They could use hypnosis or something so - "
It smiles and the air becomes fuzzy.
Oh. Hypnosis.
I fall fast asleep.
The next morning is still cool, though the sun is peeking through the clouds, promising a warmer afternoon. I'm completely wide awake from the first moment I open my eyes and dressed about five minutes later in my tank top and shorts. I walk out to the kitchen, expecting to be the first one up, but Amelia's at the table, drinking tea and giving me a weak smile.
"Hey, you're up!" I smile back and open the fridge.
"Yeah," Her voice is unnaturally hoarse. "Morning sickness. I didn't wake you up, did I?"
I take out the carton and wipe off a glass from the sink before pouring myself some milk. "Nope. Why, was it bad?"
She nods wearily and takes another sip from her mug. She looks pretty awful - there are bags under her eyes, her hair is all in knots and her skin looks pale and blotchy...I feel a little rush of relief that I'll never be pregnant.
I stick a bagel in the toaster and sit across from her. "Do you think you'll feel better for the marathon?" I know she probably feels like crap, but this kind of means a lot to me.
She smiles again and it's a little stronger this time. "Of course. What kind of aunt would I be if I missed it?"
It's weird to hear that, that she's not just Wood's girlfriend anymore and we're really related. Still, I'm really glad she didn't say "parent" or "mom" or anything. She may be the closest thing to a mother I have, but I could never call her that, it would be too uncomfortable.
Eventually, Wood gets up and makes us a real breakfast, eggs and sausage that I eat carefully, trying to fill up while not getting too full. It's a delicate balance and hard to get right. I'm still a tiny bit hungry when it's time to go, but I stick an energy bar in my pocket and convince myself to eat it later.
The half hour drive to the course seems to take even longer than usual. We don't really talk in the car and the radio keeps blaring annoying songs and my stomach's all in knots. Plus, Tanya came with us and she keeps stepping on my lap in order to see out of the window, so my legs are already sore before we even get there.
The crowds there are huge. It takes us about five laps around the parking lot to even find a parking space and then we have to fight our way through mobs at the entrance. There are people everywhere - vendors selling food and merchandise, people buying the food and merchandise and morons whose only purpose seems to be getting in my way and not moving.
Eventually, I struggle over to where the other runners are lined up. It's still early, so there aren't a lot of them, but of the few that are there, several look pretty professional. I swallow and start to stretch, glancing around for Jared, then not looking at him once I find him.
Wood and Amelia wish me luck briefly before going and finding a place in the stands - I don't know how they're going to watch the whole thing from there, but maybe Amelia just needs a place to sit down. Rock shows up a few minutes later and gives me helpful, if annoying last minute tips. Melissa comes down too, with Tanya rubbing against her legs.
"Oh hi!" She smiles at Rock. "I like your spiky hair! And you got so tan!"
Rock grins, squinting against the harsh sunlight. "Yeah, I should have used more sunscreen, but there was no one to rub it on my back."
Melissa folds her arms, still smiling. "That's it, you're not allowed on any more cruises without me."
I grimace, but don't say anything. They're just talking. They're not flirting and I don't want to be psycho overprotective boyfriend by telling them to stop. They're just talking... It doesn't mean I have to like it, though.
A voice over the loudspeaker announces the beginning of the race in five minutes. Rock gives me a fist bump, Melissa pecks me on the cheek and Tanya wraps her tails around my legs, purring, before they all hurry off. I crack my neck nervously and take my place on the starting line, doing a few little stretches.
Other runners line up next to me and I catch a flash of red hair out of the corner of my eye, but ignore it. It's hot now, I'm already sweating. Is it just because I'm nervous? Did I put on enough sunscreen, the sun is really bright and there's no clouds…
The loudspeaker crackles a one-minute warning.
I force myself to take deep breaths and try to stop shaking. In the background of the hubbub of the crowd, I can hear Tanya barking and my lips turn up in a smile.
An air horn blares and the race begins.