Ain't No Mountain High Enough

"Don't Stop Me Now"

Was my arm broken or something? Every time I moved it, pain would shoot through it. There was a large gash in it, but it was bleeding too much for me to see how bad it was.

"Let me see that," the medic said when he came over to me. He dropped his bag on the floor and yanked out a rag to start cleaning it off. I squeezed my eyes shut against the burning.

"I don't think it's broken," he said after a moment of studying the gash. With the blood mostly gone, I saw that it ran from my elbow to above my wrist. Good grief! "It probably hit your wheel and grazed your arm."

Well geez, it sure didn't feel that way. "I need to get going!" I said. The volcano was about to go off again. I just kept imagining Stephen giving me a big "I told you so". I could barely stand it!

"There's no way you're finishing," the medic said. "You need stitches, and your wheel's a little damaged."

He was right, but I was not going to be told I couldn't finish. I had been training for this. I had been accepted into this race, and I was GOING TO FINISH. So, gritting my teeth, I waved the guy off and started forward. I did my best to ignore the pain flaring in my arm. It wasn't that hard when there were so many thoughts rattling in my head. My wheelchair wobbled a little, but not terribly.

I was back in the race...whether that was a good thing or not.

~ ~ ~

There were only four miles left now, and I was starting to think this was a terrible idea. My arm was soaked red again and starting to swell. My head was light and spots kept getting in the way of my vision. Just my luck that this would happen. Just my freaking luck.

I mean, who was I kidding? I couldn't beat Stephen's time. He had legs. He could run faster than me even before I was in a wheelchair. Then there was being held up by that rogue wheel and that medic, and I was never going to do what I came here to do. This was just a waste of time.

I was so close to being done, but was it worth it if I was just going to lose? I came here to prove I could still keep up with everyone else who had legs, but now I was having trouble keeping up with the others on wheels. I couldn't do it. I couldn't...

I heard someone say my name. I glanced up at the crowds of people watching and spotted my friends, all shouting at me. My mom was there too, and even from where I was, I could tell she was crying. Why she was, I had no clue.

And Valerie...she was there shouting my name, telling me to keep going.

Seeing her... seeing all of them cheering for me, I realized something. I mean, I had known they were all proud of me. They said so, didn't they? They always said I had nothing to prove to them. But it hit me that Valerie didn't date Stephen for his running abilities, or because he could do things I couldn't.

Arjun, Veronica, and Keto never stopped being my best friends after the accident.

Ms. Harlow went out of her way to care for me even when I had nothing to give back.

And my Mom. She still came back for me, even if I wasn't exactly something to be proud of.

In the face of all that, what was beating Stephen's time just to prove that I could? Valerie wasn't going to love me any more or less just because I could win a race. That went the same for everyone else. But...

If I didn't have to prove it to them, I still wanted to prove it to myself. So, gritting my teeth, I barreled forward as fast as I could. I wasn't going to be first, but I sure as heck wasn't going to be last!

The last few miles seemed to drag on forever, but I just kept telling myself over and over that I could do this. My friends- my family - were all rooting for me. It didn't matter if I beat Stephen's time. It didn't even matter whether I won or not. I just needed to pass that finish line.

And then I was there, racing over the line with all the other racers. It took me a few seconds to realize I had done it. I had finished the race! Cheering erupted around me, both from the crowd and the racers. Though my body felt numb, a sudden burst of emotion went through me, filling my chest until I couldn't stop myself from crying. I wiped at my eyes, but it did no good.

"Let's see that arm of yours," came a voice from beside me, and I looked up to see another medic standing there. Now that I was over the finish line, I let him. The numbness was starting to wear off and the burning pain was returning. I did my best to ignore it until he had my arm tightly wrapped up. He told me I would probably need an x-ray, and I was about to open my mouth to reply when I spotted my friends waiting for me. I thanked the medic and started towards them, tears still streaming down my face.

"You did it!" Veronica cried when I reached them. She threw her arms around my neck for a moment before stepping aside so my mother could hug me.

"I'm so proud of you," she whispered. Had I ever heard her say that to me before?

Ms. Harlow was next, then Keto clapped me on my shoulder. When I looked at Valerie, she looked like she might cry, too.

"I knew you could do it," she said when she hugged me.

I thought to ask what Stephen's time last year was, but I stopped myself. It didn't matter anymore. I hugged her tightly, not wanting to let go. The smell of her perfume made my heart pound. Or maybe that was just from the adrenaline from the race?

The next hour was a flurry of "congratulations" and celebrating. I just wanted to go home and sleep. We stopped to get my arm checked out on the way back to Valerie's apartment, and it ended up not being broken, thankfully. I did have to get stitches for the gash, which wasn't fun, but it could have been much worse.

When we got back to Valerie's apartment, I took a shower and relaxed for the rest of the day. Everything felt so perfect...I just wished Arjun was there with the rest of us, too.

But something was coming. I didn't know it yet, but the worst was still coming...

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Thank you for reading! Next week is the final chapter!! Leave a vote and a comment!

Listen to "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen!

Peace✌️~ A.J.