Ain't No Mountain High Enough

I never found out what Stephen's time was, but that was probably for the best. You know, you can't exactly stop comparing yourself to others overnight- not when you've made it a habit. But I had a feeling I was going to get better. I was happier, and I was motivated to be my best self. There would be hard days where I wouldn't feel that motivation, but I was going to try. I deserved to be myself, after all.

The morning we were about to board the plane to go home, I found myself alone with Valerie again. The others had gone to get in line for the security check, but I held back. I still had so much I wanted to tell her...

"Valerie," I said, meeting her eyes. She was wearing a flowery maxi dress that made me think of the day we kissed in the storage room at Ms. Harlow's house. The proof she still had feelings for me... "I...I know it would be hard to get back together, with you staying here, and me living halfway across the country..." I trailed off. I didn't even know where I was going with this.

"I know," she said softly, taking a sudden interest in her fingernails. "I've been thinking about it, and...well, I do want to try again..."

I raised my eyebrows. "Are...are you sure?" My heart started racing. After all this time, would we finally be getting back together? "I-I don't want to force you into it..."

She shook her head. "No. I still have feelings for you, Randall. I didn't want to break up with you before, but I was a coward. I still want to be with you. Maybe I always did, even when I was with Stephen. I don't know..." She shrugged. "It'll be hard with...us living so far away from each other, but I want to try."

I couldn't stop the smile that spread on my face. "I want to try, too," I said.

For a moment, neither of us said anything. Valerie leaned forward and touched my face, making the butterflies in my stomach go crazy. When she kissed me, I could feel warmth run through my body. I could taste the sweetness of her lipstick, smell her flowery perfume. I wished I could stop everything at that moment- just pause life and stay right there forever.

But it doesn't work that way.

"What made you change your mind?" I asked when we parted. Surely not the race...was it?"

"Well," Valerie said, sighing. "I just got to thinking how much time I wasted when I left you before... if I knew I wanted to be with you, and just waited...I would be wasting even more time. I don't think that's worth it."

"I don't want you to date me when you think you aren't ready."

She smiled. "No...I think I'm ready."

I shared her smile, kissed her one more time.

We parted and said our goodbyes, then I headed for the line to get through security. Whenever I looked back, Valerie was there watching me.

When I got to the end of the line.

When I got through security.

Right before I rounded the corner with the others, she was still there. I could read the goodbye in her eyes, but this time, I knew for sure it wouldn't be that long before I saw her again. If she was going to be my girl, I would make sure of that.

~ ~ ~

When we got home, Arjun wasn't there. It was strange... I hadn't heard from him in a while, and neither had Ms. Harlow. No one had. Yeah, I guess I was used to him going radio silent for long periods of time, but I just had this feeling that something was off about all this. He knew we would be coming home that evening. He promised he would be there to meet us. So where was he? Had he forgotten?

There was worry in Ms. Harlow's eyes when she told me and the twins goodnight, and I was sure she would be tossing and turning all night instead of sleeping.

"Well, I ought to be getting back to my place," my mother said after Ms. Harlow went to bed.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay the night?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure we could find a place," Keto agreed with a nod, his eyes focused on the TV where he was trying his hand at Metal Gear.

"No, it's all right," she said. She started towards the front door, and I followed.

"Well, goodnight, then," I said.

She smiled at me- a true smile. One I rarely ever saw, and had never seen as a kid. "Randall," she said, lowering her voice so only I could hear her, "I am so, so proud of you. I...hope you know that."

I smiled. "Thanks, mom. It's thanks to you I got to be in that race, anyway."

"It's not only the race I'm proud about," she said. "I'm proud that you're my son."

Geez, I would have never thought this would ever be happening. But I was glad it was...I was glad I got my mom back. I gave her a tight hug and told her I loved her, because for the first time, that was the truth.

After she left, a sudden exhaustion came over me. Keto helped me get into bed and it didn't take long for me to doze off. But as good as my day had been, my dreams held the same ominous cloud that had been following me around. What the heck was happening? Was it just another way my anxiety was manifesting?

A buzzing woke me up from my light sleep. At first I wasn't sure where it was coming from, until I spotted my phone lighting up right next to me.

Arjun.

I quickly answered. I opened my mouth to ask what was wrong, but he spoke first. Words that made a chill go down my spine.

"Randall," he said, his voice calm, cold. "I...I got arrested."

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Thank you so much for reading this story! To get Arjun's story, be sure to keep a watch for the next book!

Listen to "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson!

Peace✌️~ A.J.