Butterfly

20. For The First Time.

Chapter Twenty: For The First Time.

♡ Jessica Washington ♡

So the week after the wedding passes quickly, and the day of the charity run arrives. I've spent the last week running in my free time, taking the route through the woods almost every time. The run is in the morning and should be finished by lunch time, so I'm going round collecting my sponsorship money afterwards in the afternoon to take down to where the charity is based, a small shop in the centre of town next to a flower shop and a funeral director. Sounds lovely, doesn't it?

And now I'm stood outside in the middle of a road, where crowds of people are gathered around, to either support the people running, or participate in the run themselves. There must be around five hundred people running, with their families and friends supporting them. This is probably the best turnout that the charity has had since I started participating in this around four years ago.

To start with, some people who volunteer at the charity talk about what they're raising money and awareness for, and tell stories about how they became a volunteer, what made them decide that they wanted to help.

Then some people who have suffered with cancer take the microphone, one being my mother. They talk about their story, about what their life was like before they found out that they had cancer, and what their life was like after.

After these stories, the run starts. A loud buzzer echoes through the air, and then it begins. I pace myself when I start to run, not wanting to be worn out too early. I am in the centre of the crowd, surrounded by determined people who want to do their part in raising money for the good cause that is fighting against cancer in the hopes of one day finding a cure.

"It's your mother, isn't it? The one who organised this when it started," a boy around my age says to me, running beside me. I glance to my side to look at him and smile politely. Although a lot of people want to focus on running, I don't mind speaking to someone while I'm running, to keep me company. He must be my age, or a little older, I can't quite tell. His dark blue eyes seem to be gleaming with mischief and fun, while his floppy blonde hair keeps falling over his face. He looks athletic, as he seems to be in shape.

"Yeah, it is," I reply, looking back at the group of people ahead of me.

"I'm sorry about your mother, she seems really nice," the boy tells me, and I smile softly.

"Thanks, it's fine. And she is, she is really nice. How about you? Are you running to support the cause or because of someone you know?" I question,  curiously, wondering why he is here.

"My girlfriend has leukaemia, she only has a few weeks left, which she is spending in hospital. She told me about this, she's a runner, you see. She wanted to do it, but she is obviously too sick to do it, so I'm doing it for her," the boy replies, honestly. I admire him for this. It must have been difficult for him to find out that his girlfriend was dying, yet he still stayed with her, and is staying with her until the end.

"I'm sure she'll be so proud of you, I'm sure she's lovely," I tell him, and he smiles.

"Yeah. I'm Sam, by the way. Nice to meet you," the boy, Sam, tells me.

"I'm Jess," I reply, smiling.

"My girlfriend, Vic, she isn't really that lovely. I should say that she is the sweetest person in the world and that she has done no wrong and therefore does not deserve to be dying, but I can't. Although she doesn't deserve to die, she deserved something less...final. She bullies people, thinking that it makes her more popular. But it doesn't, it just makes people afraid of her. Since she became ill with leukaemia though, she's changed. She's nicer to people, and has made amends to those she bullied at school. But it's too late, she doesn't get the second chance she deserves," Sam admits openly, as if trusting me already. He's a very honest person, I notice, and very in touch with his feelings, I guess. This is something I am not, which I therefore admire.