تسجيل الدخولI go back out for one more run. That has been the plan anyway. One final lap session before calling it a day and leaving the bike alone until tomorrow. But once I get back on and roll out onto the track, something shifts. I've stopped thinking. Stopped rehearsing speeches, stopped wondering if I’ve
The next hour passes by easily. Jen eventually succeeds in her mission as she drags Sav into the water. Chase follows behind them shortly after. Soon, there is splashing and arguments over who started what. I stay back for a bit with Will and Randy. Will leans in slightly, “You okay?” I nod, “Yeah
GregI wake up before my alarm, as I don’t want to disturb Jen’s sleep. For a few seconds, I don’t move. I just stare up at the hotel ceiling and listen. Vegas has a strange quiet in the mornings. Not silent exactly, but there is always the faint hum of air conditioning, the occasional distant eleva
By the time we get back to the room and the door clicks shut behind us, I have reached that weird travel point where I feel both completely awake and absolutely exhausted at the same time. Greg has already abandoned any attempt at looking presentable. Both of our shoes are off, and his magazine has
The crowd slowly starts moving after the fountain display ends. People drift away in groups, talking over each other and checking photos they’ve just taken. Nobody seems to be in a rush. That is one thing I have noticed about Vegas already. People walk everywhere, but somehow never look like they ha
If there is one thing I learned within the first hour of walking the Las Vegas Strip, it is that nobody walks normally. Everyone wanders. Everyone stops every three minutes to stare at something. And I fit right in. Greg, meanwhile, has already accepted his role as unofficial bag carrier and profess
Days later, I am losing my mind. I have tried to distract myself. Training. Sponsors calls. Meetings. Time with my parents. Anything to stop thinking about the fact that Jen is in California and yet somehow, she feels impossibly far away. Every morning, I would wake up, reach for my phone, hoping th
“It’s not,” I mutter quietly. “Damn right, it’s not,” Dad says. “That girl loves her family with everything she has.” Mom nods sadly. “Your dad is right, honey,” she says gently. “Jen would do anything for her family. She’s worked herself to exhaustion trying to graduate early so she can start bui
“There she is,” Sav says softly while glancing toward me. I smile faintly. “Yeah.” When we finally reach Sav and Chase’s place, I look around curiously while dragging my suitcase inside. The apartment feels warm. Lived in. Comfortable. Sav immediately launches into a dramatic house tour. “This is
I grip the armrest for the first few minutes of ascent until finally— Ding. The seatbelt sign is switched off. The plane has leveled out. And the medication has hit me fully. The tension slowly drains from my body like someone is releasing a valve. My eyelids have become heavier. The engine noise fa







