Page 54 of In the Long Run

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My first thought is Brand.But it’s not him.

‘Hey!’the guy yells.

He’s average height.Running buff around his neck.Face hidden beneath a baseball cap.One of those weird ones where the bill can flip up or down.

His hands snatch at me and his fingers drag along my forearms.

I shake him off.Oh, God.Is it that guy?The one targeting female runners?

I want to scream.

But there’s no air.

And my lips won’t move.

All I can think about is how I brushed away Mum’s concerns last night, boasting that I had this.And I don’t have this.

‘Hey!’the man snaps again, his voice deep and gritty, breaking through the fog in my head.The pounding between my ears.

If he says something else, I don’t hear it.

Because I’m running.

I never stopped.

My vision blurs.

I must be crying?

But I don’t stop.

My chest burns.

Breathe.

I don’t look over my shoulder to see if he’s following me.

I assume he is.

I have to assume he is.

Because he could be that guy.

I don’t stop.

I don’t wipe my eyes.

Or my nose.

I don’t stop until I can’t breathe anymore, my lungs, legs, everything on fire.

I don’t hear Knox until he’s in front of me.Stopping me with a gentle hand that I recoil from, tipping sideways and almost toppling over the bluestone seawall.His familiar form solidifies with each blink.

His eyes are frantic.‘Gen, Jesus.Are you okay?’

I still don’t have words.I open my mouth and slam it shut when nausea races up my throat but there’s no stopping it.I lean over the side of the low wall that separates the pathway from the beach and lose the contents of my stomach in a violent rush.

‘Can I touch you?’Knox asks.

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