Page 100 of Sing Me Home
“Where is everyone?” I asked.
He turned forward, running normally. “No idea. But guess what?”
“What?” I puffed.
“If they don’t show up, we get all the money.”
I laughed. “Yeah, we do.”
As we fell into an easy pace, I watched him. All night, I’d dissected his words, trying not to panic that they meant we were breaking up. But he seemed fine, like last night had never happened. Happy even.
“All right,” he said when we crested the top of the hill, not even breaking a sweat yet. “First obstacle, coming up. The five-foot hurdle. You remember what to do?”
“Yes.”
I kept my eyes trained on the huge beam blocking the trail. Five feet might not be much for a guy—but for a girl whose strength was mostly in her legs, it was a bit daunting. We’d gone over this though.
I looked for the lowest point and headed in that direction. Then, with my hands on top of the beam, I jumped straight up like I was trying to heave myself out of a pool. My abdomen pressed into the wood, and I pushed up, careful of my scar. I hooked one leg over and pulled the other around, just like climbing a fence. When I landed on the other side, I whooped, fists thrust to the sky. I turned just in time to see Cash flinging himself over like it was child’s play, grinning at me.
“Go Charlie!” someone shrieked. I whipped my head around and there was sixteen-year-old Sophie—wild, wavy auburn hair and green eyes full of mischief—flipping a poster board sign like she was getting paid to bring in business. Griffin, Lemon, and Silas were next to her, waving. Sophie stopped twirling the sign so I could read it.
The Truth Is…
Charlie is the strongest person we know.
Also, she has the best comebacks.
“What is this?” I laughed as I jogged toward them. “Why aren’t you racing?”
“Oh, we are!” Silas hooted. The second we passed them, they took off, sprinting by with ease, the poster board rolled up in Silas’s hand.
When Griff and Aunt Lemon took the lead, Sophie screamed, “I’m going to kick y’all’s trash!”
Griffin taunted over his shoulder, “You’ll have to catch us first!”
Cash laughed.
“Why were they holding that sign?” I asked.
“I guess they thought you needed the extra encouragement?” He shrugged. But there was something in his eyes that wasn’t quite right.
A drone flew by my head, nearly clipping my ear. I screamed. “What in the world?”
As my aunt, uncle, and two cousins sprinted away, I felt the prize money slipping through my fingers.
“No worries,” Cash chuckled, apparently reading my mind. “They’re going to burn out real quick if they keep up that pace. We just barely started. Slow and steady.”
But after another fifty yards he said, “Maybe not that slow and steady. Can you go any faster?”
I nodded, kicking up my speed. “As long…as you don’t…make me talk.”
“Six-foot wall coming up,” Cash said. “Remember to get a running start and put your footintothe wall. I’m ready with a boost if you need it.”
I nodded. I had a feeling I was going to be nodding a lot.
When we got to the wall, I made it almost to the top but I couldn’t get up high enough to hold myself and I started to fall. Before I could panic, Cash heaved my foot up, boosting me high enough to clear it in one go. I whipped my legs over and landed with a hard thud on the other side.
I turned to watch him sail over it with ease, hitting the ground like a cat.
