The sharpness in Lily’s voice was uncharacteristic, but she couldn’t worry about that. Sky grew quiet as Lily began walking. She forced herself to ignore the ominous, looming shadows the pine trees cast. With each step, Lily’s pace quickened. She refused to glance back at the nondescript cabin. Her walk turned to a jog, and then she was running. Her legs ached, muscles weak from lack of use, but she fought through the pain. She’d endured so much that this was nothing. Lily’s heart pounded so hard in her chest she thought it might explode. It had been so long since she’d been able to run, but her cross-country training came rushing back to her. She could almost hear Coach Skrovan’s voice telling her to “Find a rhythm. Find your stride.”
Lily ignored the cuts on her face from wayward branches and thick brush. She lost track of time as she made her way through the overgrown trail. She kept running until they arrived at what appeared to be the main road. Lily squinted, trying to make out the sign in the distance. As she grew closer, she gasped, stopping in her tracks. Highway 12. With growing horror, Lily realized she was less than five miles from home. Five miles!
The realization nearly derailed her. She wanted to drop to her knees and scream in anger and frustration. But she couldn’t. Focus on this moment. This moment was all that mattered. One foot in front of the other, she told herself.
She focused on Sky, who was whimpering from the cold. “You’re such a brave girl. Mommy is so proud of her brave little girl.”
It was difficult, witnessing Sky’s discomfort. But darkness was their salvation and she couldn’t waste any time. In spite of the cold, in spite of Sky’s distress, Lily realized that today was a spectacular day. She hadn’t had one of those in over 3,110 days. It was a silly game she’d played with her twin sister, Abby. They’d started tracking their “spectacular days” in seventh grade.
Spectacular was a vocabulary word. Definition: Beautiful, in a dramatic and eye-catching way. Abby, older by six minutes, was obsessed with Oprah and her happy-go-lucky philosophies. Following the talk show host’s lead, Abby had created a calendar to track their spectacular days. And so it had begun: the day they both made varsity track. The day they both passed their driving tests and sat on the hood of their Jeep outside the Dairy Queen eating their banana split Blizzards, reveling in how grown-up they finally were. And then there was the most spectacular day of all, when Wes asked Lily to go to the movies. Lily was the first one to be asked out on a date, but Abby helped her get ready, choosing the perfect outfit and doing her makeup. When Wes picked Lily up, she’d been worried that her spectacular day was not meant to be. He was quiet and on edge, not a trace of the carefree, goofy boy she’d been crushing on for half the school year. She kept pushing him. “Are you okay? Are you sure? What’s wrong? You can talk to me.”
Wes had lost his temper and told her he was far from okay. His father had been arrested for driving under the influence. He tried to pretend it didn’t matter.
“I don’t know why I’m surprised. I should be used to him acting like an asshole. It’s stupid. I don’t want to ruin the night. C’mon, we’re gonna miss the previews.” Lily had grabbed him before he could get out of the truck.
“I don’t care about the previews. And it’s not stupid. Tell me what’s going on.” An expression of gratitude flickered across Wes’s face. “Really?”
Lily had nodded. No movie in Hollywood could compete with that moment. They sat in his pickup as Wes explained that his father’s drinking had only gotten worse once Wes’s mother had died. He was trying to keep the bills paid, make sure his father didn’t miss work, but it was wearing on him. But he didn’t just want to talk about himself. He’d asked Lily about her life, listening as she talked about Abby and how close they were and how she was so worried that their parents were planning to divorce. They were so busy talking they missed the movie, and Lily had nearly missed curfew. She couldn’t believe it. She’d only ever felt this comfortable with Abby. Just when Lily thought the evening couldn’t get any more perfect, Wes leaned over and kissed her. Before long, Lily’s life became one spectacular day after another.
Lily kept running, adjusting Sky in her arms, but she couldn’t stop thinking about that spectacular year she’d spent with Wes. Of course, that Tuesday in September had been as far from spectacular as one could get. In fact, the day had been totally shitty. She was still on crutches after spraining her ankle at her first track meet. She’d stayed up late talking to Wes on the phone and had forgotten to study for a chem pop quiz. She knew that she’d completely bombed it. Lily hobbled over to Abby’s locker, prepared to vent about how she’d screwed up her GPA. Abby didn’t bother hiding her annoyance.
“Where’s my black sweater? You said you put it back in my locker,” Abby said.
“I did. You had it on last week after practice.”
“No. I didn’t. You lost my favorite fucking sweater, didn’t you? I knew you would.”
Lily had adamantly denied losing the sweater. But Abby didn’t believe her. She’d called Lily a liar. Face red, lips thinned to slivers and pursed in a way that always annoyed Lily, Abby had glared back at her. A fight had been inevitable.
“You’re such a fuckup,” Abby said.
“Right… and you’re sooooo perfect, aren’t you?” Lily retorted. She hated how Abby acted like she was the Second Coming just because she was six minutes older.