Delirium

Chapter Nineteen: The Cerebro

After a few weeks, Liv knew all the best ways to run through Hawkins. She and Beverly had mapped out and measured the distances of their runs so they could keep track of their mileage and their times. 

Just because they no longer were on the Track team didn't mean they could slack off. 

Beverly was right when she suggested running could be Liv's vice. It was the best advice she had ever received- right along with Jonathan's advice of ending every day thinking of the good things that came from the day. Between the two of them, she had been without nightmares for two months straight. She was beginning to see the bright side again. 

She felt good. 

Her lungs, however, were not feeling good as she sprinted down Main street with Rufus on one side of her and Beverly on the other. 

Beverly and Liv always started their mornings with a three-mile run to kick start their metabolisms and really wake them up. Then at night, once the heat had settled for the day, they ran a cool two miles to cool down and tire themselves out.  

On days when Liv knew she would miss one of the runs, she always made up for it with the other run. 

It not only helped clear her mind, but she felt more alive than ever better- and healthier. 

She measured her breaths with her strides and exhaled when her right foot slapped the concrete. 

Rufus panted, Beverly hissed, and Liv contemplated why they all decided to put themselves through it. Then she turned a corner and found a street with trees overlapping the sidewalk to provide ample shade. The green trees swayed and sparkled with golden sunlight shining through like beads of pearling light. The scene itself reminded her of why she did it. 

On the long stretch home, they all picked up the pace. Liv sprinted all out and felt every part of her work to make her faster. Her strides elongated until her feet slapped every other breath. Her hair whipped around behind her, bouncing from shoulder to shoulder as it wiped the sweat from her glistening skin. 

The moment they cross the entrance sign for their apartment complex they stopped. 

Liv fell in the grass on the front lawn and spread her arms and legs out. She closed her eyes and panted to try and gain her breath back. Rufus fell beside her and rolled on his side. 

"That-" She tried to talk but found it nearly impossible. "Time?" She tried again. 

Beverly, who had her hands on top of her head to open her lungs, dropped her hand to check her stopwatch. "20 minutes."

She smiled through the pain. "Three miles in 20 minutes? That's averaging six and a half minutes a mile." The math made her smile widen. "Fuck-" she rolled onto her stomach and breathed in the fresh grass clipping. The chopped grass stuck to her sticky skin like temporary tattoos. 

"We can do better," Beverly encouraged. "We need to run without Rufus sometime. He slows us down."

She pushed up to her hands and knees, then lifted to sit on her heels. "You also have to factor in the condition of the road, passing by people on the sidewalk... if we were on an official track, our time would improve greatly."

Beverly nodded. "We have great times."

"Beautiful times," she agreed. "If you wanted to, you could get a scholarship to college."

The mention made Beverly groan. She threw her head back and stomped toward the stairs. Liv stood and dragged Rufus behind her. 

"You and stupid college. You aren't going-" she threw the insult over her shoulder.