Why we run
It didn't take long for people to find my house.
Now I have security all over the place.
I can hear them outside. They scream for me and it's scary. People know my name. That's weird.
Ten years ago no one dared to know the name, Isabella Jackson.
I got back from reading an hour ago. I really want to go out for a run. I'm contemplating the hour jog to the training centre.
But if I go out, I have to take security.
I march to my room. I put on a tee and some basketball shorts. I strap my phone to my arm. I pick up my wireless earbuds and head out the door.
I have to smile to the public...
I put on my best smile and walk to my front gate. Security sticks to me like glue.
How did these people get through the gate!
I talk to the crowd, "you guys, I'd really love to meet all of you but right now I need to train so I'm going for a run. You guys can come, but only if you can keep up!"
I laugh and start to jog. Half of the group leaves while the other half looks daring. They actually want to run with me.
I start my pace off slowly. I gradually pick up the pace.
An hour run is nothing. The marathon is next week and that will be at least five hours.
About half an hour passes by and the majority of my runners stop.
There are about six people left, excluding my security.
I begin to dash. I have enough stamina for me to get to Lamar's in ten minutes at full speed.
No one can match my pace. Not even my security.
I reach Lamars and enter. Theresa gives me a nod as I greet her. I march right up to the gym.
I hide in the corner where there's a bad camera angle and I use the balance ball. I've broken my workout schedule and I need to get back to work on my own body.
I switch to a wooden balance plank and as I try to lift a leg the sound system screeches, "if Isabella Jackson is in the building please go to the main entrance."
I fall off the damn board.
I run down the ramps instead of the stairs. And I see my security around a small child and Lamar.
"What's going on?" I ask.
Lamar told me that this small boy tried breaking in to see me.
"That's bull. Can you guys back away from him? You aren't police officers!" I glare at all of them.
I soften my expression when I see the boy looks frightened.
"Hey, what's your name?"
"Isadore Scott." He whispers and I grin.
"Do you know who I am Isadore?" I chuckle softly.
He nods, "your Isabella Jackson."
I nod, "how old are you?" I ask him.
He's 9.
I furrow my eyebrows, "what's a small boy like you doing out here alone?"
"I was one of the people at the gate. I was there with my momma. You told us that we can come if we can keep up. My momma said I should go for it. Everyone stopped when you started sprinting but I kept going. I saw the article you did in Argentina. And I think I know the secret."
My jaw drops, "wait. You ran all the way here?"
"Yep, I just had to meet you. You are my favourite athlete. I saw you at qualifiers six years ago and I loved you from the start, you are probably my earliest memory. I want to be an athlete just like you and De Grasse. I started running when I was three and now I'm the fastest at school." Isadore says.
I turn to Lamar, "is it okay if I hang out with him around here?"
He gives me a sad smile, "we can't risk him getting hurt, Izzy."
"Please. I'll call his mom!" I give him pleading eyes that he can't say no to.
He cracks, "fine." He utters and walks away.
I turn back to the boy, "so Isadore how would you like to spend the rest day with me?"
He looks shocked, "really?"
"Yep. But first, we need to contact your mom." I say joyously.
He lifts his shorts slightly and pulls a phone from his compression pants pocket.
I swear every kid age eight and up has a phone.
"Hey momma, Isabella Jackson wants to spend the day with me, but she wants to know if it's alright with you." He's adorable.
His face turns into a scowl, "yes it's Isabella Jackson, she's not some lady tryna kidnap me. I'll FaceTime you!"
He turns his phone to face me. "See mamma I ain't no liar."
"Hey Miss Scott, I am in no way trying to kidnap your son. I think he's cool and I just want to hang out with him for a bit while I train at Lamar's training centre." I laugh.
I can't tell if his screen is frozen or if his mom is shocked. Then a high pitched voice scares me, "Oh My Gosh! My baby is with Isabella Jackson. Izzy- can I call you that?"
I give her a toothy smile and nod.
"You can hang out with him all you want. Just tell me when you're done so I can pick him up!"
"It's no trouble, I can bring him home?" I suggest.
"Perfect, now Isadore behave."
"Yes, momma." And he hangs up.
We go up the stairs and I show him around the place. Isadore is in awe of everything.
He has hope and determination. He has light.
Isadore is practically the child I always wanted to be.
He's wearing compression pants under his basketball shorts and a zip up sweater which is no longer zipped up, I can see the definition of his abs. He has muscular arms and legs. He's only nine and he has the physique of a body builder or slim built football player. Yet he also looks like he has the time of his life.
"Hey Isadore, do you like school?"
His light just beams in my face, "I love it! Especially gym class. All the girls want to be my friends and all the boys love to race me. I play everything, but I love football. I always help the teachers lead warmup. It helps to tone my muscles. And everyone always asks me how I maintain my body and I give them a simple answer. Why we run." He flexes.
I get on the balance plank and he mimics me on the balance ball. The balance ball is much much more difficult than the plank.
"You said you know the secret... how did you figure it out?"
"We don't do this just because we want to or for the people. No one knows why we run. But we keep going till we reach that destination. Plus its not always one destination it could be hundreds. That destination may not be visible. That destination will come when we want it. Not when we need or seek for it."
He is in all ways correct.
"Are you sure that you are just nine?" I laugh.
He nods going on strong. He has the will.
I am reaching my shaking point and Isadore is holding on like a champ. "How often do you train Isadore because most of my clients your age would be on the floor by now?"
He jumps off the ball. "My core is the centre of all my power. If it's not strong enough I wouldn't have been able to keep up."
I step off the plank.
I wrap an arm around this small child and we walk to the track. "You know I'm usually afraid of kids," I tell him.
"Why?" He laughs at me.
"Because you are tiny and powerful. You are goal-oriented, nothing really breaks you down." I chuckle.
"But you're all those things too." He looks up at me.
"Trust me the simplest things can break me."
He stops dead in his tracks, "you are Isabella Jackson. You won gold for the heptathlon. You got out of a nine-year relationship and you look like a champ in the media."
I come down to his level, "this life isn't that great Isadore."
"I know. Everyone has their own challenges but that shouldn't stop you. Like me! I am the oldest of 6 siblings. We live in a tiny government house. My momma is usually working so I take care of my younger siblings with my twin sister. I don't know much about my dad, he pops in and out. My momma says he's useless. But that doesn't stop my dreams. I find ways to workout. And right now I'm here with you so I know that anything is possible."
This is the reason why kids are scary. They are so right it's crazy.
I'm not the only one with problems.
We make it to the track. Amarion and Melissa are running.
"Hey isn't that the guy who proposed to you?" Isadore asks.
"Yes, he is," I mumble.
Isadore runs and catches up to them.
"You're Amarion Jacobs." Isadore paces with him. Amarion laughs.
I couldn't help but laugh too.
Amarion stops dead in his tracks when he hears me laugh. Did he seriously believe that a child would be wandering the place unsupervised?
He jogs towards me and the nine -year-old runs.
Isadore got to me first, "why'd you say no?"
Another reason I'm not a fan of kids is that they don't have filters.
"Yeah Iz why'd you say no?" Amarion mimics him.
I sigh. I'm going to be brutally honest, "I said no because I don't love him. Isadore wouldn't you think it's wrong to spend my life with someone who claims they love me but I don't love back." I say looking the man in the eyes.
"Why don't you love him?" Oh my gosh please stop asking questions child.
"He did something bad. And he isn't why we run." Amarion is confused but I know that Isadore will figure it out.
The boy takes his hand and harshly pulls him away.
They talk away from me and I jog with Mel.
"You coming back to work?" She asks me.
"I hope Lamar will take me back. But I don't think he will because of all that's going on. He already shifted over half of my clients."
"Well Izzy you are a known name, you are getting those offers left and right. Your real career is taking off. You should own it." Mel says heading to the showers.
"Hey, Isabella!" Isadore calls me over to where she and Amarion are sitting.
"I'm going to call you mini-me because you are loud and opinionated."
"Whatever you'd like, now sit." He orders.
"Alright what's going on?" I take a seat on the floor.
"Iz, did you love me?" Amarion asks quietly.
That question catches me off guard.
Amarion was everything I could've imagined. Or so I thought.
"I don't know. If I did, I don't think my love for you was realistic. For instance, you were my first boyfriend and we were together for nine years. We never said the word during our relationship. Not once. You can say, I loved that you were always there. But I think I was naive. I don't think you exactly loved me either. We were both just very comfortable with each other. Maybe you felt so too much. Plus I wasn't angry for very long. I rant about how I was heartbroken, yet I was really only upset for a single night and when my parents were here, before getting over it..."
He nods his head understanding. "Do you... love him? Joey, I mean, do you have feelings for him?" He asks.
My eyes immediately dart to the child sitting beside him.
"Pretend I'm not here." He whispers.
This is ridiculous, I chuckle.
"Maybe," I answer the question.
"You said you'd come back in a month, it's been two weeks why?"
"I listened to other people instead of listening to myself and I made a deal I can't go back on because everyone just has this obsession with you." I didn't mean to put it that way...
I probably did...
"Afi told you I was going to propose didn't she?"
I nod, "Are you sure you don't have feelings for Stella? For some reason I find it hard to believe that what you did was purely for fun... you both have really good chemistry."
"Are you tryna get me with Stell? Plus you wouldn't understand because you are a-" I cover his mouth with my hand immediately. I chuckle a bit. It reminded me of what Joey did to me, I won't lie. Anyways, a nine year old doesn't need to know that information.
"Amarion choose better words please..." I glance at Isadore.
He scratches the back of his head, "Right. uh, I was convinced it was nothing more than a physical attraction. I was surprised when Stell told me her feelings back in high school. Especially because the week before she told me how much my presence annoyed her. The both of you are polar opposites. Yet, there was a mystery to you that I liked more. You were always so cautious around me like you didn't trust me, I liked watching you warm up to me."
I shake my head, "Yeah, I didn't trust you at all. I thought you were pranking me. I avoided you especially when you were around people because I didn't want to ruin your popular reputaion. Now that I think about it. You don't know Stella at all. You know her body, you lack the knowledge of her mind and heart. There's a reason she's been hung on you for twelve years. It's not only because you chose me."
"Can we be friends? I miss my training buddy."
"Admit that you're the reason we broke up." I'm stubborn okay!
"I am definitely the reason we broke up. But Iz the only reason I never apologized is that there's nothing to apologize for. I messed up and there's no mistaking it. I just don't want to lose you in my life completely."
I sigh, "I'm not saying no. But I'm also not saying yes... right now. There are some things that need to be done. I can't believe I am going to say this but I think you should talk to Stell. And the first thing that needs to be done is taking this one home." We direct our attention to Mini-me.
"You guys need a ride?" He asks us.
Isadore answers before I can, "that would be great. Let's go, Isabella." He stands dragging both of our hands.
He doesn't even know where he's going.
When we are seating in the steel grey car I ask the child if he knows his way home.
He directs Amarion all the way.
My security trail close behind.
It's not that far but it's also not close. I've never been to this neighbourhood before. It doesn't seem like the safest either. But it is a place where this boy calls home.
"And stop right here." He says.
"Mari come with us," I say to him because I don't want Isadore to walk up alone. And I also don't want to be alone.
We all get out and Amarion locks his car.
We knock on the door and a small girl who I'm assuming is mini me's twin opens the door.
"Momma Izzy got caught by the police!" She yells.
Their mom comes fast.
"Girl, they aren't the police."
Amarion and I start laughing.
"Aren't you Amarion Jacobs?" Miss Scott asks.
He greets her.
"Hey, Miss Scott I had a great time with him," I say.
"Do you two want to stay for dinner? She asks us.
Isadore pulls on both of our hands and begs for us to stay.
"Of course we will," Amarion says.
We enter the small home and I see five children watching tv.
"Hey you guys it's time for dinner and we have guests!" Mini-me chants. All of them march to the kitchen and washes their hands.
After their done Mari and I do the same.
At the dining table, Isadore sits between Amarion and me.
And for dinner, we are having tacos.
Miss Scott takes a seat. "Isadore say grace." She says.
All of us lock hands and bow our heads.
"Heavenly Father, thank you for letting us gather here this evening. Thank you for giving my momma a break today. We also thank you for bringing Isabella Jackson and Amarion Jacobs to our table tonight. We receive this food and we ask you to bless it. Please let it nourish our bodies to keep up healthy. In Jesus name, we pray, Amen."
And everyone says, "Amen."
I'm glad I met this boy today.
He is why we run.
So I've been on wattpad for almost six hours today and not once did it pass my mind that I have to post a chapter.
So when I post another one in like 10 hours don't be surprised 😭
Anyways.... the secrets out. We finally know what why we run means!
We finally see Izzy come to a common ground with Mari and we met Isadore.
I remember Isadore's character was originally a girl. Named Isabelle. Hence the mini me concept.
And I was going to make this book the once where they have real people portraying everyone and I couldn't find a girl of description but I knew so many boys that did. Isabelle quickly turned into Isadore.