[ WP ] Every morning she puts on her sweats , laces her shoes , downs some coffee , and goes running with a dead man .

Reese looked herself up and down in the mirror before her daily morning jog. It's amazing how fast she's lost weight in the last few months. A few months ago, she was insecure, overweight, and had anxiety issues. Now she's just insecure with anxiety issues. Steeling herself for another tiring day, she picked up her water bottle and went out to the park for a jog. 
 
 Reese was n't a very good runner. Her posture was bad, she breathed too much, and worst of all, she took frequent breaks. Nevertheless, every morning, without fail, she would run the same route. Jim used to make fun of her all the time for that. 
 
 `` Why do you even bother, Reese? ``, Jim would always say as he easily outpaced her. 
 
 Reese hated it when he said that. She knew she was trying, but it was just too hard for her. She hated that Jim was always the better sibling. This was what motivated her every single day. Up ahead was a sharp turn, and she ran full-speed, wanting to prove herself. She was n't worthless. She could n't be. 
 
 `` Come on, sis, you call yourself a Sutherland? ``, Jim would always sarcastically ask. 
 
 The Sutherlands had always been the perfect sporty family. Mom was a P.E. teacher in an upstate high-school, Dad was a coach in the Ivy leagues and Jim was an up-and-coming college basketball superstar. 
 
 Reese, on the other hand, struggled to climb up three flights of stairs. 
 
 Reese, on the other hand, chose to become a `` starving'' artist who still managed to eat well above the recommended amount of calories per day. 
 
 She hated being forced to be a Sutherland. She hated being the black sheep in the family. And so she started to run. 
 
 At first, she did it alone. She did n't want her family to know that she felt insecure about her weight. Unfortunately for her, Jim saw her heaving in a coffee shop while he was out with friends. From then on, he would always run alongside her every morning, taunting her every step of the way. While she pretended to hate his brother for this, deep down, she was grateful that he cared enough to run with her every single morning. 
 
 She stopped short once she came upon a bench facing the main road. She took a seat down. Of course, Jim was already seated there. 
 
 `` Ha, at the pace you're going, you might actually go backwards'', he teased. 
 Reese was close to tears at this point. Her whole week had been terrible, and just this once, her envy of his brother far outweighed her love for him, and she ran away. She ran and ran, not knowing that a truck was hurtling towards her. She ran not knowing that Jim was close behind. 
 
 She opened her eyes. She was still on the bench. But this time Jim was n't with her. Jim died three months ago when he pushed her out of the way of that truck. He did n't even live long enough to feel it. It was Reese who got to live with that. 
 
 Her parents did n't blame her. Nobody blamed her except herself. 
 
 That's why every morning, she ran. 
 
 Though she looked alone, she knew that somebody was running with her. 
 
 And in the end, that's all the reason she needed. 
 
 
 
 
 
 

