"How's your season going?" Kevin's mother asked. Kevin noticed the way her eyes seemed to drop out of focus as she looked at him from her usual spot on the couch.

The head doctor said they had increased her dosage due to her becoming unresponsive to the medicine and her mood swings becoming more frequent. As usual, Kevin marveled at more drugs being the answer to every medical problem.

At what point did that solution become more detrimental to a person's health than the problem itself?

"Fine," Kevin said absentmindedly before doubling back as his mother frowned, "I mean good, really good actually. I've won all my 200-meter races so far. Lost one 100-meter race." Kevin frowned as he recalled his first loss of the season. There was honestly no excuse for it either, Robert Maddison, a top-three finalist at regionals last year had simply outrun him.

Kevin knew that with his rocky starts, even if his top speed was faster than another talented runner, due to him having to gain back ground before even reaching his top speed a win wasn't guaranteed. Especially when the runner in question was as fast as Robert.

"Dear, you just told me great news yet your face betrays your disappointment," Kevin's mother said, slurring some words in between.

Kevin sighed. "Winning the track meets is cool and all, but the ultimate goal is doing well at invitationals and qualifying for Regionals...and eventually, Nationals. That race was my first look at someone capable of making both, and I failed."

Kevin's mother rolled her eyes. "Am I missing something? You said it was your first encounter with someone that fast, correct?"

Kevin nodded. Braylon and Darius were fast in their own right but Robert was on another level in the 100-meters.

"Then how is that a failure? Now you know what it takes to beat someone on that level and you have the remainder of the season to reach that speed, too."

Kevin considered her words carefully. She was right, of course, in just a week since he suffered the defeat he felt like he had gotten faster, as crazy as that sounded. The loss had haunted him like a nightmare, causing him to go even harder in practice.

The training sessions with Coach Ryan was no longer a place where he enjoyed the feeling of the wind as he raced to the finishing line; rather, the headwinds had become a combatant in its own right, another obstacle trying to prevent him from reaching his goal.

Maybe winning had become more important than that exhilarating feeling.

"I guess that's true." Kevin finally responded. "It's going to be pretty hard if that's not even the fastest guy though," Kevin admitted both to her and himself.

She smiled in response, focus returning along with a twinkle in her pupil. "You are my blood, Kevin. We were built for tough situations. You may be a sprinter but this season seems more like a marathon, there's no benefit in getting down on yourself in the first third of the race." She paused, her portrait smile faltering for a moment. "We Matthews need to stay strong, even when it's raining the hardest."

Kevin crossed their distance in a flash, tightly embracing his mother. He could only imagine the inner torment she was enduring, being as free-spirited as she naturally was --now confined to the colorless walls of a rehabilitation center. 

It hurt Kevin's soul to know that he was partly responsible for her suffering. Making the decision to send her here had been his and as much as he repeatedly told himself it was for the greater good, the less good he saw in it.

More often than not he found himself wishing for his childhood back, where he was ignorant of such responsibilities and problems. Where his father fixed everything before it could even become a problem. Had he been here he would know exactly what to do.

But he wasn't. And never would be again.

Reality was often hard to face.

After breaking their embrace, it was her turn to recount how things had gone since their last visit. Kevin could tell she was trying her best to make it seem better than it was, but even with her mentions of funny moments in group therapy and her new friend, he couldn't help thinking it seemed dull.

All too soon it was time for him to go and leave her behind again.

"You said your first invitational was tomorrow right?" She said as he turned to go.

He turned back, meeting her glossy eyes. "Yeah, I qualified for the 100 and 200 meters."

Her lips curled into her first genuine smile of the evening. "That's great, Kevin. I'll see if I can find the livestream and watch along." 

Kevin nodded. "I'll do my best to win then."

"You better."

He cast one last glance at her waving figure. 

She wasn't supposed to be watching him on a screen like some random fan. She was supposed to be there in the stands where he could see her.

Kevin pushed those thoughts into his subconscious, forcing it back down as he had become accustomed to before those unwanted emotions could overflow.

We Matthews needed to stay strong.

Kevin's return to his empty house was painful. The last five weeks since his first track meet he had thrown himself completely into his season, not allowing himself to focus on the outside noise. But now, as he eyed the four empty chairs around the dining table something burned beneath the horizon.

It felt like he had been running and now his legs had stopped moving, leaving him to face reality. Ignoring the problems didn't fix them, that much was evident. Regardless, Kevin once again forced down the lump in his throat, forcing himself to only think about tomorrow. 

His first invitational. No doubt Robert would be there which meant it was a chance at revenge. A second chance at winning.

That was all Kevin thought about as his head hit his pillow in the pitch-black darkness.

Win.

"You smell that?" A loud voice called. "It's the smell of success on the horizon!"

"Can you keep it down?" Kevin begged as he followed Michael off the bus.

The invitational started late enough that spectators from school were able to join without worrying about missing their classes. The bus had been packed to the brim despite only seven athletes actually being invited to participate.

The Peter James Invitational wasn't exactly the most renowned Invitational of the season but due to it being the first Invitational it often got its fair share of electrifying races and performances due to top athletes wanting to get their first look at peers they may not have seen in track meets.

"Woah," Michael exclaimed as he walked around the bus. Kevin followed his lead and saw what had drawn his attention.

The stadium was laid out in front of them, even the back view of the circular stands evoking a certain majestic aura. It was easily the biggest stadium he had seen in person, the aging stadium back home paling in comparison to the freshly painted gate and sparkling, colorful stands. Even so, this wasn't what momentarily froze Kevin in place.

It was the people.

The sheer amount of people resembled a concert instead of an invitational. 

"Seems like the people of Wisconsin were itching for some real action," Coach Ryan said, joining the boys and placing a hand on their shoulders. He sported a blue blazer complete with an undershirt and blue jeans instead of his usual tracksuit combo. If that wasn't proof this was a special occasion, Kevin didn't know what was.  

"Then let's give them a show, shall we?"