The Running Dream

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2011

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Part 1, Chapters 13-15Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapter 13 Summary

Physical therapy continues for Jessica as she is continuously reminded by her parents and Fiona to keep up with her sessions. When Fiona is visiting one day, Jessica receives a surprise phone call from Gavin Vance, a student at her school. Jessica has long had a crush on Gavin, the mayor’s son, and she’s stunned that he has thought enough of her to make a call.

The conversation is predictably awkward at first with Gavin not knowing what to say. But he eventually tells Jessica that he wants to interview her for an article about the accident for the school paper. Jessica reacts negatively, telling him she isn’t ready to talk about what happened. She lies and says she needs to get back to physical therapy and ends the call with him.

Fiona is amazed that Gavin called for Jessica, thoughJessica is less than impressed. She thinks that “if it took losing a leg to get him to notice me, I’d rather be ignored” (31).

Part 1, Chapter 14 Summary

Jessica’s appetite is revived by a serving of lasagna, which her mother brings to the hospital for her. Digging eagerly into the meal, Jessica thinks that she is “happy to not be pretending” (31) for once. For the first time since the accident, she feels truly hungry and enjoys the taste of the meal.

Her reverie is abruptly ended by phantom pains that suddenly attack her leg, or where her leg was once. Jessica screams, “Get off my leg!” (31), although no one is on or near her at all. Her mother points out there is nothing on her leg, and Jessica insists that “something [is] on my shin, twisting my foot!” (31). It’s only when she draws back the bed covers that she remembers her amputated leg.

The phantom pains frighten Jessica as they arrive without warning and no two phantom pains are the same. They occur randomly, sometimes in the part of her leg that is gone. The pains can be stabbing or burning or both: “The nerves are cut, but they’re still connected to my brain” (33). When the pains fade, Jessica is left recognizing that the loss of her leg will always be a constant in her life, one way or another.

Part 1, Chapter 15 Summary

Jessica dreams of running again. Instead of a race, this time it’s an ordinary morning in her life. The sun is just coming up, the world is quiet, and it’s just Jessica and her dog, Sherlock, and the “rhythmic padding of our feet against pavement” (34). She describes Sherlock as happy to run alongside her. No leash is necessary for both girl and dog to feel connected to the world around them.

They run out along the river and over the Aggery Bridge. Here, Jessica begins her sprints and as her lungs burn, she “welcome[s] the pain. I’m stronger than the pain” (35). The dog races ahead of her to the other side of the bridge where he waits, tail wagging, for her to catch up to him.

Their run concludes when they slow their pace and head back home. Jessica praises and pets Sherlock on the front porch before noticing that the neighborhood is waking up around them. Then, suddenly, Jessica awakens in her hospital bed.

Part 1, Chapters 13-15 Analysis

While Fiona is visiting her room one day, Jessica is shocked to receive a phone call from her high school crush, Gavin Vance. As the mayor’s son, Gavin is popular and busy, and Jessica is caught off guard that he would take the time to call her. She is taken aback, however, when she finds out the reason for his call is to interview her about the accident for an article in the school paper. Not ready to talk about the tragedy, Jessica begs off and ends the call. Fiona is impressed, but Jessica begins to think that Gavin isn’t worth her time.

Jessica struggles with the phantom pains that impact her life on a random basis. She struggles with attacks that come out of nowhere, and that often hurt in different places and different ways. The pains are a constant reminder of her loss, something that she can only escape from in her dreams.

That night, Jessica dreams of a typical early morning run with her dog, Sherlock, by her side. She envisions them running a favorite route, near the river and over a bridge. Jessica lets Sherlock run ahead of her and sees him waiting at the end of the bridge for her to complete her sprints. They head home, rejuvenated, and Jessica suddenly wakes up to her new reality in her hospital bed.