Please log in to recommend or discuss...
“Next dare. Backflip into a dive.” Mitch puffed up his chest with each word like he was an overgrown gorilla.
I rolled my eyes and snuggled back against Jase’s chest, letting the crackling bonfire warm my bare legs. I did my best to tune out Mitch and the rest of our friends and tipped my face up to the sky. It was crystal-clear, letting the stars shine like sparklers in the inky black—as if the heavens were putting on their own little show in honor of our graduation.
“You could at least pull a double,” Isaac muttered, cutting into my peace. “Don’t be a chicken shit.”
Mitch’s eyes narrowed. “I’d like to see you try.”
I sighed. This endless quest to one-up each other was getting old. And I could only imagine it worsening when we left for college in a few months. The mixture of freedom and access to booze taking hold.
Jase pulled me tighter against him and nuzzled the side of my neck. “You warm enough?”
“I’m perfect.”
Isaac gave Mitch a shove, and he let out a string of curses as he tripped over a rock.
“Or I would be,” I said, raising my voice, “if these two idiots would quit messing with my bliss zone.”
Lisbeth laughed, holding her hands out to the fire. The flames made her strawberry-blond hair look more of a true red under its glow. “Good luck with that.”
Isaac’s focus swung to me, a devilish grin in place. “Come on, Laik. Let loose for once. You got salutatorian and your fancy gymnastics scholarship. You can breathe.”
I stiffened. Structure had been my friend since finding my love of tumbling at age four. Or maybe it really took hold when my dad bailed at six. I relished the reliability of it. The knowledge that it kept things safe and predictable. Only I was tired of feeling like the dud of the group.
I pushed out of Jase’s hold and stretched. “I think we can do better than a double, don’t you think, guys? How about a two and a half?”
Mitch whistled. “Shit, girl. Now we’re talking.”
I slapped his hand in a high-five and started for the rope swing.
Jase stood, jogging to catch up with me. He grabbed hold of my elbow. “Laik, it’s dark. There could be debris in the water you don’t see.”
I turned to face Jase, taking in the lines of concern creasing his face. I stretched up on my tiptoes, brushing my lips against his. The touch brought with it a flush of warmth and comfort. Sometimes, I thought I knew Jase’s body better than my own. From childhood best friends to middle-school crush to first everything.
“Someone has to put these idiots in their place,” I whispered in his ear.
Jase’s fingers tangled in my hair. “It doesn’t need to be you.”
“I’ve done flips off that rope swing a million times. Are you forgetting who the state champ on the uneven bars was?”
He shouldn’t. Jase came to every meet, usually dragging the rest of our friends, too. He made ridiculous posters and sometimes t-shirts. My favorite one had read: Number One Fan & Water Boy.
A smile stretched across his face, but the edges were strained. “I’m not doubting your bendy, twisty prowess. It’s the hard objects you could land on that make me nervous.”
I scanned the water and saw more than enough to make the jump safely. “Full moon, babe. I got this. Channeling my inner gymnastics nerd.”
He chuckled, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close. “Those leotards have always been my favorite.”
“Perv.”
Jase nipped at my bottom lip. “You like me pervy.”
Isaac made a gagging noise. “I think I’m gonna vomit.”
I twisted out of Jase’s hold and strode towards the rope swing. “When I do this, you have to stop giving me shit for the rest of the night.”
“Aw, come on, that’s no fun.” He ran a hand through his blond hair, the strands long on top and shaved on the sides. A look he thought was the epitome of cool.
“You being silent sounds like plenty of fun to me,” I called back.
I heard a grunt and curse that I was pretty sure meant someone had gotten punched in the gut.
“That’s what you get for being a jackass,” Jase muttered.
I tugged off my t-shirt and tossed it onto my bag near the fire, leaving me in only my bikini. Lisbeth let out a loud whistle. “Get it, Laik.”
I shot her a grin. “Take a picture of Mitch and Isaac’s faces when I put them to shame.”
She held up her phone. “I’m going full video on this one.”
“Smart. We can post it everywhere.”
“You girls are brutal,” Mitch muttered.
“And it would do you well to remember that,” I called.
Before I could let myself have second thoughts, I grabbed hold of a wooden plank nailed to the tree. I hoisted myself up, rung after rung. My friends’ voices lifted on the early summer air, but I tuned them out, focusing only on my next steps.
I reached the platform in a matter of seconds. Who knew how long it had been up here? At this point, there were layers of boards reinforced by every generation who had frequented the spot.
I grabbed hold of the rope, the rough surface biting into my palms. Any blisters would be worth it for this minor moment of glory and bragging rights for the rest of the summer. I adjusted my grip and stared down at the water. It took a few moments to discern where the shore ended, and the water began.
My heart picked up speed as I stretched up onto my tiptoes, preparing to jump. I didn’t give myself a chance to reconsider; I let myself fly.
The wind whipped against my face as I swung through the night air. My palms burned, but I held tight to the rope, waiting for the moment when I knew I was fully over the lake. The rope gave a jerk, and I released my hold.
I arched into a backflip, the stars blurring overhead. Instead of releasing my tuck for a dive, I stayed in a tight ball for a second rotation, then opened into that extension. My hands and head hit the surface with a sharp sting.
The lake was colder than expected, stealing the breath right out of my lungs. I kicked towards the surface as my chest burned. Panic started to set in as my muscles seized. My face met air just in time, and I took a sharp breath.
I heard splashing by the shore as Jase waded into the water, his bare chest on display. I swam towards him. “I’m fine. Told you.”
Jase hauled me into his arms. “I think that’s enough daredeviling for tonight.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist. “Think Mitch and Isaac will keep their traps shut?”
Jase shook his head and nuzzled my neck. “If they don’t, I’ll shut them for them.”
I ran my fingers through his longish, dark hair. “What does it say about me that I support that move?”
He chuckled and kissed me as he strode towards the shore. “That you’re my girl.”
“I am, aren’t I?”
“Forever and a day.”
My stomach gave a healthy flip as if I’d taken another tumble from the rope swing. “Forever and two days.”
“Deal.”
Isaac chuckled. “Does she wear his balls on that necklace of hers?”
Jase smirked at him. “I know you’re jealous that you don’t have a girl as hot as mine, but you don’t have to be so obvious about it.”
“Whatever,” he muttered, but I swore I saw a red stain rise to his cheeks.
Mitch studied me as if I were a bug. “How the hell did you do that?”
“You should’ve taken gymnastics with me in elementary school like your mom wanted.”
Jase snorted but pulled me in closer to his side.
“Oh my God, Laik. Did you just flip off that rope swing?” Marisa’s voice cut through the night as she stepped out of the trees, readjusting her clothes.
Scott wrapped an arm around his girlfriend and shot me a grin. “Of course, she did. She’s a badass.”
“And I have video proof, so that fact will live on in infamy,” Lisbeth said, holding up her cell.
Scott mirrored the move with his phone. “Jax just texted. There’s a party at the farmhouse. We should go.”
Jase frowned at Scott. “My brother’s throwing a party?”
“Said your aunt was looking the other way for the evening.”
Jase’s aunt, Gillian, was always left to look in on Jase and Jax when their parents went out of town for their sister Serena’s cheer competitions. Even though Jax was twenty, and Jase was eighteen
, their parents didn’t trust them not to wreck the place. They could’ve trusted Jase, but Jax was a whole other story.
“He’s such an idiot,” Jase grumbled. “I’m not covering for him this time. Can I stay at your place tonight? Your mom won’t mind if I crash on the couch.”
She wouldn’t. She was so wrapped up in her world; she probably wouldn’t notice if I didn’t come home for days. The Grangers weren’t like that. Jase’s parents, Kay and Chip, cared. Even if their family wasn’t perfect, their love for each other was clear as day.
Only lately, that love seemed to be fraying around the edges in a way that gave me a stomachache. There were more raised voices and storming out of rooms. And it almost always revolved around something Jax had done. I nibbled on the corner of my lip. “Maybe we should go. We can make sure nothing gets too out of control.”
A muscle in Jase’s cheek fluttered. “There’s no way it won’t get out of hand. I should just call the cops now and get it over with.”
Scott flipped Jase off. “Don’t cockblock. Some of us want to have fun tonight.”
I glared at him.
Isaac smirked. “I’m pretty sure your cock has gotten all it’s up to tonight.”
“Hey!” Marisa screeched at him, her pale complexion pinking around her cheeks.
“Enough,” Jase clipped. “The last thing I want to do is try to corral my brother and his friends.”
The hint of true anger in Jase’s expression had my stomach cramping. I had always played referee between the brothers, but it was getting out of hand lately, and I worried there would be a break they couldn’t get past. There had been tension between them ever since Jase had taken the fall for a party Jax threw over spring break. But this was more. The idea of the family I’d been lucky enough to be all but adopted into falling apart like mine had anxiety pulsing through me.
I wrapped my arms around Jase’s waist and kissed the underside of his chin. “The last thing I want to do is play hall monitor tonight. But maybe we can wrap it up early and go back to our plans. A drive into the mountains in the Jeep. Some alone time.” I waggled my eyebrows.
Jase’s lips twitched. “I like the second part of that plan.”
“I’ll be your backup and play bad cop. Promise. I’m not afraid to use buckets of ice water if necessary.”
Mitch’s brows rose. “Harsh.”
I shrugged. “Jax has earned a little bad cop.”
“That’s the freaking truth,” Jase said.
I turned into him and pressed my lips to his. “I’m sorry things are so hard right now.”
His jaw worked back and forth. “We used to be on the same team. Now, it feels like I don’t even know him anymore.”
Hearing him utter those words aloud broke my heart. “Maybe you two need some time. Just the two of you. Go on one of your camping trips.”
“Maybe.” Jase shook his head. “I can’t believe Gilly left him alone. She knows he’ll throw a party.”
“She probably wanted to be the cool aunt. Or she got distracted by her latest art project.”
Gillian was flighty and moved to the beat of her own drum, but she loved her nephews and niece. And she was always a safe place to land for me, too. She never cared if I came over to her art studio to work on homework because I didn’t want to go home to an empty house. And she always asked my opinion on what she was working on as if she really cared. To me, that outweighed all the flighty.
Jase ran his fingers through my hair. “Sometimes when my parents are gone, it feels like I’m the babysitter.”
“A couple more months, and we’ll be out of here. You’ll only have to be responsible for yourself.”
He tapped the end of my nose. “And you.”
“I never get into any trouble.”
“Suuuuure.”
Scott lifted a bucket of water and doused the fire. “Can we go or what?”
“Yeah, we can go.” Jase pinned him with a stare. “But no getting wasted and puking in my mom’s planter.”
I scrunched up my nose as I turned to Marisa, who I saw was doing the same. “That was so gross,” she said with a shiver.
I wanted to gag just thinking about it.
Scott grinned. “My tolerance is a million times better than it was at the last party.”
Lisbeth turned to Isaac. “Will you and Mitch be my ride? I don’t want to get stuck in a car with puke-face.”
I couldn’t hold in my laughter as Isaac wrapped his arm around her. “I got you, gorgeous.”
Jase wrapped a towel around me and then picked up our bags. “Let’s go.” He tugged me towards the parking lot. “You can shower and change in my bathroom when we get there.”
I just hoped no one was screwing in Jase’s bed when we arrived because that had happened before.
We piled into three different vehicles. Jase turned the key in his older-model Jeep. As soon as the engine started, I hit the stereo dial and turned it to my favorite country station. He grimaced. “Are you seriously going to make me listen to that when I already know I’m going to be tortured tonight?”
“Hey, I’m partial to Tim McGraw. You know, I lost my virginity to a song by him.”
The light in Jase’s dark eyes danced. “You don’t say.”
“I do.” I leaned over, my lips grazing the shell of his ear. “If you’re lucky, I’ll let you reenact it later.”
“I’m pretty sure you don’t want that. I think I lasted all of three minutes.”
“It was sweet.”
Jase pulled out of the lot and onto the gravel road. “It was mortifying.”
“You know what they say…practice makes perfect.”
“Now that’s a plan I can get behind.”
Jase turned onto the two-lane highway that led into Wolf Gap. The headlights from Scott’s truck and Isaac’s sedan swung across our back window as they followed. I bent down, pulling my cell phone out of my bag. I typed out a quick text.
Me: I’m going to spend the night at Marisa’s. I’ll see you in the morning.
My mom didn’t respond—not that I had expected her to. She was all about being busy. Because if she was busy, then she never had to deal with the fact that my dad had cheated and bailed. She numbed herself with activities and a full social calendar.
My older brother was the same. He’d looked out for me at first after Dad bailed, but then he simply had better things to do. Once he left for college, he only returned for the holidays and was home for forty-eight hours tops.
Lights flashed across the windshield, and I squinted at the road. “Geez.”
“Someone needs to learn how to turn off their brights.”
The headlights wove back and forth in front of us.
I leaned forward, trying to see better. It looked as if the driver wasn’t following the line of the road. “Are they drunk?”
Jase flipped the visor on his Jeep down. “I hope not.”
The truck veered off the side of the road and then back on. My stomach dropped. “I’m calling the sheriff’s department.”
“Don’t do that, Laik. They might just be tired.”
I hit the non-emergency number stored in my phone. “They could hurt someone.”
“I guess you’re right.” Jase flashed his lights at the oncoming vehicle.
Instead of slowing down and pulling over, the truck picked up speed, its engine revving.
“Carson County Sheriff’s Department, how can I help you?”
“This is Laiken Montgomery. We’re heading into town on twenty-two. I think the driver of a red pickup is intoxicated.”
“Are you safe?”
Jase pulled to the side of the road as the truck weaved again.
“My boyfriend just pulled over. I think we’re fine.”
“Okay, I’ve got deputies heading that way now.”
“Thank you.” I hung up as Jase idled.
The truck slowed and then stopped. A guy got out from behind the wheel and wavered as he strode towards us. I vaguely recognized him but didn’t know his name. He started shouting and cursing about us flashing our lights.
I gripped Jase’s hand. “I think you should go now. He doesn’t look like he’s in his right mind.”
Jase put the Jeep in drive and pulled off as our friends followed behind. The man shook his fist at us as we passed and screamed something I couldn’t make out.
I didn’t let out the breath I’d been holding until his taillights disappeared. “That was crazy.”
“Hopefully, the sheriff arrests him.”
“No kidding.”
I switched the radio off; the upbeat music not a match for that close call.
Jase linked his fingers with mine. “They’ll get ‘em.”
“I know.”
The faint sound of a souped-up engine cut through the night. I turned in my seat to see headlights swerving out from behind our three vehicles to pass. The red truck had to be going about ninety miles an hour. “Is he insane?”
Before Jase could answer, the truck slammed into the side of our SUV. I screamed as we spun. There was a sickening crunch as we hit one vehicle and then another. I lost track of how many times we collided with things. And then, we were airborne.
My seat belt jerked me against the seat as the Jeep flew into a roll. Flipping over and over, the sounds were deafening until everything blinked out. No sound, no sight, no feeling. There was simply nothingness.
I didn’t know how long the nothingness lasted before I blinked against it. I heard shouts from somewhere. That infiltrated my brain before the pain. But once the pain appeared, there was nothing else.
A white-hot agony ripped through my body, tearing at muscle and sinew. I let out a whimper as I tried to move. As if that would help me escape the pain. But I couldn’t shift my position. The Jeep no longer resembled a vehicle. It had been crunched into something altogether different.
Panic lit through me at that thought. “Jase?”
My voice came out hoarse as if I hadn’t used it in years. There was no answer. Blood rushed to my head, and for the first time, I realized we were upside down.
“Jase.” His name was a plea. I tried to twist myself, but pain ripped through me. My seat was folded into the dashboard, my head and neck resting on its surface.
A low groan sounded from next to me. “Laik?”
“I’m here. Are you hurt?”
What a dumb question. Of course, he was hurt. There was no way he couldn’t be.
“I don’t know.” Jase’s voice sounded funny. As if he were on heavy-duty painkillers or something.
“Over here,” a voice shouted. “I’m going down.”
I tried just moving my arm. It hurt like hell, but I could weave it around the torn and bent metal. After a few tries, I felt a body. An arm. Jase’s arm. I patted it until I found his hand. I linked my fingers with his. But Jase’s hand was slick with blood.
My heart ricocheted around in my chest. “Jase, what do you feel?”
“Hmm?”
“Stay awake,” I ordered. I didn’t know much, but I knew that it was important to stay conscious.
“I’m awake.”
“Tell me about the house we’re gonna have one day.”
It was quiet for a moment, nothing but the sounds of creaking metal.
I squeezed Jase’s hand, and he started to speak. “Huge wraparound porch. I’m gonna build you one of those porch swings that looks more like a bed. We’ll make a baby on that porch swing.”
My throat burned. “You’ll be the best dad.”
Footsteps sounded, and then a voice. “Jase? Laiken?”
“We’re here,” I croaked.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could just make out a face. A piece of a sheriff’s department uniform. Hayes Easton sank to his knees, trying to get a visual on the inside of the SUV. “We’ve got more help on the way. Just sit tight.”
“They have to hurry. I think Jase is hurt bad.”
“Jase, can you tell me where you’re feeling pain?”
There was nothing. I squeezed his hand, and his fingers fluttered. “I don’t know. I feel weird.”
“That’s okay. We’re gonna get you out. You just hold on. Stay with us.” Hayes slid his hand into the tiny opening near my head. His fingers landed on my neck, checking my pulse. “What about you, Laiken?”
It took a second to think about it. The pain that had dominated my mind just minutes before had faded to the background as my worry about Jase took over. “M-my back. My side.” The panic picked up again, and tears gathered in my eyes. “You gotta get us out.”
Hayes’ hand found mine and held on tight. “We’ve got people coming. They’re bringing equipment to get you out. I know it’s scary, but I’m with you. We’ll get through this together.”
I held tighter to Hayes with one hand and Jase with the other—as if Hayes could save us both if I just held on. “You hear that, Jase? Help is coming.”
Jase made a sound of agreement.
I gripped his hand harder. “Tell me about our wedding.”
He grunted, almost as if he were trying to laugh. “Told you I’d marry you tomorrow.”
My nose stung. “We get out of this, and I’ll go to the courthouse with you as soon as it opens.”
“You heard her, Hayes.”
Hayes let out a chuckle, but it was forced. “I’ll be your witness. How about that?”
“Brand-new, fancy deputy at our wedding,” Jase muttered.
“Hell, I’ll see if I can get ordained,” Hayes said.
“Laik, you gotta wear that white sundress and flowers in your hair. What are those ones you love?”
“Ranunculus,” I said as tears spilled from my eyes.
“Those in your hair.”
“Don’t forget my necklace.”
“You never take that thing off. I didn’t have to tell you.” I heard the smile in Jase’s voice as he spoke.
“I don’t take it off because you gave it to me.”
Jase’s hand loosened around mine. “Love you, Laik.” His words were drawn out as if each was a struggle.
I squeezed his hand harder. “Forever and a day.”
There was no response.
My fingernails dug into Jase’s skin. “Forever and a day, Jase.”
Nothing. His hand went limp.
My tears came harder as I shook Jase’s hand. “Forever and a day.”
My voice broke, and the sobs came. No matter how hard I squeezed Jase’s hand, no matter how many times I said our words, he never said anything back.
