A North Carolina Autumn

Chapter 13

3.20.2022

Being back in topsail without Rylie feels wrong, but I try to push the painful feelings from my mind. Today would be good, I was excited to see the others again. I step onto the sand and shield my eyes with my hand as I scan the crowd for Jeremy.

"See him anywhere?" Sam asks from beside me. He'd met me here, which I was thankful for.

"Nope. He's probably hiding." I respond jokingly.

"Or," We hear a voice behind us and turn. "He's right behind you." We come face to face with a grinning Jeremy and I smile as he pulls me into a hug. "How are you?"

"Better now. You two are basically my emotional support animals at this point." I tease.

"Oh, so we're dogs now?" Jeremy grins.

"I should've known you'd take it that way." I laugh. Sam and I follow Jeremy further onto the beach, where we quickly find the others. They'd each been up to Charlotte at least once or twice last week and knew all the updates on Rylie. Or rather, the lack thereof.

Today marked exactly two weeks since the accident. The longer Rylie was asleep, the more I worried. When would the doctors say it was hopeless? I didn't even want to think about that.

"Who is up first?" Jeremy asks the others, and Austin raises his hand.

"Me. Then Syd, Josh and Alyssa."

"We're looking forward to more Salty Christians earning metals." Jeremy grins.

"Don't get your hopes up too high. We're good, but we don't have the talent and skill you, Aspen and Rylie have." Austin says.

"Oh, stop." I interject. "Y'all are just as good, and we can't wait to watch your heats!"

"Thanks, Aspen." Austin grins before the four of them head back towards the other surf camp kids.

Sam, Jeremy, Derek and I set up our chairs before sitting, and I roll my sleeves over my shoulders to get some sun.

"You're already so tan, do you really need more sun?" Sam laughs.

"I always need more sun. It's good for you!" I reply as I spray sunscreen on my skin.

"At least you use protection." Jeremy chimes in.

"Well, with this at least." I joke, not realizing how it sounds until it's out of my mouth. Both guys freak out.

"Okay! We can stop now!" Jeremy cries.

"Oh, come on, Jer." I didn't mean it like that."

"She definitely meant it like that." Sam laughs, and I roll my eyes.

As we watch the meet, my mind begins to wander, thanks to Jeremy and Sam bringing that up. I desperately missed Rylie's touch. The pain that follows the thought is nearly overwhelming, and I shake my head. Thinking about this would do no good.

"Aspen!" I hear a voice behind us, and my face lights up as my cousins Jensen and Sawyer come into view.

"Hey!" I jump up and throw myself into Sawyers arms first, then Jensen's. "I missed you two!"

"We missed you too! How are you? Your mom told us everything that's happened, how are you still functioning?" Jensen's voice is warm and kind.

"It hasn't been easy." I admit. "But I've had a lot of support." I smile and gesture over my shoulder to Sam, Jeremy and Derek who are watching us with wide eyes.

"Didn't we meet them last year?" Jensen whispers to me, and I nod. "Then why..."

"Are they acting like you're famous? Because you are." I laugh.

"Fair enough." Jensen laughs before stepping around me to meet the guys.

"Hey," Sawyer places his hand on my arm to stop me from following. "Our dad told us about Gabe. Are you okay?" Jensen and Sawyer's dad, my uncle Jeff, was the police chief in Raleigh, so he got all the news, especially if it had to do with any of his family.

"I'm better. It hit surprisingly hard the first day, but it's getting better."

"I'm so sorry, Aspen. I hate that such an awful person had such a hold on you. Your heart is so pure, and he didn't deserve it one bit. To be completely honest, I'm glad he's gone. When I heard what he did after the trial, I was ready to kill him myself."

"Thanks, Sawyer." I laugh before giving him another hug. "Let's go sit so my friends can bug you." Sawyer laughs and shakes his head before following me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the competition comes to an end, I'm not even surprised that Austin and Josh take 1st and 2nd place. Alyssa and Sydnee place in the top 15, which is pretty good, too.

"You did so well! I knew teaching you those tricks would come in handy!" I tease Austin as I hug him.

"Thanks! But I don't know if you can take credit for the tricks your cousins taught you." He laughs.

"Fair point." I agree, joining his laughter. I pull my phone from my pocket and the smile slips from my face as I see Kristen's name on the screen. I step back from the group before quickly answering.

"Kristen? Is everything okay?"

"Aspen?" I can hear the wind on my end echoing through the speaker. The waves crashing to my right and the people celebrating around me are making it hard to hear her, and I think it's the same on her end.

"Can you hear me?" I ask, setting my palm over my other ear to try and block out the noise.

"Aspen, where are you?"

"I'm in Topsail. Is everything okay? You're scaring me."

"How fast can..." Kristen cuts out.

"What?"

"Hurry back, please." Her voice is faint and I wonder if I heard her right.

"What happened? Kristen, is Rylie okay?" My heart is racing, and I feel my legs shaking beneath me. "Kristen?" Suddenly, the line goes dead. I raise my eyes to find Sam's locked on mine.

"What is it?" He asks, instantly coming to my side and gripping my hand.

"I... I don't know. Kristen called but the connection was really bad. I think she said to hurry back. I have to go."

"Aspen, wait." Sam takes my arm as I try to leave. "We're four hours away. You're anxious, I know, but I can't let you drive right now."

"Sam, something obviously happened with Rylie! I have to go!"

"I'll drive you. Jer!" Jeremy turns at the call, and the smile instantly falls as he takes in our faces. "Something has happened. We have to get to Charlotte. Will you bring my truck up as soon as you can?"

"Of course. Keep me updated. Go." Jeremy says without hesitation.

Sam easily scoops our belongings into his arms before we run to my car. I toss him the keys and we hop in before he speeds out of the parking lot, the tires sliding on the sandy pavement.

Cars honk as Sam cuts into traffic and I squeeze my eyes shut as he narrowly avoids an SUV. I don't even bother telling him to slow down, I would've been driving the same way. I needed to be at the hospital.

Once we're out of Topsail and on the highway heading towards Charlotte, I'm thankful to have a decent, not ancient car. Sam doesn't go below 100mph once, but my car doesn't even struggle or complain like my high school car surely would have.

What was normally a four hour drive only takes us two and a half hours. It's the longest two and a half hours of my life.

Thankfully, we don't see any cops, and we pull into the hospital parking lot just as the sun is going down. We hurry from the car, practically running into the building, and take the elevator up to Rylie's floor.

When we finally reach her room, my heart drops. The first thing I see is Kristen and Brad, with tears streaming down their faces.