Splinters: Part One

Part One | 15

"You guys ready?" Gerald shouted.

"Yep!" they all shouted.

"Here we go!"

Gerald picked up speed with the boat and the kids began screaming. The parents laughed as the boat practically flew on the water. We turned left and right, not enough to tip the tube over though. The girls had a great time.

"Faster!" Beau shouted.

"If you insist!" Gerald smirked.

The boat went even faster, making more turns than ever. I almost thought I'd fall off the boat for a second. The girls were having a blast behind the boat. Hair flew in Jackie's mouth and so she tried to pull it out, but in the process, she flew off the tube.

"Gerald, Jackie!"

Gerald immediately turned the boat and slowed down. Jackie flew back up from the water and began gasping for breath.

"Are you okay, Jack?" Greg asked, leaning over the boat to give her a hand.

She coughed before answering. "Y-yeah."

Gerald completely stopped the boat as Bethany went to grab a towel for her daughter. "Are you sure you're okay, sweetheart?"

"Yeah," she nodded and came over towards Ursanne and I and sat down. "It was kind of fun actually."

"I didn't mean for you to fall, J." Gerald said.

I froze. J, or I guess Jenny, immediately came to my mind. Is Jake okay? I should've gotten his number when I had the chance. I hope he's okay. Knowing J - er, Jenny - she's probably making his life even harder than it already is. I made a mental note to try and contact him however I can.

"Who wants to be tipped over now?"

I jerked my head towards Gerald and saw Ursanne, Odera, and Josh spring up.

"Brayden?" Greg asked.

I looked at him and thought for a moment. I could say no, but what fun is that? I need to grow up and take chances. All my life, I've just been careful and I'm getting sick of it. I need to be a fifteen year old boy. I need to do crazy stuff. This is step one.

"Yeah," I said quietly, maybe it was a whisper.

"Are you sure, honey?" Bethany questioned.

"Y-yeah, I'm sure," I said, slowly getting onto the tube.

I tried my best not to freak out whenever it tipped one way or the other. The only spot left for me was the middle which helped me ease my worries. I wouldn't be the first to tip over if we flipped over to the right or left.

"Ready?" Gerald shouted as the engine began picking up speed.

My sisters and cousin shouted a positive answer to him while I just kind of held on for dear life. The boat went faster and faster. The tube slapped the water as if we were riding on rocks. It was so blue and whenever we went over a wave, the water would spray in our face. My hair flew back so that my forehead was showing and it made me feel weird.

All of sudden, we turned and the tube almost tipped. I held on tighter, my eyes widening. My hands began to hurt from my grip on the threaded handle of the tube.

We then took another crazy turn and I couldn't hold on any longer, not that that would've done anything. The tube still tipped over and we all went down with it.

I was panicking when I was under water, accidentally breathing it in. I flailed my arms and legs and finally, probably thanks to the jacket, I came back up. I gasped for breath and was thankful when I saw Ursanne and Odera next to me. Josh was about ten feet away. How he managed to get all the way over there, I wasn't sure.

"You guys all right?" Greg shouted when the boat came towards us.

"Yeah!" I replied and then I started laughing. "That was fun!"

...

We got back to the house after riding the tube a few other times, and then we swam. It was fun, really fun. It was maybe around three when we got back and the first thing I went for was my phone.

I hurriedly changed into dry clothes and went out in the front to go call Collie. She answered on the fourth ring.

"Hello?"

"Collie?"

"Brayden?"

I froze for a second. "H-hi."

"What's going on? Are you back home?"

I shook my head, stuffing a hand in one of my short pockets. "No, we just got done tubing in the lake. Well, I guess it's not really a lake. It's kind of like a gulf, I guess,"

"Geography's doing you well."

I laughed half-heartedly. "Yeah, I guess so."

An awkward silence came over us so I quickly conjured up a question. "So what are you doing?"

"Oh, um, just kind of getting ready for the day."

"It's three," I reminded.

She giggled. God, that giggle. "I know, I just-, um, kind of got a late start."

"Oh."

"Yeah. My grandparents are coming in so."

"That's cool."

"How's your family?"

"Fun. Good."

"That's good."

"Yeah."

Again, another awkward silence.

"Ow!" she gasped.

I panicked. "What?!"

"I just burnt myself with the curling iron."

"What?"

"I'm doing my hair."

"Oh, are you okay?"

"Yeah, but this is gonna leave a mark... Listen, Brayden, I'd love to talk but my phone battery's going to die soon."

I felt a little embarrassed for some reason. "Oh, that's okay. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay."

"Bye."

She laughed slightly. "Bye, Brayden."

...

A few hours later, Thanksgiving dinner was ready and everybody ate. The adults ate inside while all the kids ate outside on the patio table, but before we ate, we all went outside and stood in a circle and held one another's hands.

Robin started. "Heavenly Father, we thank for you for this lovely dinner and we thank you for the family we are so blessed to have. Please keep us all happy, safe, and loving and that our courage and faith in you will carry on. Beth?"

We all went around the circle saying what we were so blessed and thankful for. When it was Greg's turn, his eyes were still closed as he spoke his words.

"Thank you for my beautiful family, my adoring wife, and my wonderful job."

Next was Melissa, who held my hand and gently squeezed it. "Thank you for Brayden, our new light in the sky."

I smiled, feeling myself warm up from her words. I loved her. I truly did. I loved all of them.

And then it was me. I inhaled and then exhaled and closed my eyes. "Thank you... for giving me a family. A real family."

A/N

I apologize deeply for my awful updating. I'm happy to say this chapter was extremely long, but unfortunately, not a lot of Collie. Her great appearances will definitely be coming in the next two chapters. Thank you all for reading.