Breaking Tradition

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Rylee

Disclaimer: All characters and settings are purely fictional. If there are any similarities to real people or places, it is merely coincidental. The plot is written by me and not copied from any other writer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Dark Cold Memories ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don't remember everything. The last thing I remember was Coach Lawson asking us to do the stunt again. After those words, I met the darkness. For a while, things were dark. I remember feeling cold. It was as if I locked myself into the freezer and couldn't get out. I couldn't move either; I was stuck. It was just a dark void of nothingness. It is dark. I am cold. I kept repeating it as if it would stabilize me. 

Flashes of memories would light up the emptiness. There was one of my childhood, where I was crying to my dad. I don't remember why, but I remember how warm his arms were as he held me. He soothed me, uttering affectionate names. "My little Tessa" he would say. 

There was another of Ryland and I playing. "Hold on, Ry," he shouted. He carried me around on his back, my squeals of excitement penetrating his little ears. He never once told me to stop. He kept running around, pushing me into the air with small jumps. The weather was good that day. The sun shimmered against the trees, which blocked its rays from our skin. The wind brushed gracefully against us, only keeping us cool from the heat of the summer. Or laughs echoed throughout the yard. We were happy. 

When the darkness returned, flickers of my life played. My first dentist visit, moments with Hayden and Theo in middle school, my first kiss with Preston, Vee and I's slumber parties, and moments spent with my mom.

Then, it was cold. It wrapped around my thoughts like a sheet of snow. 

"Sweetie," a voice cried. Who was it? It sounded like my mom. Was she crying? The memory of her crying in my dad's arms swirling around me like a floating ball of light. She failed a class and felt like a disappointment. It was around midnight. I went to get a glass of water when I heard her. My dad consoled her, much like he did when I was a child. 

"She's strong. She'll wake up," a voice reassured. Wake up? Was I asleep?

A bright light covered the darkness around me. Adelston Middle School? Was it lunch? It must be. The field was filled with children. Hayden, Theo, Vee, and I were playing. Vee accidentally pushed me. Theo ran to my side and helped me up. He smiled and reassured me I was okay. He was right. I was. 

"I love you." The flood of memories burst through and playfully embraced me. The colors erupted into a timeline, the images and memories forming into the perfect sequence. They flew around finding their correct spaces. The cold melts away as the warmth of memory fills me. 

I fell. We were doing a pyramid. 

"Save Me," a sweet voice echoes in my heart. Brown eyes meet mines. I gasp.

"Rylee?"