"Woah, woah, woah, wait." Kian grumbled as he clung into the metal railing, scared to fall on the ice.
"Oh, come on. It's not that hard." Maria laughed, taunting him. We all burst out laughing as Oliver came slinging past us, facing towards us with his arms crossed as he mocked Kian.
"Wow, so cool." Kian grumbled, sticking out his tongue at Oliver.
"Can't help that I'm a god." Oliver said, shrugging. Kian frowned, letting go of the bar to prove him wrong.
"Oh yeah, watch this." Kian said. He went to step forward and his legs started sliding, looking like the noodle men blown up outside stores having sales.
"Wow, natural born skills." Maria joked and Kian grabbed onto the railing again, glaring at Maria.
"No, Ryleigh is a natural. She's amazing." Isaiah stared and I scoffed, rolling my eyes a bit.
"I am not even that good." I protested, shaking my head.
"Whatever. That one time you were reading and skating at the same time... with one leg lifted back." He said, trying to prove his point as the other looked at me.
"Awe, come on. We gotta see it." Maria said and Kian nodded really fast.
"Yes, someone needs to put Oliver in his place." Kian frowned and I shook my head, laughing at him.
"Fine, fine. I'll do a spin or something." I shrugged, pushing my feet on the ice as I raced forward. I pushed and pushed to build my momentum before pushing off and turning to the left, bringing one knee up as I kept my view on Isaiah to spot myself.
I couldn't help but think of Remington as I was spinning and the next time I'd see him. Would I see him at Maria's? Would they move again now that he's done with this job? I couldn't help but to let my mind wander to him. I didn't know why I couldn't get him out of my thoughts.
I even saw his face in my dreams a couple of nights ago. Why did I feel so bad?
I actually ended up doing a couple of turns before letting my leg fall on its own and skating back to the group.
"Holy cow," Kian breathed, his mouth dropped open.
"Dang girl, you kicked ass." Maria said and I gave a small smile.
"Told you guys." Isaiah said, shrugging his shoulders like he couldn't help being right.
"It was nothing." I shrugged, shaking my head.
"Ugh, I'm hungry." Oliver groaned and I laughed, Maria shaking her head at him and Kian rolling his eyes.
"You're always hungry." Kian pointed out and we all headed off the rink.
"Well, let's go to the store then and we can head back to mine. It's getting later anyways." Isaiah said and Oliver's eyes lit up.
"Okay, lets go." Maria shrugged and I nodded. We all headed out o the car and piled in again. Kian had the music blaring and everyone was laughing and having fun. I kind of tuned it out as we rode the way to the store. It didn't take long to get there.
They all climbed out, running into the store. I followed after them as Oliver played loud music on his phone, everyone in the store staring at us. They started taking random stuff from the shelves and tossing it in the cart like a game.
"Okay, one, two, three, stop!" Maria yelled as Oliver raced down the aisle with an arm up, stopping when she said to and dropping whatever his hand landed on into the cart. Kian was pushing off of the floor and using the car to race down the aisles. Maria and Isaiah were hanging back, following slowly after the two.
"Awe, my favorite!" Oliver said when he landed on the waffle flavored lays. Maria scrunched her face up in disgust, grabbing a bag of pow pop for herself. It's like sugary popcorn, but not bad for you, I guess.
"Ooohhh, I want skittles!" Isaiah said, grabbing a one pound bag from the other side of the aisle. I watched from the back as everyone laughed and had fun.
My chest started hurting a little, but I ignored it. I was probably just hungry or out of breath from chasing after them. Surely there was a logical explanation.
"Alright, you guys ready?" Maria asked after the cart was full. They all three nodded their heads as we headed for the check out. Maria would throw me a glance every now and then and I would smile to let her know I was fine.
The boys raced each other, checking things through two different self-check outs to see who was faster. Isaiah was rooting for Kian and Maria was cheering on Oliver.
I watched as the finished up bagging and put everything back in the cart. After everything was paid for, we headed outside and loaded it all into the back of Kian's car.
Then Oliver hopped in the car as Isaiah pushed it into the corral, laughing loudly as Oliver's music kept playing. My chest was burning now, a fiery sensation. It was difficult to mask my pain the whole way back to Isaiah's house.
Things got blurry after that. I remember everyone laughing and running into his house. Maria hung back to ask if I was okay. Was there two of her? I nodded yes and told her I would just be a minute. I needed air. She went inside.
My body felt like it was burning from the inside out. I sweaty from just about every place imaginable. I tried taking deep breaths in and out, but I couldn't seem to catch my breath.
I clutched at my chest, wanting to make the pain stop. I couldn't make it go away. I screamed in pain as it hit me full force. I remember feeling like I was falling. I remember feeling my head connect with the pavement before everything went black.
---
*Remington*
I felt a sharp pain in my chest and I knew something was wrong. I picked up my phone and dialed Maria.
"What is wrong? What's going on?!" I demanded when I heard her shaking breath on the other line.
"We-We're driving to the hospital now. I-" I heard Maria's panicked voice over the phone and immediately ended the call and got in my car, speeding to the hospital. When I got there, I shoved past Maria and followed her beautiful scent. It wasn't very strong this time.
I walked into the room and my heart broke at the sight of her. She was asleep in the bed. Her eyebrows were scrunched up and her lip was in a pout. Her body was crouched in a fetal position, clutching her chest.
"I-I asked her if she was fine." Maria's shaking voice came as she walked into the room and stood next to me. I stood up and glared at her.
"What the fuck happened?! I asked you guys to keep an eye on her!" I screamed and she flinched. I took a deep breath and ran my hand over my face, trying to calm down.
"I shouldn't have believed her. I-I just wanted to give her some space. She never said anything." Maria whispered, looking into the distance and biting her nails. It was like she hadn't even heard me.
"Maria!" I yelled and she looked up at me, her eyes rimmed red.
"I-I went inside and then... I heard her scream. When I came outside, she was on the ground. I think she passed out from the pain." She was mumbling, talking fast as if she didn't know what had even happened herself.
"What do you mean, passed out?" I asked, stepping closer to her.
"The doctor's say she had a heart attack, but she's seventeen. I-I think..." She paused, trailing off. She looked at Ryleigh in the bed, looking so scared. Then she turned back to me. "I think it's the mate bond. I think her heart is physically hurting from the distance, Remi. I-I've never seen anything like it."
I sucked in a shaky breath, sitting down and gripping the chair. I did this. I did this to her. I thought that if I left her alone, put distance between us, that I would be protecting her. I was wrong. All I was doing was putting her body in physical pain, stressing her out.
"I-I should've noticed that something was wrong." Maria whispered. I waved my hand, shaking my head to tell her it wasn't her fault. I heard her footsteps slowly retreat.
I sat down and pulled my chair close to the bed, grabbing Ryleigh's hand in mine, relishing in the tiny little spark it gave me. How could I have been so stupid? How could I do this to you? I'm so sorry. Please wake up. I need you.
"What the hell is going on?!" A voice screamed as a woman stormed into the room. I immediately jumped front the chair and turned to face her. "What happened?! Start talking!"
"I-I don't know. I wasn't there." I mumbled, mad at myself for not being there. The one time she needed me. I told myself I would never let her get hurt, and now it's me that hurt her.
"Well, somebody better start talking." Grace bellowed as she sat down in the chair I was sitting in. Maria walked back into the room with Isaiah, who looked even worse than Maria.
"Grace," He whispered and she turned to him, looking like she was gonna cry.
"Isaiah, what's going on?" She asked, running over to him and wrapping her arms around him.
"I-I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. I should've been there. I'm always there." He whispered as she rubbed his back. I could tell she was like a mom to him too.
"What happened?" She pulled away, her voice sounded more scared than angry now.
"We had just got to Isaiah's after the store." Maria started and Grace nodded. "She didn't look so good so I asked if she was okay. She said yeah, so I went inside I shouldn't have listened."
"Hey, it's not your fault. It's okay." Grace said, grabbing Maria's hands in hers.
"I-I went inside and I heard her scream. When I went back out, she was on the ground, her hand was on her chest. I-I don't know. The doctor's said they think it was something like a heart attack, but they've never seen it in someone so young. They can't explain it." She said and Grace was holding on to every word. Then, she turned and looked at me.
"So, why are you here?" She asked and I shoved my hands into my pockets nervously.
"I-I needed to know that she was okay." I whispered, looking down at my feet. I was a colleague of hers at one time, but she was still older than me by at least ten years. She could be a scary threatening lady when she wanted.
When I looked up, she was squinting at me. I looked away, avoiding her gaze. Instead, I looked at Ryleigh. I prayed to the moon goddess that she'd be okay.
"Miss Hatfield?" A man in a white coat said, walking into the full room and looking around with wide eyes.
"Me! Here!" Grace called, pushing past Maria and Isaiah to the doctor.
"Yes, I'd like to speak with you." He said and Grace walked out of the room with him, heading off down the hallway.
I tried to listen in.
"We not really sure... heart attack-like symptoms... so young... never seen it before... don't know when she'll wake up."
Don't know when she'll wake up. Those words rung in my head. I felt like throwing up. Or passing out. Or all of the above. I closed my eyes and grabbed her hand in mine, taking a deep breath.
Please be okay.
I need you.