Gerald is dunked into the water before the rope pulls him back up and then he's dunked back into the water. He's pulled off the rope and he swims over to the group. "That was great. I'm looking forward to the next time I do this."
The rope is pulled to the top and I look back at the bridge as my brother climbs onto the bridge. "Look," I point to the bridge. "Nate's going to jump."
"Jump, Nate?" Aleysa yells.
Nate smiles at our sister before he jumps off the bridge. He's dunked into water, but he doesn't come back up.
I swim to the area where I saw my brother last.
The guy that unhooked us from the rope dives under the water and searches for Nate. As I get close to the area where Nate should have risen I see part of the rope in the water. I hold it up. "The rope broke. I dive under the dark water and swim towards the bottom. My eyes start to sting as I keep them open. I see my brother sinking further into the water. I reach him with the guy and we pull him up.
When we break the surface of the water, Nate opens his eyes. He starts to cough and I swim to the shore with my brother. He looks at me. "I'm never doing that again."
Aleysa kneels next to our brother and hugs him. "You scared me when you didn't come back up. What happened?"
Nate looks at me. "The rope broke as I hit the water."
"Why didn't you just swim to the top?"
Nate touches the back of his head. "I hit my head." He pulls his hand away from the back of his head and he has blood on it.
Jai walks behind Nate and checks his head. "We need to take you to the hospital." He helps Nate up with Gerald's help.
We walk up the mountain and head towards Charlotte. She walks over to us. "What happened?"
Jai tells her what happened as they head towards the car.
Stopping next to the guy that put us on the rope. I tell him what happened and then I fill out some paperwork about the accident. I run over to the car and climb in.
Jai pulls out of the parking lot and drives towards the hospital.
Jai parks the car at the hospital and we all step out. We head towards the emergency entrance door. Jai walks over to the counter and gives them Nate's name.
Finding a seat at the back of the room I sit with my brother and sister.
Nate looks at me. "I'm not going to do anything else on the bucket list. I learnt my lesson from today."
Looking at Aleysa, I say. "I looked into skydiving for you, Aleysa, but you're under the age for being able to do it."
Alysa shrugs. "I don't mind. Can we go to Universal Studios and Disneyland in the upcoming weeks?"
"Yes, we can." I look at Nate. "You're graduation is coming up soon. What do you want to do to celebrate?"
"I was thinking about having a party. If Mom and Dad were still here they would have let me."
Jai sits with us. "That sounds like a great idea. I will make a barbecue and provide some..." he whispers. "Alcohol, but not too much. I want you to collect keys from your friends at the start of the night. I don't want anyone to drive home after they have been drinking."
Nate smiles. "I can't wait until I graduate."
"Have you been accepted into any Universities yet?"
Nate shakes his head. "What if the acceptance letters were sent to the old house? I need to go there and check?" He rises.
Pushing him back on the chair, I say firmly. "You're not going anywhere. I will have a look." I turn towards Jai. "Can I have the keys for the car? I need to go to Mom and Dad's old place." I look back at Nate. "And I will look at the apartment as well as it could have been forwarded there."
"Thank you,"
Charlotte looks at me. "Can I come? I don't want to stay here."
"Sure," I walk out of the hospital with Charlotte. I unlock the door and climb into the car. "I hope you don't mind us stopping at the florist on the way back."
"That should be fine. Why do you need to go to the florist?"
Starting the car I pull out of the parking lot. I look at her. "When we're finished here we're going to the graveyard to see my parents. I haven't seen them in a while and Jai thought it would be a good way to finish the day."
She looks out the window. "What happened to your parents?"
Pulling off the main road I turn into the street of my old house. I pull in front of the old house and see a couple sitting on the porch. I step out of the car and walk over to them. "Excuse me,"
They look at me. The woman rises. "Can I help you?"
"Yes, I was wondering if you have been getting any mail for The Knight Family, my brother is waiting for letters from Universities?"
She walks to the front door and opens it. "We have. I put them on the dining table. I didn't know where to send it, but I thought you might come here to check for mail. Please, follow me."
"No, I'm fine waiting out here."
She returns a couple of minutes later with a stack of letters. "Here you go. Do you have a forwarding address that we could get the mail sent to?"
"Yes," I take a piece of paper from her and write the address on her. "Thank you." I walk back to the car and climb inside. I go through the letters and see four thick long envelopes with different Universities on them. "It looks like he got into four Universities. I'm so proud of my little brother."
She smiles. "You should be. I hope that I get to see him play ball while I'm here. When we go back to the hospital I'm going to see Mom and Dad. Can you get Jai to pick me up later on tonight?"
"Yes, I can." I put the envelopes on the back seat and I drive towards the hospital.
Jai pulls the car into the parking lot of the cemetery. He looks at me. "I'm going to let you have a little time with your siblings and parents. Come back to the car when you're ready to leave."
Kissing him, I say. "Thanks," I look at my brother and sister. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yes," they say in unison.
We step out of the car and make our way over to our parent's graves. When we're standing in front of the stones I give them both a rose.
Nate touches the headstone and then places the rose on the ground. "I miss you, Mom and Dad. I also have some good news to share. "I got into UCLA on a full scholarship in football. I also got into three other schools, but they're on the other side of the country and I'm not sure that you would want me to be that far away from home."
Putting my hand on his shoulder I squeeze it. "Mom and Dad would tell you to choose a school that you want to go to. It's doesn't have to be in California. Go somewhere that can further your career in football."
Nate rises and he hugs me. "That's what I needed to hear, Chloe. Thank you." he looks at the car. "I'm going to join Jai in the car." He walks away.
Aleysa kneels next to the headstone and she places the rose next to Nate's. She looks at it. "I will see you soon, Mom and Dad." She rises and looks at me. "You can talk to them. I know you have a lot to talk about." She squeezes my arm. "I will see you in the car." she walks away.
Look at the headstone with my parent's names on it I start crying. I place a rose with my siblings. "I miss you both every day. So, much has happened since you died. First Aleysa's cancer returns. Then I get a stalker who I find out is my cousin who I believed died a long time ago and then I'm kidnapped by the guy that killed both my family and my cousins."