Aquiver ~26
•Charlotte Carpenter•
"Char! Jacob! Cam and Nash are here!" We hear Shawn call from the docks. I groan slightly realizing that I have dosed off. I felt him kiss my head once more before I slowly sit up and squint towards the docs. Jacob also turns that way. I see Shawn, Cameron, Nash, Andrew sitting on the grass all looking towards us. Jared must have went inside.
"Alright! We're coming!" Jacob calls out. He turns his attention back to me and gives me a small smile. "Ready to see them?" I nod uneasily as I fully sit up on my own.
"Should I help row?"
"If you'd like to." I slowly get up and sit back down on my end of the canoe and face him as we start to head back. Every once in a few rows, Jacob would take a glance at me and I giggle playfully. He smiles and continues the glance until we reach the doc and he carefully gets out to pull the canoe fully out of the water. "There," he smiles.
"Thank you," I smile and get out and he wraps his arms around my waist to steady me. We're both looking down at our feet then at each other. We can't stop smiling at eachother. We hear chatter coming from nearby and I look up to see the guys are all staring.
I look towards Cameron with an expression I can't tell. As for Nash, he has a small friendly smile. Suddenly I am feeling jittery and Jacob gives me a small smile. He takes my hand and starts to walk in the direction where everyone is sitting. As we are getting closer, everyone else is staring at us in amusement.
"You two are very amusing to watch," Andrew says interested.
"They've been at it since yesterday," Jared smiles and shakes his head. I look at Nash who stands in front of us and I move slightly more besides Jacob. He's staring down at me carefully.
"Hi," I say softly. Cameron also stands.
"Hey Char," Nash says lightly. Immediately I am wrapped in his arms and I relax slightly feeling reassurance. "Looks like you're having a great time here."
"Amazing time," I smile as I pull away and Cam also comes in for a hug.
"It's good to see you," Cam says pulling away. "It has been too long."
"I saw you guys the other day,"I half smile.
Nash chuckles slightly. "Never hurts to miss you. You're a very missable girl."
"I've missed you guys too." Cameron and Nash smiles at me. They're back.
Soon we are all talking and soon we have the fire going on so we can all sit around the fire. Aaron and Shawn went in to get the marshmallows, Hershey bars and graham crackers. Letting the fire heat radiate our body, I relax as the sun began to set and we song a few campfire songs.
~Twenty minutes later~
Jacob left to take a phone call awhile ago and I notice a shift in concern filling the air. Nash had been gone for almost twenty minutes and Cameron would check his phone once in awhile. The rest of us continued to sing and talk.
"Have another s'more," Shawn says to me and hands me another delicious s'more.
"Thank you," I smile and take a bite into the sweet taste. This is something I haven't had before until today. There's so much I have missed out on because of gymnastics.
Gymnastics, it's something I'd go back to in a heartbeat. Maybe. I know it's familiar to me and I have the passion for it, but am I willing to give up what I've been missing these past several months? I've tried food that I'd never considered right before a practice or staying out late with friends.
Would I do gymnastics in college if I had the opportunity?
"Hey Char?" Aaron asks. I look away from my s'more.
"Hmmm?"
"I think Nash is calling you over there." My brother points towards the swings where I see Nash and Jacob there from the small distance. I stand and nod as I start to make my way over to them.
•Jacob Whitesides•
"We need to tell her," I sigh frustrated. We both look over to Char who is sitting by the fire having a good time. She's having a great time. She's happy. I don't want to ruin this for her.
"We can act like nothing's wrong. We just have to figure out where Hayes' inhaler is," Nash says cooly.
"Char is the only one who knows where it is in his room. She's going to suspect something."
"Fine then," he sighs and throws his hands up. "I'll just go to the house and look for it. He needs it tonight though." Nash starts to stand worried and I sigh.
"Let me tell her." Nash sits back down. "She should know about Hayes whether he wants her to or not. We've been keeping this from her all day for crying out loud."
"Hayes is going to be mad."
"We wouldn't have had to tell her if he didn't need his inhaler. You know she worries about him. Keeping this from her is a big no to her."
"It's up to you."
"Call her over." Nash nods and calls out her name. We are both looking in her direction as Aaron catches her attention. He points in our direction and she stands starting to make her way over.
She slowly walks over slightly confused to see us all the way over here. She's relaxed and calm after having a great day. I wish I didn't have to ruin the moment for her, but Hayes is actually not doing well.
"Hello," she says softly and takes a seat in between the both of us.
"Hi," I half smile and lean over to kiss her cheek. Her smile brightens and it makes my heart swell for her. Nash gives her a small smile and I reach for her hand. "Um, we need to tell you something," I say slowly deciding to tell her.
"Is everything alright?" I look towards Nash who looks away from her guilty. She looks between the both of us suddenly worried and concerned.
"Hayes is sick." I notice her starting to squeeze my hand.
"Is he alright? Is he back from the trip?"
"He... didn't go on the trip Char," Nash says gently. "He has been in the hospital since Thursday night."
"What?" She says worrying more and her eyes widens. It's very clear she still cares about him. I would too if I was her. "No... what happened? Since Thursday? He threw me that welcome party at the gym. I don't understand," she says worriedly.
"He had an incident at practice that night and he went unwell. It turns out he had something going. It was a surprise to find out that he's really ill."
"So he has been sick the whole time and never went on the trip this whole time?" She asks guilty and she looks towards me now realizing that we have been keeping this from her.
"We're telling you now," I say quietly feeling guiltily because of the look she is giving me now. She then looks away from me and the both of us watch her carefully. She isn't mad at me. I hope she's not. I still should have told her sooner. "I should have told you sooner, please don't be mad at me." She looks towards me and I notice hurt in her eyes.
"I'm not mad at you," She says quietly. "I can't be mad at you for everything you've done for me these past several days. Can... I see him?"
"He doesn't really want to see you right now," Nash says softly and we see pain show across her face.
"Oh..." she whispers. I bite the side of my lip.
"Only, because he's there in the hospital. He doesn't want you to see him there." She only nods and looks down. My jaw tightens, I hope she's not taking this the wrong way. "Don't be upset," Nash puts a hand to her shoulder.
"When does he leave the hospital?"
"Wednesday morning right before the tournament. He wants you at the tournament of course since it's his last one and my mom gave him the okay to play." She only nods again and I notice how much she is squeezing my hand. "He... uh needs his inhaler right now. I was wondering if you kn-"
"It's in the button left shelf in between the textbook. It's in a cut out book of our favorite book. There should be three inhalers in there."
"Thank you," Nash says apologetically before she lets go of my hand and stands to walk towards the cabin.
~
Sorry about the late post! Just showered and came home from my track championships today. Lets just say the meet went pretty well to me *pic above*. I don't think I would have changed a thing and excited for Saturday and Tuesday!
Next Update: Saturday