It was more of a rescue operation than anything else.
Brooklyn's car pulled in Arson's driveway with Brooklyn at the wheel and Jayce and I in the backseat.
After Arson's accident, we had driven him to the physiotherapy clinic where my dad worked. Dad said it was a mild wrist sprain, but since it was the same wrist he had fractured five months earlier and it hadn't completely healed, he suffered from both the new and the old injuries. He could barely move his wrist without grunting in pain.
The day after the accident, Coach William came back to supervise the boys' training as they got ready for the quarter-finals they had qualified for. Arson still went to assist with the training even though Coach kept him away from the court. As much as he tried to pretend it was okay, I did not miss the glances of envy he shot to his teammates, as he watched from the stadium seats.
I could only wonder how he felt since he was so obstinate not to let me in on his true feelings by wearing his usual toothy grins that convinced others that he was fine.
We knocked and waited for Arson's mom to open the door. When she did, an apron was wrapped around her neck and her waist.
"How nice of you girls to come see Arson." She welcomed us inside the living room.
The sweet aroma of apples embalmed the room and I heard the oven whir from the kitchen.
If food didn't cheer Arson up, I didn't know what could.
I smiled at her grinning face that looked much more serene now than it did the last time I saw her.
"Not in a hurry, Mrs. Slater?" I asked.
"Call me Holly. I took a few days off work," she explained. "I'll go get him. Please make yourselves comfortable."
I sat on the couch as Brooklyn and Jayce examined the family pictures covering the walls, intrigued by the images of baby Arson.
A few minutes later, Holly returned with Arson on her tail. He was in his Flash pajama set and his hair was disheveled as usual.
"You don't have to dote on me, Mom. It's just a wrist sprain." His eyes widened when he saw our little group in his living room. "Mom, you said Avery was downstairs."
"Well, she is, isn't she?" She smiled at her son before heading to the kitchen.
It had only been a day since I last saw him, but he seemed to have lost weight and all his energy since. He was wearing the black wrist splint Dad had given him two days ago.
Brooklyn and Arson stared at each other for a while, before she cleared her throat. "Hey, Arson. Do you want to go out?" Brooklyn asked. "We've planned everything."
Brooklyn had planned everything but Jayce and I didn't correct her.
He nodded before his expression switched to a more guarded one. "Is Bradley coming?"
"Do you not want him there?" she asked, cautiously.
It's not like he did have a choice. The other guys were already driving to Brooklyn's mystery destination while we were picking up Arson.
He shrugged with indifference, or at least as much indifference a person who actually cared could muster.
"You should go, honey," Holly said from the kitchen. "When you come back," she added with a wink, "maybe your turnovers will be ready."
"Turnovers?" His blue eyes widened in excitement and absorbed the light in the room. "We should bring some to Mrs. Pillsbury." He seemed to think about it for a while. "Fine, I'll go. Give me five minutes to change."
"You already look great, though." Brooklyn laughed, gesturing to his pajama. "Bring a jacket, it might get cold," she added as he climbed back up the stairs.
Jayce turned to her and her eyes narrowed into a thin line.
"A jacket? Why didn't you tell us that?"
Brooklyn smiled sheepishly. "I forgot to mention."
"Where are we going, anyway?" I asked then, though I probably should have asked before coming.
"Hiking up a hill trail up north."
"How far north?" Jayce asked. "I can't believe I'm only asking this now when I know how insane you are."
"Danville. I know it's in Virginia, but it will barely take an hour for us to get there... well, an hour and fifty-five minutes."
Jayce shared a glance with me and we both let out a sigh. It was Brooklyn, so of course, things weren't simple.
Arson climbed down the stairs and we came out of the house after waving at Holly.
"Guys, I'm okay," he said, trailing behind as Brooklyn led him to her car. "It barely even hurts anymore."
"Stop flinching any time my hand almost brushes yours and I'll believe you," Brooklyn teased with a good-humored smile.
"That's not the reason I flinch," I heard him say under his breath.
"What was that?" Brooklyn asked as she climbed onto her place at the driver's seat.
He simply shook his head and looked down as he put on his seatbelt. Jayce climbed into the backseat with me.
"Where are you taking us?" Arson asked.
"We're going to the mountains!" She smiled, as she pulled out of his driveway. "Trust me, you will love the sight," she added when she noticed the hesitating look on his face.
He glanced at her. "I already do," he said then chewed on his lip to prevent himself from adding anything after he finally registered his own words.
Brooklyn had probably heard that one, but she kept her eyes on the road and betrayed no emotions.
A tense silence settled in the car that Jayce and I tried to break with random quips to no avail. So, I distracted myself during the rest of the car ride by watching the scenery scroll past outside the window. Trees melted into each other, as we flew past, forming a dull and uniform heap I could relate to.
When we finally arrived and parked on the side of the road, Matthew's car was nowhere in sight.
"Didn't they leave before us?" Arson asked.
Jayce glanced at her watch and nodded as we climbed out of the car. "I wouldn't be surprised if Matthew's car broke down. Must have been the horrible color weighing it down."
Brooklyn giggled and fell onto the soft plain grass. Right next to it, the rocky slope littered with green turfs of moss. The cobbled trail seemed to extend all the way to the pinnacle, but from where we were, we could only fathom its beauty. Bushes of huckleberries and wildflowers bloomed by the grass and danced to the rhythm of the wind.
"They had a 45-minute head start. I'm sure they'll be here soon," Jayce said.
It took twenty-something more minutes before Matthew's car finally parked by ours. His car was a bright green nightmare like Jayce had pointed out.
"It's for school spirit," he said when he noticed my stares.
"What took you guys so long?" Jayce fell onto the grass and tucked her feet under herself.
"We got lost," Matthew explained. "Oh, and we almost went to jail," he added casually.
"He's joking right?" Brooklyn asked but Avan shook his head.
"I wish I could say he was."
"What happened?" I asked, pulling out small branches from the grass and twisting to make random shapes.
"He doesn't know his right from his left," Jacob said. "He missed most of the exits."
"I was talking about the jail thing."
"Let me explain," Matthew leaned against his car, almost blending into it as his hoodie matched his car. "I met this girl a few weeks ago, and she needed a car. I didn't know why, but she seemed cool so I didn't hesitate. Well, it turns out that she was an artist. She does illegal graffiti and has recently tried her works on some important private properties. When she used my car, the police registered the plate so that's why they stopped us. I explained it all to the cop and she thought I was deranged."
"Why would you lend your car to a stranger?" Bradley asked.
"She's not exactly a stranger; we had coffee together."
The plain and playful smile claimed that he was genuinely the Matthew we got to know, but the permanent tense expression in his eyes suggested that he was not as carefree as he pretended to be.
Arson was the one to start climbing and I would have thought he was brave if I didn't know how much he wanted to show off in front of Bradley.
We followed his lead and walked up the dusty and rocky trail.
"She only remembered to tell Arson," Jayce mumbled under her breath, shivering, as she fell into step with Henry and me.
I was also wearing a simple T-shirt but I welcomed the wind of the mountains. It seemed like it would lift me at any moment and carry me away, utterly weightless.
"You can wear mine if you'd like," Henry said.
"Oh, no! I wouldn't want you to be cold," she said, waving away the offer.
He opened his mouth only to close it again, looking down towards the dirt path.
Brooklyn jogged to catch up to Jayce and me, yelling for us to wait. Her very appearance animated her surroundings. The soft, light pink of her sweater glowed in the sun and added color and life to the leafless trees that surrounded the trail.
"You two walk so fast," she said in between small gaps as she tried to catch her breath.
From the corner of my eyes, I noticed Arson subtly slow down his pace. I smiled as he turned all around him, pretending to take in his surroundings.
"Oh, hey, girls," he said, casually nodding to us when we finally reached him.
I stifled a laugh and tried to focus on not tripping on the rocks.
"So, do you come up here with your family?" I heard him ask Brooklyn.
"We used to come here a lot when I was growing up. We don't really get the time to hang out anymore. They're hardly home." She sighed wistfully, looking up at the sky.
The temporary distraction made her lose her footing and Arson reached out to catch her, using his injured hand as a reflex. His expression morphed into a grimace and he grunted in pain but he held her shoulders until she regained her balance.
"I'm so sorry," she said and took his hand in hers, anxiously examining it as if she would see anything.
He watched her fret and a small smile sidled onto his lips.
"You should have just let me fall," she continued, then glanced back to see how far we had climbed. "Or not. Thank you."
He nodded and she cautiously let go of his hand.
We were finally nearing the summit, after numerous breaks to procrastinate. As Brooklyn had promised, the sight was breathtaking. From this perspective, even the rough and bumpy trail we had just climbed appeared beautiful and worth it. A thin stream of water hesitantly serpentined in between the rocks of the valley all the way down.
I welcomed the warmth of the sun on my face as I took in the panoramic sight rolling down ahead of me. I could only begin to imagine what this place would look like at sunset.
The awed expressions I saw on the faces of my companions likely mirrored my own. We had hiked up a mountain and the smiles plastered on their faces indicated that we all needed this. This was still a world where struggling and enduring brought results. There was still so much I had to figure out, but I found comfort in the small accomplishments.
And for now, they kept me alive.