“We’re here.” Trina pulled into the gravel parking lot at the Cascades.
“Is that...?” Audrey pointed out the windshield. “Is it my imagination, or is the river a lot higher than the last time we were here?”
My gaze swept over the river. It was definitely higher and flowing faster than it had been at the Polar Plunge. The rainstorm from yesterday had left it swollen and angry. No one would be swimming in it today.
I hopped out of the car and marched down the river toward the group of ten or so kids I could see on the shoreline ahead. Despite the warm sun beaming down on us, they had a campfire going and the scent of hotdogs hung heavy on the air. And as I got closer, the sharp scent of alcohol from the cans of beer scattered around the ground filled the air.
Charlotte’s brunette head was nowhere to be seen, but my focus easily latched onto one familiar sight. It was Sarah, with her perfectly wavy hair and condescending smirk, standing in the middle of the crowd of sophomores. I marched toward her with my pointer finger outstretched, all the rage I felt spilling into my snarl.
“Where’s my sister?” I demanded.
Sarah hardly blinked. Instead, she chuckled and took a slow sip from her can, her cold gaze taking me in. “I don’t know. She’s probably throwing up somewhere around here. The girl seriously can’t handle her beer.”
“You really are the worst, you know that?” Blood rushed to my face. I’d never met anyone so unfeeling. And I’d met Audrey’s cousin Savannah, so that was saying something. “She never did this kind of stuff before you came along.”
Sarah’s dark eyebrows arched and she cocked her hip. “It’s not my fault she’s a sloppy drunk. I’m not her babysitter.”
As much as I wanted to yell and hurl insults, I didn’t have time to put her in her place. With a frustrated growl, I turned to continue the search for my sister. It wasn’t until I spotted a flash of brown wavy hair did I get a glimmer of hope. But when I broke through the crowds and finally set eyes on her, my stomach dropped to the ground.
Charlotte had gone halfway across the rocks on the top waterfall—the same rocks where I’d slipped and sprained my ankle over two weeks ago. She was wobbling on a particularly crooked one, using her arms as counterbalance. Normally, it wouldn’t have been an issue to be crossing over, but with the river running much faster, there was no way she’d be able to keep her footing if she slipped. It would sweep her down into the deeper pools below and there was no telling if she’d be able to come back up to the surface.
“Charlotte!” I scrambled toward the shore, shedding my shoe in one fluid motion and hopping on my boot as I tried to disengage the straps and free my other foot. “Come back!”
She turned when I called her name. Even from this distance, I could see the blurriness in her eyes and the goofy smile she got when she drank too much.
“Mandy! You’re here!” She stretched out her arms and nearly slipped. A pang of panic shot through me. Righting herself, the smile melted from her face and instead she pouted. “Look. I almost fell. Just like you.”
“Please don’t fall. Don’t hurt yourself.”
My foot came loose from the boot and I set it tenderly on the ground. No pain. That was a good sign. If I was going to have to go out on those rocks to convince Charlotte to come back with me, I’d need both my feet.
“I’d deserve it, though.” She pushed her lower lip out farther. “It’s all my fault you can’t run.”
I blinked at her. I’d never even considered blaming her for my sprained ankle. It had been my fault I was out on those rocks to begin with. I was the stubborn one who needed to put Jayden back in his place.
That was how this had all started.
“Please, Charlotte, come back.” I glanced fearfully at the river as it broke over the rocks and fell forcefully over the waterfall. No way should anyone be in the water right now. “That wasn’t your fault. It was all mine. Now come back before you fall. We can talk it all out.”
Her forehead furrowed with frustration and she put her hands on her hips. “No. I don’t want to talk to you. I don’t want to look at you.”
“Char—”
“You kissed him.” Her voice broke. Grief poured into her face. “You kissed the boy that I love, in the rain. You kissed him. I can’t even look at you.”
She spun and hopped onto the next rock as realization hit, taking the wind right out of me. Charlotte had seen us yesterday saying goodbye. And I’d been a complete idiot.
I should’ve confessed it to her right in the beginning. None of this would’ve happened if I’d just been straight with her. And now, she was getting closer to the middle of the river, where the water was running frighteningly fast.
“You’re not going to go after her, are you?” Audrey asked, appearing at my side with Trina. They both stared out at the river, fear flashing in their eyes.
“It’s the only choice I have.” I stepped tentatively on the first rock, feeling the cold, hard surface beneath my bare foot. “I have to keep her safe. It’s my job.”
It didn’t take long to reach the stone behind my sister. As I got closer, I could hear her sniffles above the rush of the water. She was slouched over, her arms wrapped around her stomach, facing the opposite way from me. I paused on my stone, not wanting to scare her.
“Charlotte, I’m sorry.”
She huffed and shot me a bloodshot look over her shoulder. “I don’t want to talk about it, okay? You told me to find my person and then you took him. It hurts too much.”
“I know. I’m so sorry, but I couldn’t help it.” I took a deep breath and then held it in, fighting against the words that refused to be silenced. “Charlotte, I’m in love with him.”
The muscles in her back tensed. She stood still, the only movement in her body coming from the shallow breaths she took. I couldn’t believe I’d just confessed to her my feelings about Jayden. Here we were, in the middle of a rushing river, and we were talking about love. It was crazy.
“You’re in love with him?” She turned her head so that I could only see the side of her face and stared blankly up river. “Really?”
“Yes.” Tears clogged my voice. “But you don’t have to worry about that anymore, okay? I told him we couldn’t be together. Not if it was going to hurt you.” I inched closer to her on the rock, my toes gripping the slippery surface. “We don’t have to talk about it right now. We just need to get you back to the shore. Come on, take my hand.”
Stretching out my arm, I waited for her. All the while, my heart pumped blood throughout my body at an alarmingly fast rate. The only sign of the fear growing inside of me was in the slight shake of my hand. Finally, Charlotte turned toward me, her eyelashes wet.
“I’m sorry I can’t be more like you,” she said, her lips pulling down. “I’m sorry, Mandy. I really am.”
“I don’t want you to be like me, Sis. I just want you to be happy and safe.”
She rubbed her eye with her fist, smearing her mascara. “I messed up. I keep messing up. Mom is going to get sick again because of me. She’s going to get sick and die because I can’t get my life together.”
I shook my head sharply. “No, she’s not. I won’t let her. And I’m going to take care of you, too. Come on. Let’s get out of here and we’ll talk more about it.”
With a nod, she extended her hand toward mine and relief rushed over me. This was almost over. Charlotte had a lot of growing up to do, but at least we were both on the same page now. I would help her. We just had to get back to shore.
But as she took a step, her balance faltered. Her eyes widened with panic and she let out a shriek as she waved her arms to right herself again. I reached out to stop her, but it was too late. She slipped off the rock faster than I could have predicted, the river swiftly tearing her away and plunging her over the side of the waterfall.
“Charlotte!”
It didn’t take me more than a second to make up my mind. I jumped in the water after her, kicking and waving my
arms in a weak attempt to control my body’s position as the strength of the river battered me. Spray hit me in the eyes, blinding me. The taste of dirty water filled my mouth. The sudden drop over the waterfall came as a surprise that made my stomach drop into my feet. My nose filled with foam as I landed in the pool below, my limbs feeling extra heavy.
There was no time to breathe. No time to think about the burning in my lungs as I reached out blindly in the dark water, searching for my sister. She was here somewhere, being pulled deeper within this watery grave. I couldn’t abandon her. Not now.
Suddenly, I kicked against something hard. At first, I thought it had to be the bottom of the Cascades, but it was too soft for that. So I twisted my body and reached out blindly until my hand closed around a soft and fleshy limb. Kicking with all of my might, I broke the surface of the river and gasped for breath.
Charlotte’s brunette head bobbed beside me. I turned her over, so her face was out of the water, and started swimming toward the bank. It wasn’t a long way to go, but it felt like it took hours to get there. My muscles strained with the effort of fighting the current. Despite the loud buzzing of adrenaline in my head, I could hear shouts coming from the shoreline. And when I was close enough to stand in the water, two pairs of arms reached in to help me bring Charlotte the rest of the way in.
“Is she breathing?” I sat beside my motionless sister, taking in the sight of her deadly pale skin. Every muscle fiber in my body was lifeless, unable to move any further. “Is she alive?”
Audrey got to work, pressing a finger to her neck for a pulse and then listening for her breath. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I registered Trina talking on the phone with 911. All the while, I sat shivering next to Charlotte, my arms wrapped tightly around my knees and a silent prayer on my lips.
“Help is on the way,” Trina said, rubbing my shoulder.
I squeezed my eyes shut. This was all a nightmare. I was going to wake up soon. Charlotte would be in her bed and I would walk to the fridge and pour myself a glass of milk to go back to sleep. None of this was real. It couldn’t be.
Everything I’d done, I’d done to protect her.
How could I have failed so miserably?
Chapter Twenty-One
I officially hated hospitals. I hated their bright lights, and white-washed walls, and their sanitized odors. I hated even more the bleak vibe in the waiting room while I sat, waiting for the chance to go see my sister again.
All the while, my mind was whirling. This was just like before, with Mom and her heart condition. How many times would I nearly lose someone in this very hospital?
Trina wrapped her arm reassuringly around my shoulder. “The doctor said she’s going to be okay. Cheer up, M. It’s good news.”
I gave her a half-hearted smile. She and Audrey hadn’t left my side. They’d driven behind us in the ambulance and stayed at the hospital with me, even after my parents showed up in a crazy whirlwind of questions and fear.
Charlotte had woken up at the Cascades only moments after Trina called 911. A mouthful of water had spouted out of her mouth like she was some kind of water fountain. The cough that followed it had racked her entire body, until she could finally breathe normally again.
Still, the sight of my sister looking so small on that ambulance stretcher had done nothing to calm me. So here I sat, sandwiched between my best friends, still shaking like a leaf in yesterday’s rain storm.
“Seems like the news is out at school,” Audrey said, looking down at her phone. “There’s even a post about it on RockValleyBiz. No picture, thank goodness. I guess Sarah and her gang got out of there before the police could show up.”
A sour taste filled my mouth. That was twice that Sarah had hung my sister out to dry. This second time had nearly killed her. If I had my way, I’d drag Sarah to the Cascades by her perfectly styled hair and toss her in myself.
“I guess Jayden’s been texting Collin like a maniac,” Audrey added, still staring at her phone. “He wants to know if you’re okay and if he can come see you. What should I say?”
I placed my heels on the edge of the seat cushion and wrapped my arms around my knees. My boot and one shoe had been abandoned at the Cascades in all of the rush, but Audrey had loaned me a pair of black flip flops. I didn’t miss that old clunky thing.
“Tell him I’m fine. And they’re not allowing any more visitors.”
It was hard to miss my best friends exchanging glances over my head. I knew they were worried about me, but I wasn’t the one currently lying in a hospital bed with cords and monitors connected to me. I didn’t need any distractions today. I needed to be there for my family—one hundred percent.
I’d been slacking in my duties and this was what it had come to. I’d thought that I could handle things with Charlotte and eventually get the relationship I wanted with Jayden. That had been a fairytale dream. A dream that had distracted me from what was really going on with my sister. It wasn’t Jayden’s fault. He was sweet and kind and way too good for me. The guilt was all mine. And that guilt sat like a two-ton boulder on my chest, making it impossible to even think about Jayden without breaking down, let alone see him.
“Mandy, it might be nice to have him here,” Trina said gently. “He could cheer you up. Or at the least, annoy you enough so that don’t feel so down.”
“I’m good,” I grumbled.
“Well, at least be sure to call him when you can.” Audrey slipped her phone back into her pocket. “According to Collin, the boy’s freaking out. He really cares about you.”
I gave her a pained look. Calling Jayden meant hearing his voice. And if I heard his voice, I might not be able to stop myself from running back to him. I couldn’t do that. I had to stay here and take care of my family.
“I know this was traumatic, Mandy.” Trina draped an arm around my back and pulled me into a hug. “And you might need some time to heal. But don’t completely shut down. Your sister is fine. Your parents are on board now. You don’t need to go through this alone. We’ve got you. Jayden’s got you.”
I tried to let her words soothe me, but they bounced off of me like rubber. Everything felt so numb. The only emotion bursting through the dim was the strong undeniable need to do better for my family.
“Mandy!” My mom came shuffling down the hall toward us, her hair half falling out of her bun. She still wore her apron from the diner with grease stains on the front.
I jumped out of my chair, a shot of adrenaline spiking through my chest. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Nothing’s wrong.” She waved her hands. “The doctors are working on clearing her for release. She should be out in the next hour or so, but Charlotte just got off the phone with Hunter and she wants to talk to you now.”
I breathed out my anxiety. “Okay, I’ll go.”
With a quick goodbye to my friends, I followed Mom down the sterile white hallway of our hospital and into a room near the end. A cream fabric curtain had been drawn in front of the door, but Mom pushed past it and revealed Dad and Charlotte sitting together. Dad had a chair pulled up to the side of the bed where Charlotte lay in a crisp linen hospital gown. They were laughing about something, and the sight made my heart crack a little.
“Hey, Sis,” I said.
She looked up at me and the laughter in her eyes turned to tears. “Mandy.”
Holding out my arms, I rushed to her side and pulled her into a hug. Dad got up from his seat and he and Mom excused themselves to go grab a cup of coffee, leaving us alone to catch up. It was so relieving to see the pink returning to my sister’s pale cheeks. The brightness in her eyes. Her hair smelled like river water, but otherwise, there was no sign that she’d nearly drowned at the Cascades two hours ago.
“I am so sorry.” She grabbed my hands tight and stared at me with wide eyes. “I messed up, big time. I nearly got us both killed. I think I could say I’m sorry every hour of every day for the next ten years, and it’ll never be enough.”
&n
bsp; I laughed and tucked some hair behind her ear. “Please don’t. I can’t have you waking me up every hour. I like my sleep. Plus, I’ve already forgiven you.”
Her eyes were red. “Really?”
“Yeah. But for my sake, can you promise for real this time that you’re not going to hang around Sarah and those girls anymore? They’re so awful.”
“I swear on my life.” She nodded like a bobblehead doll on a dashboard. “I won’t even give them the time of day. If they offer to give me all the answers on the next math test, I’ll walk the other way. That’s how serious I am.”
“Good.” I smiled. It seemed like I was finally getting through to her. “And I think that I should say I’m sorry, too.”
Her forehead wrinkled in confusion. “Why?”
“Because, I should’ve told you about me and Jayden.” I sighed and rubbed the palms of my hands on my thighs. “We got together the night of the party, before I knew you were into him. I didn’t want to tell you because it seemed like you were finally getting to a better spot. But I broke it off when he came to see me yesterday.”
She played with her fingers in her lap. “I didn’t know that.”
“If I’d been upfront with you, none of this would’ve happened. But I was so worried you’d run back to Sarah...”
“Which is exactly what I did.” Her face crinkled up as if she were trying not to cry. Red spotted her cheeks. “I really am the worst, Mandy. I was selfish and mean. I let myself get drunk just to try and feel better. It was stupid. I didn’t care about anyone but myself.”
I moved to sit beside her in the bed and put my arm around her. She cuddled into my shoulder, just like when she was a little girl, and sobbed.
“You’re not the worst,” I said softly, stroking her hair. “You’re my sister. You made a mistake, but you’ll come back from this. That’s what we Hales do. Even if we nearly drown or sprain an ankle.”
Dare You to Fall for the Catcher Page 15
