Page 48 of Double Trouble

He kisses me back, hard and firm, then lifts me off my feet. I spin around, fist pumping the air. I’ve got this in the bag this year, I do.

“You ready to go?” he asks after our mini celebration. I shake my head, a piece of hair sticking to my damp neck.

“Give me a few minutes on the half-pipe?”

He drops me to my feet, my toes landing on my board. I skate off, and he turns his back, clamping his camera closed. I’m just doing a cool down, so there’s no need to record it.

I pop my board into my hands and climb up the far side. I roll my neck around, the smile on my face permanent. This is it. I’vegotit this time. I’ll get that sponsorship, prove to Pete, Demi, and my parents that I can take care of not just me, but my baby sister. I’ll show them all that she’s not a burden, and the best place for her is right here with me.

And I’ll get to live my dream for however long God deems me fit for it.

I suck in a deep inhale, my shoulders lifting to my ears and dropping with gusto. Tanner pushes up on the Troublemakers counter, grabbing a Dr. Pepper and taking a sip. His hair is wild, his t-shirt half tucked, half untucked. He bounces his feet against the counter, filling the otherwise silent room with the echo ofthunk thunk thunk…

Hell, I don’t want to cool down. I want to fly over to him and plant kisses all along his cheekbones, the tip of his nose, his soft lips. I want him to know how I feel about him. I want him to know that all his faith in me, all his understanding, and all his… love… It all means so much to me.

Determined to get to him quicker, I set the Millennium Falcon on the edge of the pipe and gear up for a drop-in—something I’ve done a million times.

The world whizzes past my ears in the familiar way it always does when I board, and then it’s cut off abruptly, acrackslicing through the air. My stomach tumbles inside of me, flipping over and over as the world blurs and my balance is shot. My feet no longer have something to stand on, and I fly forward, stumbling to catch myself on any solid surface, but it’s all sloped, all slick, and my feet are unreliable and wobbly.

I catch a glimpse of horror in Tanner’s green eyes, shock freezing him in place at the other side of the half-pipe.

Then, there’s nothing.

My feet can’t get to Mad fast enough, and I trip and stumble my way over to the middle of the half-pipe.

“Maddie, Maddie… oh God…” She’s not moving. Her eyes are closed. Her legs are twisted. Her helmet is busted in two, half of it still pinned to her head and the other dangling near her shoulder.

My heart sounds in my ears, my hands shaking. I swallow hard around the lump in my throat, my knees slamming to the floor next to her.

“Mad, wake up.” I can’t shake her. My fingers twitch to touch her, to hold her, but I don’t know what damage has been done, and it would kill me if I made it worse.

I fumble for my phone, digging into my pocket with trembling fingers. I’m stunned that I get the numbers right the first shot.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

“My girlfriend… she’s unconscious.”

“Is she breathing? Does she have a pulse?”

“Yes… No… I don’t know.”

“Take a deep breath, okay?” The dispatcher does it with me. “Okay, tell me what happened.”

“She fell off her skateboard and her helmet broke.” I hover my hand over her mouth, catching the warmth of her faint breath. “I-I’m afraid to move her, but I think she’s breathing.”

“Good, good. You’re doing well. What’s your location, sir?”

Shit. “Troublemakers Indoor Amusement Park. I… I work here. She was using the skate park.”

I hear the clack of a keyboard. “We’re sending paramedics out right now.”

“The front door is locked. We’re the only ones here. I don’t want to leave her.” I gaze down at Mad, still motionless, her body frozen in a horrifying position.

“Is there a door close to you?”

“The one that leads out back. By the dumpsters.” It’s not close, but I’ll run.

“Stay on the line with me, and I will let you know when help has arrived, okay?”

---