Page 34 of We Thought We Were Invincible
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Jamie
“Are you shitting me?” I asked as we pulled into the drop zone parking lot. Until now, she'd refused to tell me what her grand plan for this project was.
The sun rose as we drove and was now lighting up the entire sky. Stepping out of the car and looking up toward the cloudless blue, I imagined myself up there as she ignored my question.
Looking sideways at me, she grinned. “Don't tell me wittle Jamie is scared.”
“No.” I straightened up. “Just didn't expect this from you.”
“Something new.” She shrugged. “Something exciting. Up there, Jamie, nothing can touch us.” I met her eye, knowing exactly what she meant.
“Aww, Callie girl, you may have just become my favorite person.” I used my brother's nickname for her, but it felt different from when he said it.
Jay was gone, back to school. Colby was at home. Today it was just us and blue skies.
Parker met us at the door, hugging Callie and giving me a smile. “I'm so excited you took me up on my offer, Callie. Although, I didn't expect it so soon.” She turned to me. “Please tell me you're eighteen.”
“Guilty,” I said. “Summer birthday.”
“Perfect.” She clapped her hands together and ushered us into another room where equipment hung along the walls and rectangular tables sat in the middle of the room. Three other people were already inside.
“We have five of you going up this morning,” Parker said. “But you're the only tandems. I'll be your instructor, Callie.”
An older man with a long beard and weathered skin walked toward us. “Jamie, this is Hank. He's with you.”
We spent the next two hours watching video and learning how to position our bodies while hurtling through the air.
“Do I get to pull the chute?” I asked.
“Not this time,” Hank answered.
The last thing we did was learn how to land and then we were suiting up in warm clothes and jumpsuits.
“Trust me,” Parker said. “It may be Florida, but 14,000 feet is still damn cold.”
I stepped into my harness, letting Parker tighten it, and pulled on a pair of goggles.
“Load five,” a voice said over the loudspeaker. “This is your get it on call.”
Everyone jumped to action, and they led us across the landing zone to a small plane that looked like it had seen better days. A lump of fear formed in my throat as I thought about what I was going to do.
Callie stopped walking in front of me, her feet frozen in place. She gasped in a breath as the people in front of us got further and further away on their way to the plane.
Without thinking, I stepped up beside her, slipping my hand into hers. Our fingers laced together, and I squeezed. There was no one else I'd rather be doing this with and that sudden realization slammed into me. I bent down, positioning my lips by her ear. “You can do this.” And it was true. This girl could do anything.
She shivered, and I squeezed her hand tighter. Closing her eyes, she inhaled.
“I'll do this, Jamie.” She turned her head, her face inches from mine. “But I need you there with me. One-hundred percent. When we step into that plane, there are no dead moms, no uncertain futures or asshole dads or abandoning mothers.” She paused. “You leave your shit here, and so will I. We do this together. Parker once told me that up there you can forget, just for a moment. I need to forget and so do you.”
I dropped her hand as her words sunk in and I realized what she'd said. “Abandoning mothers.” She knew. Everything. How? My chest rose, and I blew out a breath between my teeth. F-ing Jay. A calm settled over me as I looked at her, her eyes wide with fear of what I was thinking. After a long moment of charged silence, I reached out, brushing back a strand that'd fallen loose from her braid. My fingertips trailed along her cheek and I nodded, taking her hand again.
“Come on,” I said.
We walked up to the plane and climbed in. Two metal benches lined the walls on the inside the plane. I looked across from me and kept my eyes trained on Callie.We can do this. I gave her a sheepish look as the plane rumbled to life. It seemed to cough and groan as it left the ground behind, making her grip the bench until her knuckles turned white.
The three solo skydivers bailed out at 10,000 feet and we finished the climb to 14,500. Parker hooked Callie's harness to hers and the door slid open causing light and wind to rush into the dinghy craft.
