Page 73 of When the Stars Rise
I check that I’m alone before putting in my earbuds and answering the call.
“Hey, man. Just checking to see if you’re still in?” Briggs says.
I close the bathroom door and lock it, ensuring privacy. “I said I’d be there, didn’t I?”
“Times change. Thought you might be too caught up with the tour to get away. If you can’t make it, that’s chill.”
We made this plan a few weeks ago, right before I joined Hayley, and I see no reason to back out now. After Denver, we’re heading to Salt Lake City. It’s only three hours from there to Twin Falls, so it will all work out perfectly.
“Nah. I’m still in.” We’re halfway through the tour and I’m craving a rush. Can almost taste it that’s how badly I need it. Jumping off Perrine Bridge is sure to deliver. “I’ll ride up on Thursday morning.”
“Sweet. Weather looks good next week. You up for a friendly competition?”
Is my name Noah McCallister?“What have you got in mind?”
“Depending on when you get up here, we’ll start the clock. I’m thinking we should go for eight hours. See who gets the most jumps in.”
“I like the sound of that.”
“Thought you might. No cranes. None of that bullshit. All our jumps will be unassisted, so prepare for some hardcore jumping and climbing.”
I set my phone on the marble sink and strip off my sweaty running clothes. “Looking forward to it.” Another thought occurs to me as I pick up my phone. “But this needs to stay between us. I don’t want this blasted all over social media.”
“I’m not into all that bullshit. That’s your bag, man. I’m only in it for the rush. We’ll keep it lowkey like we did at Yosemite.”
“Sounds good.”
“All right then. Let’s do this. But fair warning. You’re going down, dawg.”
“I think you have me confused with someone else.” I turn on the shower, check the temperature with my hand, and then turn it up until it’s as hot as I can handle. No more cold showers for me. “You’ll be choking on my dust.”
He laughs. “See you in Idaho.”
When I cut the call, a pang of guilt punches me in the gut. Another secret I have to keep from Hayley.
A little voice in my head is saying,Just call it off. You don’t need to do this. This is why she broke up with you two years ago,asshole.
But I silence the voice in my head.
What good could come of arguing over this during her tour? Hayley’s schedule is so demanding, and she’s been doing this for over a year, so I don’t want to add more stress to her already full plate.
I'll come clean about everything when this tour ends, and we’re back in California. But for now, I’ll just have to keep it to myself. What she doesn’t know can’t hurt her.
Besides, I’ll only be gone for one day and I’ll be back before her show is over. No harm, no foul. I roll out my shoulders and shake it off.
Decision made, I shove it out of my head and step under the pulsing jets of steaming hot water.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Noah
I followthe sound of their voices to the living room. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlook the Nashville skyline, but they’re not looking at the view. Hayley is sitting between my mom and Gracie on a white sectional, flipping through a photo album on her lap.
“What’s this?” I ask, dropping onto the sofa next to my mom. It’s a stupid question, so no one bothers to respond.
I can see exactly what it is—a thick album filled with family photos.
My mom must have gone through every photo, searching for the ones that included Hayley because she’s in all of them.
