Page 17 of What Comes After

“My dad said we could put blankets and pillows up there, too,” I shared when we made it back to the rock-climbing wall. “Plus, we could have games and books.”

“And maybe a stereo,” Devyn added as she started climbing the wall.

“Hang on. You go up ahead of me while I go and get some paper to write this all down. I don’t want to forget anything.”

“Okay. I’ll meet you up here,” she called out from the deck.

With that, I dashed off to the house to grab some paper and a pen. While I was inside, something in my room caught my eye. I grabbed it and took it back outside with me. When I made it back to the treehouse, Devyn asked, “What is that?”

I walked over to the side where my dad and I had built some shelves inside the treehouse and set it down on one of them. “It’s the first piece of decoration for the house.”

Devyn saw what I put there, moved closer to inspect it, and smiled at it before she looked at me. Then she hugged me and said, “It’s perfect.”

I didn’t know what to do with myself when she reacted like she had, but I knew that bringing a framed picture of the two of us from a school field trip into the treehouse was the right move.

* * *

Devyn

Eleven months later

“Are you coming?”

I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face as I waited for Theo’s response. We were out riding bikes, powering ourselves up a hill, and he was a bit behind me. Theo wasn’t an overly competitive guy, but he was certainly capable, so I found it odd that he hadn’t passed me. Though, it was certainly possible that I’d just improved tremendously over the last several weeks.

It was the summer again.

Theo and I were another year older. We were officially teenagers, and we were finding that being teenagers meant having more freedom along with responsibility.

That was the reason we weren’t just riding our bikes up and down our street or around the neighborhood. We had been given the opportunity to venture a bit farther than before, but we had some rules to follow. One of those rules was that we were never to leave each other alone and had to stick together.

For me, that would never be a problem. I didn’t think it would ever be one for Theo, either. But if he continued to put more and more space between us, I was going to have to slow down.

“I’m right behind you, Devyn,” Theo declared. “You better watch once you get to the top of the hill, though.”

So, it was the uphill battle that he was struggling with. Apparently, my best friend believed he was going to take the lead when we started going downhill.

I’d just have to show him he was wrong.

With a renewed sense of determination, I pushed myself to go a bit harder up the hill. I put more and more distance between us, finally making it to the top and glancing back to see Theo pedaling faster to catch up.

Deciding not to wait, I began my descent. Unfortunately, I got a little too confident, and that didn’t work to my advantage.

I suddenly realized what Theo meant when he urged me to be careful once I got to the top. He hadn’t been trying to tell me that he intended to pass me. He’d been warning me for my safety.

Before I could stop it from happening, I’d picked up entirely too much speed, and as soon as I applied my brakes, things took a turn. There was a lot of loose gravel on the road, along with some sticks from a thunderstorm we’d had yesterday. One stick was rather large, forced me to lose control, and sent my bike flying as I landed on the ground. I landed on my hip, my palm on one hand and the forearm on the opposite limb connecting with the pavement as the gravel bit into and cut up my skin.

Burning.

All I felt was burning pain down my side.

“Devyn!” Theo shouted.

I looked up, saw him making his approach, and mostly noticed the worry in his face.

He made his way over to me, got off his bike, and crouched down beside me. “Are you okay? That was a nasty fall.”

I urged myself up to a seated positioned and inspected my body. Holding my scraped up and bloody arm, along with my scratched palm and skinned leg, it was clear I was anything but okay.

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