Pretty bad. It’s his right leg. Mr. & Mrs. H. just got here with Sid.

Almost at the same time, I feel my phone buzz again. It’s Sid.

Ryan says you’re coming. How long?

1 ½ hours.

That’s so long. I need you.

Hang in there. Keep me updated.

I will.

Then I text Ryan back.

LMK what you find out.

I will.

RYAN

I can’t believe this happened. I can’t believe we are back in a hospital again. I think we all quickly sobered up as soon as the accident happened. Luckily, the chaperones were so startled I don’t think any of them noticed alcohol was involved. It was close, though. Too close, and now Todd’s in the hospital.

Dammit! What were we thinking?

I can’t stop pacing, and I can’t bring myself to look Mr. and Mrs. H. in the eye. This is all our faults.

“Hey.” Brian falls in line next to me and joins my pacing. “He didn’t look good.”

“I know.”

“What do you think this means for his scholarship offers?”

“I don’t know, but it’s not good. I mean, it’s his kicking leg.”

Brian squeezes his eyes shut and shakes his head. “I know. This is all my fault. I’m the one who said we should go.”

“It’s everyone’s fault. We didn’t need to follow you, you know. We can say no to the great Brian Johnson.”

He looks at me and smiles sadly. “Thanks for that, but I’m taking this one.” Brian gestures with his chin in the direction of Todd’s parents. “His dad called the Penn scout to tell him what happened, and I think the coach just called his dad back. The Penn team doc is talking to the doctors here.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah, we just ruined everything. I mean, the three of us have offers from them. We were supposed to all be together. We’ve been saying that since we were kids, and it was actually coming true, and then bam! it’s all over, because of me.”

“Stop it. You don’t know that yet,” I hear Blythe’s southern drawl as she and Gretch come up to join us.

The waiting room is packed with our entire crew from the slopes, and a few other people are trickling in as word spreads. It’s pretty late, so most people won’t find out until the morning.

“His dad just said they are still taking x-rays, and we’ll know more after that, but the doctor said, with breaks like this, they’ll most likely need to prep him for surgery,” Blythe updates us since she was sitting close enough to eavesdrop.

When I look over to see Sidney sitting by herself, I realize I wouldn’t want Ash to be alone if the roles were reversed, so I walk over to sit by her.

“Hey, Sid.”

She looks up and quickly wipes at her eyes. It’s clear she’s been crying. I wrap my arm around her since she looks like she needs this right now.

“He’s going to be okay.”

She closes her eyes. “I hope you’re right.” Then she opens them, and her eyes lock with mine. “It’s just … everything always comes so easily for him. I never worry about him. Ever. I mean, everything always just falls right into place. It’s been like that his entire life. And I guess I never thought anything bad would happen, like he’s invincible. But he’s not, you know?”

I just smile. “Yeah. I do know. It’s never Todd. He’s always the rock, and I don’t think any of us know what to do without him being the rock.”

She lets out a small laugh. “Yeah, exactly. Ashley just needs to get here.”

I nod my head in agreement then lean back in my chair as my hand strokes her shoulder. We are in for a long night.

Chapter 17: The Results

ASHLEY

As we pull into the hospital parking lot, my legs start shaking so badly I’m not even sure I can walk on them, but I somehow manage. There has been radio silence other than the occasional text from Sid checking to see how close we are and the constant texting from Shane with words of encouragement, but I don’t count those.

“You okay?” Dad asks as he wraps his arm around my shoulder.

I look up at him and give him a half smile.

As soon as we walk through the emergency room doors, I see all of Todd’s friends lining the walls, and then my eyes land on Ryan. Without even thinking about the fact that the emergency room is filled with the entire senior class, I run up and hug my brother.

“Thank you so much for calling and talking to Dad.”

“Ash, a little tight,” he says, clearly winded from my death grip.

“Sorry.” I look up at him as I loosen my hold, but I’m not ready to let go yet. “Did you see him? How is he?”

“No, his parents and Sid are in there now. He just got back from x-rays, but no results yet. I think they have to prep him for surgery.” Ryan’s eyes shift to the ground, and my stomach turns over with butterflies, not the good kind.

“Ashleeeeey.” I feel her arms squeezing me before I see her.

“Sid, how is he?” I ask as my eyes connect with hers. I can immediately tell she’s been crying; her eyes are bloodshot.

“He’s good,” she says with an overly large smile.

“How is he, really?”

“A mess.” Her whole body releases the façade as she slumps down, letting tears spill down her cheeks. “Sorry.” She wipes her tears away with the back of her hand.

Ryan rubs her back and smiles at my questioning look. “Sid and I bonded.”

“Okaay?” I smile, appreciating the distraction until I see Todd’s parents come around the corner.

My dad immediately walks up to them, hugging Mrs. H., and then he shakes Mr. H.’s hand. I see them all glance over in our direction and my stomach sinks even farther. At this point, it’s pooling around on the floor beneath my feet.

My dad’s eyes meet mine, and he gestures for me to come over. I instinctively look at Ryan. After all, he is Todd’s best friend and should know what’s happening first. He gives me a smile and mouths, “Go,” as he gently nudges me in their direction.

While I approach our parents, there are a million things I want to say. I have an entire speech planned on how Todd is good for me, that he pushes me to be a better person in every way: swimming, school, life. I have been mentally rehearsing it for the entire trip up here, and now I just need to say it calmly so they can see I have really thought this through.

“I-love-him-and-I-need-to-see-him,” comes out as one, long, hysterical sentence. So much for calm and collected.

Mrs. H.’s lips turn up in a sincere smile, and she reaches her hand out to gently stoke my arm. “We know, Ashley. Todd said the exact same thing.” She gives a small laugh at the irony. Then she looks back and forth between my dad and Mr. H. “We were young once; we just forgot what it’s like.” She turns back to me. “We’re sorry we’ve tried to keep you apart for so long, and we’re sorry it took this to make us realize it.” Her smile falters, but her eyes stay on mine. I see the concern in them for Todd, the same concern I hate seeing in my parents’ eyes when one of us is hurt. “I’ll point you in the direction of his room.”

I don’t know what to say, so I just smile at her and our dads. “Thank you,” I say low to all of them.

After my dad gives me a nod and a smile, I look back at Ryan and Sid, and they both give me a discreet thumbs up.

Wow, this is all so unexpected and so easy, too easy.

Todd’s mom has her arm wrapped around me as she guides me through the emergency room hallways. I can’t believe they apologized to me, but before I can relish in my joy, I’m standing outside of Todd’s hospital room door and reality sinks back in as to why we are all here.

“Go ahead.” She gestures toward the door. “He’s been waiting to see you.” She smiles.

“Thanks, Mrs. H.,” I tell her then open the door.

There he is, just as gorgeous as always. He’s got an IV attached to his arm, and his leg is in what looks like a large, wooden box without a top. I hate seeing him like this, yet I love seeing him.