Page 13 of That Summer

In a swift moment, she felt the rush of a backwards movement before the vehicle came to a stop. The shallow breathing made her lightheaded. Suddenly, without warning, she pushed back into the vinyl seat as Lucas put the car in gear and rolled forward.

“Umm… mmm….” She hummed as her hands squeezed together and turned them white. Over the driveway. Bump. Bump. Her grip tightened impossibly. “Umm… ummm… mmmmm…” Words failed to escape her but deep instinctive groans had no problem. Their pitch escalating with every passing second.

The car pulled up to the stop sign, and the blinker echoed through the tiny space. “Hang on,” he said, inching the car out into the intersection.

“Ohmygod. Ohmygod,” she repeated over and over as the car gained speed, and houses quickly disappeared from her peripheral vision. She closed off any further visualization. “No. No. No.” A sour feeling filled her stomach. Air chilled in her lungs, making her gasp. “Nate,” she whispered.

Out of the darkness, his face appeared in front of her. “You’ve got this,” his voice said. “Just breathe. You’re nearly there.”

“Oh Nate.” A warm hand covered hers.

“Breathe in and out.”

She followed his instructions to the letter. Air in, air out. Again. Her focus on his chiselled jawline. Those chocolate-coloured eyes. That dimple in his cheek. Still, she knew where she was, but she also knew she wasn’t alone. Tears she’d held back released, making hot rivers down her cheeks.

“Nearly there,” Nate’s soft voice whispered in her ear.

“I can’t do this.”

“But youaredoing this. You’re doing so great.”

“Hold me. I’m scared.”

“I can’t.” The voice faded away, and the image of him disappearing like a wave across the ocean.

The rivers ran harder down her cheeks, and as she tightened her grip, her nails dug into the souls of her hand. The pain was welcome. At least it was physical and she could make it stop in a heartbeat.

The car slowed and the engine died. Lucas unlatched her seatbelt. The door sprung open seconds later.

“You did it.” His voice was warm and full of pride.

Slowly, she opened one eye, then another. They were in a parking lot. The neon sign read “UB’s Pub and Eatery”. She did it! And with that she popped out of her seat and into Lucas’ arms.

“You did it,” he said, excitement ringing through the air.

The sobs inside her burst forth, and she broke down in his embrace, collapsing to the asphalt.

“You’re still alive. We didn’t crash.” His hands ran over her head and pulled her close. “Hey, hey, hey. It’s okay.”

Everything she’d held back, poured out in her tears. She clenched Lucas’ soft-cotton shirt and buried her head into it. Body-wracking sobs consumed her for the second time that day, but his strong arms held her tight. With a sniff, she broke out of his hold.

“You okay now?”

She wiped her sleeve under her lashes and over her nose. “I think so.”

“You really rocked that. You were amazing.”

An older couple walked by staring intently at them as they huddled on the ground. She didn’t care what they were thinking. They had no idea of the hell she’d just put herself through.

Lucas waved them away.

The sun beat down on her, slowly warming her up but the intensity threatened to blind her. Instinctively, she shielded her eyes from the bright light. “It felt like we were never going to arrive.”

“First time will probably be the worst. Maybe, hopefully, each trip will be easier.”

“No offense, but I’ll be walking home.”

He laughed at her statement. “Are you able to stand?”