Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76006 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76006 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
“You can see the ocean from that location,” Rhys replied. “Why don’t we all do it? And before your brother or Sam complain, it’s not far.”
“Yes.” Sam fist-bumped the air, and as they made their way toward the path, he picked up a couple more rocks as well as a walking stick. Good old Sam.
Rhys was right. It wasn’t that many steps to the scenic view, but he could tell by the way he held on to his ribs that the incline to the structure didn’t feel very good. The area was crowded with onlookers trying to take photos, so they waited a bit, Sam on tiptoes, trying to see over people’s shoulders. Once they finally got their turn and Audrey took a short video, Sam whined about getting bitten by mosquitoes and wanting to head back. Emerson rolled his eyes, and Audrey pointed out that he wouldn’t make that great of a biologist if he couldn’t hack it in nature.
Emerson thought for sure they’d start a shoving match again, but instead Audrey surprised him by squatting down and giving her brother a piggyback ride back through the trees.
Maybe the fresh air had been good for them after all.
Once they got down the incline, Emerson stepped in front of Rhys and squatted. “C’mon.”
“Come on what?” Rhys asked in a confused tone.
“Duh, I’ll give you a lift,” Emerson said.
“I’m too heavy,” he scoffed.
“Try me,” Emerson countered, and after only a moment’s hesitation, Rhys climbed on his back. They trudged toward their car as Rhys pointed out other spots they could visit on another trip. Feeling Rhys’s breath in his ear and his limbs wrapped around him did strange things to Emerson’s stomach as he reveled in the closeness.
“Thank you.” When Rhys’s breath ghosted across his ear, Emerson trembled and nearly lost his footing, but he held himself together as Rhys’s arms tightened around his neck. “You sure I’m not too heavy?”
Emerson shook his head. Even if he were, Emerson wouldn’t admit it. He wouldn’t give up this chance to be close to Rhys even if it wrecked him later. So as Rhys settled in closer and Emerson felt his stubbly jaw brush against his ear, he sighed, basking in the roughness of it, imagining the sting against his cheek and lips and throat for wholly different reasons.
After they were loaded in the car, Emerson pulled onto the road. “There’s an awesome ice-cream place off the next exit.”
“Sold,” Sam replied, and Emerson smiled.
As they left the park, Rhys looked back as if trying one last time to rouse his memory. Or maybe he was saying goodbye to the Rhys he once knew, and Emerson didn’t know how to feel about that.
15
Rhys
“Happy birthday to you. You live in a zoo…”
Rhys smirked at the Rose family as they surrounded him at the kitchen table. They had placed a chocolate cake with buttercream frosting in front of him, with candles in the shape of a couple of twos. Store-bought, obviously, but it was for the best because although he’d been assisting Emerson in the kitchen with dinner every night, he couldn’t be trusted with desserts.
“Make a wish,” Audrey said, and when he glanced up, he saw a look pass between her and Emerson. What was that about? He’d noticed it often lately, as if the two of them were in on something the rest of them weren’t. He shut his eyes for a brief moment and wished for the same thing he had daily since the accident. To feel more like himself, whatever that meant.
Rhys welcomed his twenty-second birthday because it had been a rough few weeks. But he also couldn’t help feeling like he had lost most of his twenty-first year to the shadows of his brain. Returning to Hawkeye Hill a couple of weekends ago didn’t help jog his memory, but he was glad he’d gone back to the place of his accident, even though he knew Emerson feared it was the wrong move. He noted the disappointment mixed with wariness in Emerson’s expression on the ride back, and he’d even shushed Audrey when she’d brought it up after they’d gotten home.
Regardless, it had been like overcoming a hurdle because he’d been a bit frightened about what he might discover. Unfortunately, the only thing he’d figured out was that he couldn’t see himself ever climbing again. So not only had he lost his memory, but a bit of himself in the process. Thus, the birthday wish.
As Emerson cut the cake, Rhys doled out scoops of ice cream, his balance much sturdier now. His ribs still ached, but he had fewer bouts of dizziness, and he could pretty much fend for himself. He had weaned himself off the pain meds, only needing to take one occasionally or when Emerson gave him a stern look after a strenuous day. His last appointment with his doctor had been a positive one, and he only needed one more follow-up, unless his symptoms returned.