“Yeah. Last one down has be the bitch for the rest of the day?” Easton’s razor-sharp teeth glint in the sun, making him look like the devil himself.
“Hell yes!” Logan pops a wheelie.
I don’t say anything, but the fire lit in my eyes gives away my excitement. I might not talk much, but I love this shit just as much as Logan.
We line up on the edge of the hill, kids squealing behind us on the swings and the slide, but the tension starts to fill us at the last second. This hill is tall and uneven. The moment one of us biffs out, it might mean the end for the rest of us.
“Ready?” Logan says. We all get off the set, legs poised straight.
“Set?” Easton chimes in. His fingers clench around the handlebars, ready to take off.
“Go.” I growl.
We all take off, zipping off the cliff and down the rocky hill. It’s bumpy, and uncomfortable as hell, but we all cackle as we speed down. The wind flies in my face and my eyes dry out. Sandpaper grates on my eyelids every time I blink, and it gets so rough I can barely see.
“Woohoo!” Logan shouts, a few feet ahead of me.
My lips split in half with the wide smile on my face.
Easton’s right next to me, and we alternate being a few inches in front of the next. He laughs, and it makes my smile bigger. Easton’s like me, he doesn’t laugh too much. But when he does, it’s filled with such freeness that I can’t help but chuckle along with him.
Suddenly, a rock that’s bigger than the others slides beneath my front tire, making me bounce off to the side, I lose my grip, and my bike starts sliding out from underneath me.
“Shit!” I shout.
“What?” Easton and Logan yell in tandem, though they can’t turn around in fear they might fall themselves.
It’s too late for me. My front wheel slips to the side and the rest of my bike follows after it. I face plant into gravel, my body slipping at such a fast pace it’s like falling into a bed of broken glass. I can feel my skin tear in multiple spots and scream as my body rolls down the rest of the way. My bike, I have no clue where that ended up.
All I know is my body screams in horrible agony.
“Oh my God. Jackson!” Easton shouts.
“Holy shit, what do we do?” Logan screams from the side. I hear his bike crash down as he comes next to me. “Jackson, you all right?”
I whimper as Easton and Logan turn me over. They both gasp at the sight of me. I don’t know what I look like, but if it’s anything like it feels, I bet I look like Freddy Kreuger.
“Dude, are you okay?” Easton bends down and looks me in the eyes.
“I don’t know.” I gasp, my skin feels like it’s actively burning as I speak. Like someone lit a torch and decided to trail it along my skin.
“I-I’m going to go get my dad.” Logan says.
“I’m coming.” I try to get up, but Easton gives me a vicious glare.
“Stop, Jackson. You’re just going to hurt yourself more.” His eyes travel down my body. “Shit. Maybe we should at least get you across the street.”
Logan’s already back on his bike, halfway across the street back to our park. Easton gives me a hand, his black eyes wide with worry. I look down at my shorts and tee that are covered with dirt, gravel, and pools of blood.
It’s like I’m bleeding everywhere.
Once I get to standing, I let out a tortured groan. It feels more like I was hit by a car then me tumbling down a hill.
“I’ve got to get away from this hill. My dad’s going to literally kill me if he knew I got hurt biking down it.” I gasp, and Easton nods his head in understanding.
“Let’s go. Just… take it slow, all right?” He lifts up my bike and I press into the handlebars, using it as a crutch to walk across the street.
“You good?” He asks, walking next to me at a turtle’s pace.