I kept my eyes straight ahead on the path. “You could say that.”
We’d talked about it some, during lab and stuff, but I hadn’t hung out with her, or anyone for that matter, since it all happened. Didn’t have the energy.
“I’m really sorry.” Willow threw her arm over my shoulders and gave a tight squeeze.
Hot tears pricked the corners of my eyes.
“Have you talked to anyone about everything yet? Like a professional?”
“I have an appointment coming up, but I’m not sure what they can do to help. Nothing can undo this,” I said, holding up my splinted hand. As I did, my stomach lurched. My hand. Weak. Limp. A constant reminder of not being in the Air Force. A constant reminder of how my life changed so dramatically in just a few seconds.
“It’s a lot to process. Having your future ripped away from you because of an injury.” Willow pushed a long braid over her shoulder.
A lot to process.Talk about the understatement of the year. I was drowning under the amount of shit I had to process.
Emmett’s death anniversary was only weeks away.
Not to mention graduation.
Then the black void of what I was going to do after graduation.
I had no clue.
We came to a fork in the path and took a left. Green leaves sprouted in the trees lining the path, and a cool breeze breathed over us. The air smelled fresh and light. Too bad I felt exactly the opposite. Like every step I took was a concerted effort.
“It’s hard to believe that in a single instant, everything can change.” Willow took a deep breath and exhaled. “I can still picture the exact moment I found out that my old skating program cut me.”
My lungs shrank, and I struggled to breathe.
“I was with my gramps,” Willow said. “We were at A&W. One minute, I was rehabbing, planning on going back to Colorado, then the next, I was nothing…”
I came to a stop. “How did you get through it?”
“I almost didn’t. But my family, Jessa, my friend Ericka, Brodie, even Preach, they all helped me through. Hockey helped, too.”
“I feel like my entire world has been crushed.” My shoulders slumped. “I don’t have a future anymore.”
“Here,” Willow said, leading me to a nearby bench, “sit.”
We stepped off the path and into the damp grass. It’d rained briefly today, and the grass was coming through. So green. So new. So fresh.
The wooden bench, luckily, was dry enough to sit on, so we did.
Willow turned toward me. “I’m going to come at you with some hard truths.”
I gulped.Yikes. I wasn’t sure I was ready for that. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be ready, but this was Willow. In the short time I’d known her, I’d gotten fairly close to her.
So I held my tongue and listened. Willow was the shit. She’d been through some serious stuff. I should listen.
I needed to listen.
“Your future in the Air Force got ripped away from you.”
Every muscle in my body stiffened. Man, she wasn’t pulling her punches.
“But,” Willow continued, “that doesn’t mean that yourentirefuture is over. It just means you have to pivot. Find a new future, fight for it, and then dominate it.”
“You make it sound so easy.” I sniffled and let out a small chuckle. It couldn’t be that easy, could it? For how heavy and sad I felt…everythingwas hard right now.