Downhill From Here (#1)

32. Tired Bleary Eyes

A/N: I really feel like this so encapsulates what Bowie is going through in this chapter so please give it a listen!😭😭😭

Bowie's POV

Wednesday, December 14th

11:08pm

The wind blew through my jacket as I spun a full 360 twice in the air, my hand gripping the front of my board.

"Alright! Front-side 180!"

I landed down the pipe with speed and zoomed to the other side lifting off yet again. Grabbing the front of my board, my body twisted around. The pain in my abdomen only grew worse as the seconds went on causing me to hold my breath for a moment. Coming back down, my board clipped the side of the ramp and I lost my balance.

Using the techniques I'd been taught for crash landings, I went full on chicken. My arms flapped beisde me and I stared down at the white powered ground as it grew closer and closer.

My board landed first and then I landed back, my butt hitting the ground with a thud. Shit.

I groaned as the incline of the pipe caused me to ride down on my back against my will. My hands came out at my sides as I tried to slow myself down and soon enough I came to a sudden stop.

"Shit."

I looked up at the bright pink sky and pulled at my googles, revealing the true blue all around me.

"You let go of your hand-grab too early."

I didn't come to a stop because of my own volition but rather that Nathan was at the bottom of the pipe waiting for me. Looking up I found his face staring back down at mine. I could see the tension in his brows as he inspected my body. His foot was at the base of my board, holding me in place.

"I'm aware," I said weakly, pulling myself to sit up on my elbows.

"You okay?" He asked with a raised brow.

Bill stood two steps behind him, a look of concern on his face. "You never really miss front-side grabs like that? You alright?"

The look he gave me was one I would guess a father would give....not that I would know. Scratching one gray eyebrow and twisting his lips, Bill stared at me carefully.

In this position, the tension in my lower abdomen only became that much worse.

I reached one hand up and Nathan lifted me easily. Avoiding eye-contact, I dusted the snow off my knees and sighed. "It's nothing, I just got...a little distracted." By what? I couldn't tell him.

"By what?" Nathan asked, looking behind me to where I fell. "We're the only one's out here."

I needed to change the subject.

Huffing dramatically, I looked at the both of them and said, "Why do you guys keep making me do the same three moves over and over again?"

It was any easy subject change because they both gave each other knowing looks.

"We've been over this," Nathan reminded. He reached in close to readjust the scarf I had around my neck. "You've got to get the same three tricks down so that we have go-to's just in case you need the extra points."

Bill nodded his head, holding the iPad to his side. His cheeks were a deep pink from the cold. "Last time you had to improvise to make sure you qualified. We need to make sure that if it happens again you've got everything down solid."