Wilde Fire

Chapter 14: June 2009

"Catch me if you can!" Owen yelled over his shoulder. He stood up on his pedals and put even more distance between us. I was around ten feet behind him, huffing and puffing my way up the hill. The muscles in my legs were begging me to stop. I fought through the pain and pedaled faster.

"You're only winning because you're bigger than me!" I screamed after him. As I neared the steeper incline, I stood to gain more momentum. It wasn't really helping. Owen was already cresting the top of the hill, while I was only halfway up.

It only took three more hard rotations on his pedals before Owen was at the peak of the monstrosity we called Mount Terror Road. He immediately pushed his bike to the side and fell in a heap on the sidewalk. "Stop making excuses, Red!" he teased me with a grin.

I was used to getting treated like one of the boys, but man, I was exhausted. A part of me wanted Owen to feel sympathetic; to march down the hill and help pull my bike up the rest of the way. But the other part of me, the competitive side, derived from growing up with an older brother, told me that giving up would simply be a sign of weakness.

My legs continued to burn as I pushed on those pedals, using every ounce of my strength to reach the top of that hill. I had set a goal, and I was determined to finish it. Plus, Owen would make fun of me forever if I chickened out and stopped now.

At last, with one last push, my back tire leveled and I no longer felt the resistance of gravity. "Holy cow, I think I'm dead." I plopped onto the sidewalk beside Owen.

"I knew you could do it, Red," he said matter of factly. He patted my back with his sweaty palm and I forced a smile in return.

I was simultaneously trying to catch my breath and come up with a witty retort when I heard the familiar rumble of an old truck engine: Ben.

"What are they doing?" Owen thought out loud as Ben's brick red pickup came up over the hill. Ben was driving, of course, his elbow hanging out the open window. Kelby was tucked close to his side, her blonde hair pulled into a ponytail high on her head. She leaned over him as the truck idled to a stop in front of us.

"Having fun?" Kelby asked, her voice barely audible over the noise of the truck.

We must have looked as exhausted as we felt, because Ben and Kelby immediately started laughing.

Owen and I exchanged questioning glances.

"Leave us alone, that was a lot of work!" Owen said, tossing a rock in frustration. It bounced off the side of the truck with a ding.

"We know," Kelby giggled again. "We've been following you all for blocks."

I snapped upright. "And you didn't think to stop and help? I almost had a heart attack back there!" I ushered toward that treacherous hill, the exasperation evident in my voice.
Ben leaned across the seat. "You were doing just fine, Sidney Bean," he said encouragingly. "Now get in the truck."

Ben hopped onto the sidewalk and helped Owen and I load our bikes into the bed of his pickup. Kelby was leaning out the window supervising. Frustrated with them for teasing us, I climbed into the bed and sat beside my bike.

"What are you doing?" Owen laughed.

"I'm protesting," I proclaimed, crossing my arms with a huff. They followed Owen and I halfway across town, watching and laughing as we struggled to pedal up those stupid hills. Of course I was upset.

"Well I want to ride back here too!" Owen grinned and jumped in beside me. As much as I was trying to look as angry as possible, I felt a smile tug at my lips.

Ben shook his head, closed the tailgate, and climbed back into the driver's seat. He turned the ignition and revved his engine. He flashed Kelby a troublesome smile.

The ride back home should have been short. We were only a few blocks away, a stop sign or two standing between our location and our expected destination. But with Ben, as always, the unexpected was bound to happen. Rather than simply taking us straight home, he took advantage of the fact that Owen and I were sitting loosely in the back of the truck.

Ben sped down the hill and whipped around the first corner so fast that I fell into Owen, my fingers gripping the fabric of his sweat-soaked t-shirt. I looked up at him with an immediate sense of fear in my eyes.

Instead of being afraid, Owen laughed and wrapped his arms around me. "Hold on tight!" he yelled exuberantly as the truck rounded another corner and we fell to the opposite side. I did as he said, and clutched onto the best friend I ever had.

The ride felt endless. With every corner and bump in the road we laughed, toppling over one another in the bed of the truck. Though it was exhilarating, I also knew that Ben was being careful. He would never do anything to purposely hurt anyone, especially me. I would always believe that. He kept glancing back at us, ensuring that we were happy and not scared for our lives. When he saw us smile, he would rev the engine again.

As the truck finally turned onto our shared street, Ben slowed his pace. I curled my knees to my chest and watched through the back window as Kelby slid across the bench seat and nestled under Ben's arm. He pulled her close and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. Kelby turned and smiled up at him.

Without hesitation, I found myself smiling back at them. My brother and his seemingly perfect girl. She was so beautiful, so carefree. She was exactly the type of person I wanted to be. In fact, Kelby Blackwood was the epitome of who every young girl aspires to be when they grew up. That fact, among many, would never change. There was a reason that our parents were so keen on us hanging out with Kelby and Owen. They were great kids, raised by a strong, independent single mother. They were good influences on Ben and I, who became rougher around the edges as the years wore on. Surely, Kim Blackwood didn't have the same attitude about her kids spending so much time with us, but for a while, those opinions didn't matter.

There were a solid few years when the four of us formed an incredibly close bond. Whether we were all together, or just Owen and I having fun while our elder siblings fell in love, those years in Kala with the Blackwoods were memorable for many reasons. Good and bad, happy and sad. The problem was learning how to accept them all.