"Carter! what are you doing here?" wait. no. if Carter's here, that can only mean one thing. "look, Sam. we need to talk. it's bad. really bad." Coach looked confused as ever and Dylan had joined us in the practice facility. "sam, who is this guy?" I heard a hint of jealousy, mixed with protectiveness in Dylan's voice. "his name is Carter Langley. he is my brother's best friend. they serve together in the army." Carter motioned for me to walk with him. I walked with what felt like a thousand pounds of rocks in my stomach. "Carter what's going on?" "there's been an accident." that's it. that's all I remember from that conversation. next thing I know Dylan is holding me in his arms because I don't even have the strength to stand. My brother, my 22 year old brother could die. this can't be happening. Carter brings me up to speed. he says that they were doing some routine drills and an explosion went off. they say the bomb had a loose wire or something, but I don't care. nothing matters right now except for Lucas. "hey, Sam. coach is going to stay here and talk with Carter for a while. why don't we go get something to eat and then I'll take you home?" Dylan says with a hopeful smile "okay." we walk, hand in hand, to his car. he opens the door for me and I climb in. I need to call Henleigh, she'll know exactly what to say like always! I dial my best friends number. I wait for her to pick up. 'come on pick up Leigh!' we've been best friends since kindergarten! Henleigh plays basketball and is the most kind hearted person you'll ever meet. she has a heart for the Lord and serving others. finally she answers. "Hey Leigh." I say through tears. "Sam, what happened?" Dylan reaches over and squeezes my hand. he starts to release me from his grip, but I hold tighter. I don't want him to let go. "please don't let go Dylan." he says just what I needed to hear. "never."
