Losing Abi

Chapter 1

If I had known what would happen that day, I never would have agreed to go boarding with Abi. If I could, I would go back in time to 10 a.m. that Friday morning...

As soon as the song started playing, my eyes flew open. A few more bars of Taylor Swift's song Love Story, and I knew that Abi was calling. "Hey Abs," I said, rubbing sleep out if my eyes. "Mark," she said excitedly, hardly giving me any time to finish my greeting. "It's the perfect day!" Perfect day? I thought to myself. Perfect day for what? And then I remembered.

I had promised Abi that this winter, I would teach her how to snowboard so that she could compete in the Carrie Madison Snowboarding Competition with me this year. I had been snowboarding for as long as I could remember and had competed in the Carrie Madison Snowboarding Competition for all five years that it had been around. Abi, always the competitive one, not only wanted to learn my sport, but she wanted to beat me at it as well. I didn't want to tell her, but she was almost as good as me already.

"Alright, Abs," I said. "I'll meet you in front of the lodge in half an hour, okay?" I could hear the smile in her voice as she said, "Okay, Mark! See you at 10:30!" I couldn't help grinning myself as I pulled snow pants on over my jeans.

Exactly half an hour later, Abi pulled up in front of the lodge in her bright orange mini-cooper. I got in the passenger seat, and away we went.

"Ooohhh, this looks like a good place, doesn't it?" I let my head drop against the back of my seat. "Abi, this is the fifth time you've said that. Can we please just stop somewhere already?" Abi turned her gray-blue eyes on me. "Ahem," she said, raising her eyebrows at me. "But who is driving? And whose idea was it to go boarding in the first place?" I rolled my eyes at her.

"Fine, whatever. We can stop whenever you want to. And keep your eyes on the road." Abi gave me one of her quick smiles then turned her head back towards the road. "I actually think I am gonna stop here," she said.

Thank God, I thought, but didn't say anything.

An hour later, Abi and I stood at the top of the tallest hill, looking down. "I dunno, Abs," I said, scooting back a little from the edge. "It's steeper than you're used to."

"You aren't scared, are you?" Abi asked teasingly, brushing my bangs back from my eyes. she stared into my eyes for a moment, then kissed me. "See ya at the bottom!" she called as she jumped on her board and sped down the steep slope. A second later, she disappeared. I jumped on my board and followed her.

I heard a distant scream, then a crashing noise as I flew down the hill. Abi. I skidded to a stop just in time to avoid going over the 40-foot cliff that blocked my path. "Oh no," I breathed, pulling out my cell and calling 911, my parents, and Abi's mom and stepdad as I searched for a way down the cliff. Finally, I found a small, well-worn path that went down the side of the hill, leading to the bottom of the cliff. I went as fast as I could down the path; when I reached the bottom, I looked everywhere for Abi. "Abi!" I called. "ABI!!!!" But there was no answer. Finally, I saw her, a crumpled heap in the distance. I ran to her only to turn away to keep from being sick. It was Abi alright, but her head was twisted in an unnatural way, her eyes wide and staring, her mouth open in a silent scream. Her legs and arms were bent out at odd angles, and the last thought I had before everything went black was, She's gone. My best friend, the love of my life, she's gone.