The Time Before Dawn

Part 1

Spring Break. Dreaded by none and happily awaited by all. A time to wake up late and basically catch up on sleep.

Or so I thought.

"Bailey."

Dreaming of a full buffet of deserts - cake, brownies, ice cream and more, I roll over and place a pillow over my head to block out the noise. I snuggle deeper into the blankets, excited at the spread in front of me. Mmm, what to taste first? Oho, that oreo cheesecake looks real promising. 

I reach out with a fork, slowly bringing a bite to my mouth—

"Bailey!" 

I sit up rapidly, slamming my head into a hard object.

"What the hell, Bails?!"

I groan, rubbing my forehead. I look around for the culprit of my injury when I spot my best friend and cousin, Everett, holding his head on the floor.

"Ev, what are you doing here? It's way too early to be up," I whine, turning around to find my clock. 

7:32am. 

"Why the mother truck would you wake me so early? You interrupted my awesome dream of a buffet of scrumptious desser—"

He interrupts my rant with a flat glare. "Mrs. Evans called your mom who called me because she knew your lazy butt wouldn't be awake to answer your phone. She needs you to come in by eight today."

I fall back into bed, closing my eyes with a confused frown, "My head hurts."

"Well, if you hurry your ass up, you can eat some of Lainey's pancakes before we go."

"Lainey's here?"

Ev simply rolls his eyes and canters out of my room.

I quickly dress in a white tee with leggings and a jean jacket, carelessly sliding my white Nike roshes onto my feet. I grab a hair tie from my dresser and throw my hair into a messy bun as I rush down the stairs.

A delicious smell wafts into my nose. Mmm, I can taste those heavenly pancakes already. 

I burst into the kitchen to find a tall stack of nothing waiting for me on the table. The kitchen is bare save for Everett laughing his butt off near a lit maple scented candle.

"Haha, I got you! Should've seen your face!"

 "You-you mother trucking banana!" I shout in rage, my eyes widening. Just as I'm about to launch myself at my so-called best friend, Lainey barges into the room.

"What the hell is going on?"

My expression immediately changes from one of anger and vexation to one of delight. "Lainey!" I squeal, running to her and giving her a big hug.

Wow, talk about mood swings.

Lainey is Everett's twenty-three year old big sis who's fresh out of college and home for the break. She's one of my favorite people to talk to, despite our six year age difference.

"Where'd you come from?" I ask.

She grins, "Your living room. Before that, my house, and before that, Starbucks." Did I mention that Everett and Lainey's house is a twenty minute drive away? Not that I'm complaining, but why are they both here?

"How come you aren't as happy to see me?" the bitch (Ev) complains.

"Did she wake me up by hitting her forehead on mine? No. Did she say she had pancakes when it was just a maple-scented candle? Nope, she didn't do that either."

Lainey laughs, "You two had better get going."

"We'll stop at McDonalds on the way," Ev sighs.

I smirk, fist bumping a grinning Lainey as I pass. 

*~*~*

I step out of Everett's black Tacoma, cradling my hot caramel macchiato in my arms. It's quite chilly outside due to the fact that it's early March. Mmm. I can't wait to down this entire thing.

Looking around, I spot two other cars in the lot of the clinic: a small red one belonging to Jen, the physical therapist, and a larger white SUV. Whoever's it is has a really early appointment. 

"Thanks for the ride, Ev," I call as he backs out of the space. Half-grinning, he shakes his head and drives away.

Walking into the clinic, I notice that Jen is already talking to a patient at the front desk. I lift my wrist, checking my watch for the time. 8:01. My eyes widen and I tiptoe towards the hallway and past the desk, hoping Jen doesn't notice my late entrance.

"Bailey!" 

Busted. With a sheepish smile on my face, I turn around to face Jen at the desk.

"Oh, uh hey, Jen," I answer, hiding my coffee behind my back casually.

Jen shakes her head, a smile spreading across her face. "Come here, sweetie. You're going to be helping out this lovely young man today."

I make the trek back towards the desk, nodding obediently. As I pass Jen, she discreetly takes the macchiato out of my hand and sips it.

Haha! Joke's on her, she hates caramel.

As I ready the patient's papers in front of me, I hear Jen swallowing hard. "I'll, uh, be right back. I need to just rinse the taste of that terrible drink out of my mouth."

I chuckle, shaking my head. She is so predictable. "Follow me please," I tell the guy who's currently leaned on a pair of crutches, a chunky black brace covering the better part of his leg. I've yet to hear of his injury or even see his face, but I've got a feeling he's torn his ACL or MCL.

Once we've settled into a light blue room at the end of the hallway, the boy grunts and plops onto a chair with a little difficulty.

I turn so my back is to him, slipping on a pair of gloves. "My name's Bailey. Let me guess, ACL or MCL tear?"

The boy snorts behind me, "ACL. I was snowboarding over winter break when I landed wrong. Probably the dumbest decision of my life."

I shake my head. These accidents happen so often. I grab the papers again, checking the agenda for today's activities. "What's your name?"

I twist back around just as my eyes land on the letters printed in bold at the top right corner of the page. I look up, and my eyes confirm what I just read. 

"Aiden Hurley, at your service."

Oh, shit.

a u t h o r ' s   n o t e

Thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed the first chapter! What else is in store for Bailey and Aiden? ;)

♡, Risa