The Sun

~Nicky POV~

It was Friday. Meaning today was the last day I would see Lindsey for a while. I wouldn't even get to spend Christmas with her. Before dressing up I checked the weather. Another warm day. I dressed up in jeans and a jacket and went to school. On my way, I got a call from Lindsey.

"What's up?" I answered.

"Let's hang out after school. Just the two of us."

"Sure. Where are we going?"

"You'll see when you see," she responded.

I felt happy that I would have something to look forward to on this disappointing day. With this occupying my mind, the day passed by at a snails pace. I couldn't wait to see what Lindsey had in store. Knowing her she could pull just about anything from her butt.

After what seemed like forever, the day was finally over. I speed walked to the front doors to wait for Lindsey.

"Someone's in a hurry," she said, approaching me.

"I'll have you know that I've been waiting for this all day."

"Well I managed to convince my dad to let me drive myself to school today. It'll make this trip much easier."

We entered the car and tossed our backpacks into the backseat. I looked at her from the passenger seat. I've become very fond of this face haven't I. There was the moment we bumped into each other on the first day. The way she made her move on field day. A bold move it was, taking her shirt off and tossing it at me. That was I knew she was worth my time. From there our friendship blossomed. But can you call this friendship? I thought back to Halloween night and giggled.

"We're here."

I looked to where Lindsey had driven and saw that we were at a bike shop. 

"C'mon."

She parked the car and we walked through the shop and to the back where people were testing out bikes. She approached the worker standing in the garage door opening. He snapped his fingers and asked,

"Lindsey?"

"That would be me."

"Wait right there," he said and walked into the staff only area.

He came back with a black and gold mountain bike. On the handles was a giant red bow. She didn't. He walked the bike over and handed it to us. 

"This is an all terrain bike. Great for snow and will tear up the mountains," he smiled.

I took the bike from him and took it for a test run. As I rode back to Lindsey she looked at me and smiled, sadness behind it.

"Merry Christmas," she said and hugged me, "I know how much you love riding bikes."

I looked away as my throat tightened up. Shit. Tears threatened the edges of my eyes. I brought my hand up and wiped them away.

I was barely able to talk but a managed a small thank you. Lindsey hugged me from behind and kissed me on the cheek. I could feel the wetness on her cheek and realized that she was crying too. 

The man helped pack the bike into the back of the car. Lindsey drove me home and helped me hang the bike on my garage wall. Even after she left I stared at the bike and realized how much I was gonna miss her.

~Lindsey POV~

I dropped Nicky off and drove back to my house. My jaw clenched as I tried not to cry. I parked the car in the garage and tossed the keys on the counter where my parents could see them. I collapsed on my bed and looked at my suitcase fully packed. Gross. I stuffed my face in my pillow and fell asleep.

~Saturday~

I woke up at 5:30 to run for the last time. I peeked out my window and saw that it was snowing. I put on a light jacket and went outside. The air was crisp and cold and the snowflakes were small and light. My bench had already been covered in a layer of snow. Despite the clouds I still watched the sunrise. 

When I got back home my parents greeted me with breakfast. Eggs, sausage and a croissant with jelly. I ate my food in silence until my mom asked,

"What are you so grumpy about honey?"

I said nothing.

"We leave in a few hours so when you finish eating put your dishes away and bring your stuff down here," said Dad.

Just like he had asked I put my dishes away and brought my suitcase to the living room. I sat on the couch and stared at whatever channel was on. I couldn't bring myself to enjoy TV right now. I checked the time and realized it was just about time to leave. Dad put my suitcase in the trunk and had me sit in the back.

On the drive, even though it was cold I opened the window. I felt like I was suffocating. I looked outside while deep in thought. I was going to miss Nicky and friends. The way they were so high energy and supportive of each other. I thought back to field day and how my heart was beating through my chest when I pulled my shirt off. Luckily, Nicky wasn't the type of person to leave me hanging. I remembered the Halloween party and how much we had slayed our outfits even if we didn't end up winning.

The snow was piling up on the ground and down the hill I could see the bus that was going to take me. I started to close my eyes, but as I did a shadow sped by.

The car swerved violently and my dad yelled.

"HOLY SHIT!" He managed to stop the car from going too out of control and I ran outside to see what we had hit. 

What the fuck.  

Laying there was a black and gold bike that had been mangled by the impact. Tangled between it was Nicky. I ran over and pulled her out from in between the car and the bike. I held her body in my arms and gently patted her face.

"Wake up!" I yelled. My throat was starting to burn and I was hyperventilating. 

I shook her with urgency, "I said wake your ass up, Nicky."

I looked at her body and saw that her arm was twisted in an unnatural angle.

Holy shit.

~Nicky POV~ 

My entire body ached. My dumb, dramatic ass. I was freezing and burning up at the same time. Barely able to open my eyes, I saw Lindsey crying. I tried lifting up my hand to wipe the tears off her face, but winced as pain shot up my arm. 

I tried to speak, but my lungs set on fire with every breath. I needed to say something right now. I need to reassure her. I looked behind her to see that the camp bus had began driving away. Just as I had predicted, they were probably running a strict schedule and had no time for such casualties. Breathing was starting to become difficult. Your bus is leaving. 

"I don't care about the bus right now. What the hell were you thinking?"

She can hear me. I looked up towards her face, but was blinded as the clouds thinned out and the sun started peaking behind them. All I saw was Lindsey's shadow and I felt myself drifting away. Look, the sun is out.

~Lindsey POV~

"Look, the sun is out."

I looked up towards the sky to see that she was right. Through a gap in the clouds the sun shined its rays down on us. I looked back down at Nicky and saw that she had finally gone unconscious. Unable to look at her, I faced up towards the sun as the tears streamed down my face. I cried silently as the sirens of the ambulance got closer.