I stepped out and looked at the street. Fallen signs and trees. The houses around the neighborhood looked just like ours.
“Wow.” I closed the door and sat back down as Mama brought pancakes to the table. “I heard the wind before falling sleep, but I could swear it wasn’t that bad.”
“It was,” Mama said, returning to the range. “I woke up around three in the morning when a branch struck a window in the living room.”
I poured coffee in my mug. “The window is broken?”
“Yes,” Jason answered, handing a piece of pancake to Luna. She settled at his feet, probably expecting more food. “The entire city is in chaos.” He turned his laptop so I could see what he was reading. The browser was opened on the local town news and the headlines didn’t sound great. Several parts of the town were without power. Schools, local shops, and restaurants were so damaged that they were closed. One neighborhood across town had been hit the worst of all, and most of the houses had their roofs damaged when a tree had fallen.
I reached over and opened one of the articles. “Oh no …”
“What?” Jason tilted his head to the laptop and read the article with me.
But Mama was now working on some dough and couldn’t read it. “What is it?
“The Habitat for Humanity site,” I said. “The houses are gone. Most of them are flat on the ground because of the windstorm.”
Standing, Jason fished his phone from his pocket and went outside to call someone. I could guess who it was. Luna shifted her attention to me. I browsed the other articles and ate my breakfast, giving a piece to Luna here and there, pretending I wasn’t interested in Jason’s conversation.
When my brother sat back at the table, I was dying to ask him what he and Ryan had talked about. Instead, I shoved pancakes in my mouth, even though I was already full.
Thank goodness, Jason didn’t torture me too much.
“Ryan is at the site right now,” he said. “The supervisor estimated that to make up for what they lost, Ryan and the rest of the crew will have to work until sunset every day, including weekends, for the next two months.”
“That sucks,” I whispered.
Mama opened the oven and checked on whatever was in there. “If only they had more helping hands.”
It was as if a lightbulb had turned on inside my head. “We can help.”
Jason stared at me. “What?”
“Look around. Our damage is nothing. We can clear the yard and fix the fence and the window in a day. Tomorrow, we can go to the Habitat for Humanity site and help them. We can take our friends, and invite our neighbors.”
“Do you have any idea how to build a house?”
“No, but I don’t need to build the entire house. I can help with little things. Besides, as far as I know, most of the people who work on these community service projects are volunteers. They also didn’t know how to build houses when they started.”
“Jess is right,” Mama said. She was now standing behind me. “We might not be able to do much, but any extra pair of hands helps.”
Jason looked from Mama to me, a little wariness in his eyes. “All right. Tell me about your plan.”
***
Ryan
I sat beside my Harley and sipped my Coke. I wanted to drink a beer, but I was too tired, and knowing I would have to be up early in the morning, I didn’t want to get a hangover. It was the first evening in six days that Noah had let us out earlier.
I planned on going to bed early, until Jason showed up at the garage.
“Hey, man,” he said.
“What are you up to?”
“Nothing much.” His expression was closed, as if something was bothering him.
“What happened?”
“Well.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I have something to show you.”
I stood. “Okay.”
“Not here. Come on.” He walked out of the garage and headed to his bike.
“Hmm, dude, I’m not going with you on that bike.”
Jason leaned against my car. “Drive, then.”
I grunted. “Does this have to be now? Today?”
“Yup.”
Letting out a lot of expletives under my breath, I grabbed my car keys and closed the garage door.
I slid in my car and turned on the ignition. “Though Officer Mike is being a little more lax because I’m working at the site until late, my curfew probably stands tonight.”
Jason looked at his cell phone. “So we have two hours. That should be enough.”
“Where to?”
“St. Anna’s Park in Columbia.”
“A park? Seriously, J-man, what do you want to show me?”
Jason stared ahead. “Just drive.”
The drive from Lexington to Columbia didn’t last long, but the tension and silence in my car bothered me.
I parked my car in a parking space across the street from the park, right behind a familiar truck. Jessica leaned against the truck, watching the basketball courts.
I glared at Jason. “What the hell?”
Without answering me, Jason slid out of my car and walked to his sister.
Swearing again, I exited my car and approached them. Jessica handed him the truck’s keys.
“He won’t leave me here,” she said to Jason. Then she looked at me. “Right?”
I just shrugged.
“Okay. My job here is done,” Jason said. He stopped by my side and clasped my shoulder. “Keep calm.”
Shit. “When you say stuff like that, I know I won’t be able to keep calm.”
He smiled and disappeared inside the truck. We watched as he drove away.
When he turned the corner and was gone, Jessica turned to me, her eyes sparkling with something like excitement. But about what?
“Come on.” She grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the park.
“What’s going on?”
“I have something to show you.”
“I just heard that from your brother and I didn’t like it all that much.”
“Ouch.” Her eyes lost the happy shine.
“Sorry,” I mumbled. “It’s just—”
“Shut up, Ryan. Don’t ruin this.”
I groaned, wanting to shout, to ask, what this was.
At the park, one of the two basketball courts was occupied. Eight guys ran around the court, fighting for the ball. The few lights posts were turned on, but soon it would be too dark to play.
In silence, we watched the game for a few moments. My patience was running out, and my frustration was building.
“So, what do you want to show me?”
“Don’t you recognize anyone playing?”
I turned my attention back to the court and searched the faces. It was hard since the guys wouldn’t stop running, and the lights from the posts created odd shadows over them. Then one guy—average height, but bulky, with short blond hair, and a limping leg—turned to us and smiled at Jessica.
My heart stopped.
No. No. No.
Eyes wide, I looked at Jessica. “What the hell?”
She smiled at me. “Isn’t it wonderful? He’s better.”
I snapped my head back to the court and watched as the guy stole the ball from another, and after a short run, passed the ball to another teammate. The teammate scored and they high-fived. In seconds, the ball was rolling again, and the guy raced after the ball as if he hadn’t been in a terrible accident almost four years ago.
After my bike smashed him, Brody Matthews had been bound to a wheelchair. Only two years older than me, he had lost the feeling and movement in his legs. Doctors told him, and me, that he probably would never walk again.
And here he was. Running with a slight limp right in front of my eyes.
“How?”
Jessica closed her second hand over mine, cradling my fingers. “He’ll tell you.”
I stole a glance at her. “Why and how did you find him?”
“I don’t know. I wanted to help you.” I pulled my hand from hers, but she held on tight. “No, hear me out,” she continued. “I don’t pity you, Ryan. I really don’t. I care about you, even if sometimes I hate you. And as any caring friend, I want to help you. When I left the site Sunday night, something nagged at me. I got home and searched online for news about the accident and I quickly found Brody’s name. I searched for him and found out he had moved from Charlotte to here to be closer to his doctor, the one that helped him with this miracle. I called him, told him how the guilt was eating you, and he agreed to meet us here.”