18 Hours To Us

by Krista Noorman

  Lexi acted as if she hadn’t heard them and continued to drag Natalie through the restaurant, past the other patrons, and through the french doors that opened onto the patio.

  The rain was coming down in sheets and soaked the girls within seconds. Natalie began to shake as lightning illuminated the sky.

  “Lexi, please!” she cried.

  “Let her go!” Trinity called from the patio doors.

  “Lexi, come on!” Olivia yelled after them.

  Still Lexi walked, down the steps to the beach, dragging Natalie along.

  The thunder boomed and shook Natalie to her core. She tripped and fell onto the sand. Lexi pulled on her arm, trying to get her to stand.

  “Get up!”

  “Where are you taking me?” She was breathing heavily from the struggle, and her head was starting to pound.

  “We’re going for a swim, like when we were kids. And I know how much you love thunderstorms.”

  “Please stop,” Natalie begged.

  “I thought we’d relive the best days of our friendship. Remember how we’d swim for hours in Gun Lake until our fingers were all pruned up. Remember your mom always called us her little fishies.” Lexi stopped speaking then, her gaze connecting with Natalie’s.

  Natalie stared up at her. The memory of her mother calling them that rushed back.

  Lexi finally dropped her arm and continued on toward the water. “You’re not the only one who lost a mom, you know?” Lexi shouted as she neared the turbulent waters.

  Natalie could see she was crying and ran after her, pushing aside her fear of the storm. “Lexi, you can’t go in the water right now. Not with all this lightning. The waves are too big. It’s too dangerous!” She moved faster toward her. “I’m sorry you lost your mom. I loved her too.”

  “I’m not talking about my mom!” She was nearing the water’s edge.

  “Stop! Lexi, stop!” Natalie caught up to her and grabbed hold of her arms, yanking her away from the water.

  “You always take everything from me!” Lexi screamed and spun toward her. “I can’t take it anymore!”

  “So, you’re just going to drown yourself?” Natalie cried over another boom of thunder.

  “It’s better than the alternative.”

  “Better than life?”

  Lexi broke down then, and Natalie was able to lead her farther up onto the beach, where she collapsed onto her knees.

  Natalie sat down in the sand next to her. “Come on, Lex. Talk to me.”

  “Your mom was like a mother to me,” Lexi whimpered. “Especially after my mom died. She was there, loving me like I was her own daughter. And then she betrayed us, and I didn’t think I could ever look at her the same way again.”

  “Betrayed us?”

  “When she slept with my dad.”

  Natalie’s mouth dropped along with her stomach. “Your dad?”

  Lexi’s brow furrowed. “You didn’t know?”

  Natalie could only shake her head in response. He was the man her mom had cheated with? No wonder Dad had been so upset. Lexi’s dad was one of his closest friends.

  “Things were just different after that,” Lexi explained. “It was too hard to be around you, knowing what had happened between our parents, so I quit gymnastics and stayed away. I never planned to stay away forever, though. I needed time to figure stuff out. But then your mom left, and I was so angry and hurt and confused. I was just as devastated as you were, and I needed you, but you weren’t around anymore. Your whole life became about gymnastics.”

  “Gymnastics helped me get through her leaving.”

  “You hid away at that gym so you wouldn’t have to deal with her not being home anymore. And I felt abandoned—by your mom and by you.

  Natalie’s heart broke. “You never told me any of that.”

  “I didn’t know how.”

  If she had, things might have turned out very differently. “So instead, you and your friends tortured me?”

  “I wanted you to hurt like I was hurting.” Lexi stared down and grabbed a handful of wet sand, letting it fall in a clump by her knees.

  “Lex.”

  “I chose Colton because of you, ya know.” Lexi still wouldn’t make eye contact with Natalie.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, you’ve liked him since we were six, and I thought it would hurt the most if I got the guy you always wanted. Looks like the joke’s on me. You still get the guy, and I’m left alone again.”

  “You’re not alone, Lexi. I meant what I said the other day. I never stopped caring about you and missing our friendship.”

  Lexi looked at her then. “You’re just saying that.”

  “No, I’m not.” Natalie pulled her into an embrace, tears burning her eyes. Lexi didn’t make a move to reciprocate the hug at first, but still she held on.

  Several minutes passed before Lexi finally tightened her arms around Natalie. “I’m really sorry, Natty.” Her voice cracked with emotion.

  Natalie’s heart filled with happiness to hear Lexi call her that again.

  “I know you could never forgive me for all the horrific things I’ve done, but I am sorry.”

  Natalie let go and looked her in the eyes. “You were hurting, and I didn’t know it. Of course, I forgive you.”

  “But … how could you?”

  “Because I still remember the old Lexi. The one who spent every waking moment at our house. The one who was like the sister I always wanted. And I believe you’re still that girl deep down.”

  “I want to be.”

  Natalie smiled at her.

  Lexi smiled weakly then lowered her head. “I did love Colton, you know. I didn’t mean to fall for Grant. I didn’t mean for things to go as far with him as they did, but Colton’s been distant for months, and I could feel him pulling away. I don’t know if he’ll ever be able to forgive us.”

  “I think he will. In time.”

  “Natalie!” Olivia and Trinity stood just inside the patio doors, waving their arms, waiting.

  “We should go in.” Natalie stood and held her hand out to Lexi.

  Lexi took it and stood. “Hey … it’s still storming and you don’t seem scared anymore.”

  Natalie glanced up at the sky. It was the strangest thing. The thunder was still cracking. The lightning was still flashing. But she was no longer shaking. All she felt was a sense of relief. “Weird.”

  “Natalie!” Olivia and Trinity cried again.

  Natalie and Lexi began to walk toward the restaurant. “Will you come back to our room and have some cake for my birthday?”

  Lexi’s eyes filled with tears again. “I’d like that.” She looked down at herself. “I might need to change first.”

  Natalie looked at her own dress, soaked through and covered in sand. “Me too.”

  27

  Eighteen Hours

  Bright morning light filled the room and roused Natalie from her slumber. She glanced over her shoulder at Lexi, who had fallen asleep in their room last night after many hours of talking and eating cake. Having Lexi there with them was strange at first, considering it had been six years since any of them had been friends with her. Olivia and Trinity hadn’t seemed convinced by Lexi’s sudden change of heart. Who could blame them after all Natalie had suffered because of her?

  After an hour of awkward small talk had passed, the conversation shifted to more difficult topics—the betrayal by Natalie’s mom and the bullying. Natalie hadn’t meant for the past to come up again after their conversation on the beach. Things felt settled to her. She felt closure there. But it had been Lexi who wanted to clear the air. And the more they all talked—the more Lexi admitted to her wrongdoings and apologized—the clearer it became that she was truly sorry.

  Looking at their situation from the outside, one might’ve wondered how on earth Natalie could forgive Lexi. But sitting in the middle of that storm, she saw Lexi for who she was—a brokenhearted girl who had lost not only one mom but two, who
felt abandoned by her best friend, who struck out at others to mask the pain she had never dealt with. And in that moment, forgiveness had been a simple decision, one Natalie knew in her heart was the right choice. After all, God had forgiven her for all the stupid things she had done in her life, including all the lies she had told on this trip. Forgiving Lexi seemed infinitesimal in light of that.

  The clock read 6:30 a.m. when Natalie rolled out of bed. One last morning on the balcony. She stepped out with her phone in hand, hoping to see a message from Colton, but there was nothing. Opening the camera roll on her phone, she scrolled through pictures from the week, stopping on the ones of her and Colton together. She scrolled back to the road trip and stared at the picture she had secretly taken of Colton walking along the path at Brandywine Falls. Her heart ached.

  In a matter of hours, she would leave with her bags packed and loaded onto the bus, and Colton would go back on his own. Not knowing where they stood unnerved her almost as much as storms usually did.

  Natalie leaned against the railing and admired the warm glow of sunrise, thankful the bad weather had finally pushed through during the night and made way for a beautiful, cloudless sky. If only she could see the hope of a brand new day so clearly, but a dark cloud of uncertainty obstructed her view.

  She stayed outside for a long time, thinking, going over everything that had happened, until she heard her friends moving within. It was time to get ready, have a little breakfast, then pack for the trip home. She glimpsed her phone once more before returning to the room, willing a text to appear. Nada.

  Lexi was sitting on the end of Natalie’s bed when she entered. She was checking her phone too, but unlike Natalie, she was smiling.

  “Is it Grant?” Natalie asked.

  Lexi nodded, unable to contain her happiness.

  “I’m happy for you.” Natalie rifled through her suitcase for something comfortable to wear for the trip home.

  “Natalie.”

  She looked over at Lexi.

  “I’m glad we talked.” Lexi pressed her lips together and looked like she was holding back tears again. There had been plenty of those during the talk last night.

  “So am I,” Natalie replied.

  “All of us.” Lexi looked at Olivia then Trinity.

  Trinity sat up and stretched her arms above her head. “Me too.”

  “Me three,” Olivia added.

  “I still feel so bad about everything, though.” Lexi lowered her head sadly.

  Olivia and Trinity moved to sit next to her on the bed and put their arms around her. Natalie climbed up behind them and wrapped her arms around the bunch, resting her chin on Lexi’s shoulder.

  “Like we said last night,” Natalie said. “It’s all in the past.”

  Lexi shook her head in disbelief. “I don’t know what I did to deserve your forgiveness or your friendship, but I’ll take it.”

  “You’ve got it,” Natalie replied.

  After breakfast, the girls parted ways and returned to their rooms to pack their things, just making it out by the checkout time of eleven o’clock. They walked out onto the sidewalk with rolling suitcases, juggling bags in their arms and over their shoulders, on their way to the buses.

  “Natalie!”

  She closed her eyes and smiled at the sound of Colton’s voice. A rush of happiness spread through her as she turned to see him jogging toward them.

  “Can we talk before you go?” he asked.

  “Of course.” She turned to the girls. “I’ll catch up with you.”

  Olivia and Trinity both smiled at her knowingly as they left.

  “I didn’t know if I’d hear from you today or not.” Her gaze followed her friends across the parking lot to the bus.

  “I just needed a little time to process things. It was kind of a shock.”

  “Yeah, I know.” She set her bags down. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you when I found out.”

  “You were right,” he replied. “It should’ve been them to tell me.”

  “Did you talk to them yet?” she asked.

  “I confronted Grant last night. He admitted it.” Colton shook his head. “He said he’s in love with her.”

  “She’s in love with him too.”

  Colton’s mouth formed into an O. “Did she tell you that?”

  “Not in so many words, but yeah. I’m pretty sure she feels the same.”

  “I’m more upset about the betrayal than anything, but I don’t think I really have the right to be mad about it. I did the same thing. With you.” He gave her a little smile.

  “Well … not exactly the same thing.”

  He chuckled. “Hey, if they want to be together, great. They deserve each other. But the way they went about it was wrong.”

  “Actually, Lexi and I had a little breakthrough last night after you left.”

  “Really?”

  “We kind of cleared the air. About a lot of things. And I think we might actually be friends again.”

  “Wow!” His eyes widened. “That’s unexpected. But it’s a good thing, right?”

  She nodded. “You should really talk to her. She feels pretty bad about how things went down.”

  “I will.” He reached out and touched her arm. “But not today.”

  The nerve endings in Natalie’s arm sent a tingling sensation over her skin.

  His eyes met hers. “Today, I want to talk to you.”

  “What about?” She acted coy.

  “I never got to give you your birthday gift.”

  Natalie smiled. “Oh, right.”

  He retrieved a small rectangular package with a tiny pink bow from behind his back. “Happy birthday, Natalie.”

  Nerves settled in her stomach as she peeled back the wrapping paper and opened the box within to reveal a white gold bracelet with several charms attached.

  “May I?” Colton lifted the bracelet from the box and unhooked the clasp.

  Goosebumps spread over her skin as his fingertips gently took her arm and lifted her wrist, wrapping the bracelet around and clasping it securely. He held her wrist in his hand and lifted one of the charms—a tiny green tent. “To remember our trip.”

  She smiled at that and reached for the bracelet, turning it to see the other charms—the silhouette of a gymnast, a football, an ice cream cone, a banjo, a tiny yellow sports car.

  She eyed the next charm. “A clown hat?” She raised her eyebrows at him.

  He shrugged. “It was the closest thing I could find to a ventriloquist dummy.”

  Natalie laughed loudly. “That’s not the same thing at all.”

  “I’ll take it back then.”

  She swatted his hand away when he reached for it. “You’ll just have to take me to the circus.”

  “Clowns don’t creep you out?”

  “Not really.” She turned the bracelet some more and saw a silver bolt of lightning. Her eyes met his. “I love it. Thank you.”

  Colton took her hands in his. “I have to say something. And I need you to hear me out before you say anything.”

  “All right,” she replied.

  “Remember what I said at the campground? ‘What if our accident was no accident?’”

  She nodded.

  “I was stopped at that intersection on Saturday. Completely stopped. The sun wasn’t in my eyes. I saw your car coming, and I had no intention of pulling out in front of you. At all. My foot was firmly on that brake.”

  Natalie’s forehead creased in confusion.

  “But then something happened. Something strange that I still can’t quite explain.” He shook his head a little. “My car started moving forward. Like, I was stepping on the brake, but it was still going. So I gunned it, because if I hadn’t, you probably would’ve crashed right into the side of my car, and maybe we’d both be dead right now.”

  Natalie’s eyes widened, and her heart rate picked up.

  “Before I left the house that morning, I was sitting alone in my room, not sure if I wanted to g
o at all. I was confused and kind of annoyed about life, and I did something I never do … I prayed.

  “I haven’t prayed since I was a little kid at Neil’s church. Ever since Chris, I’ve been going through life in a daze, just doing whatever I wanted, whatever made me feel good, trying to ignore the pain, trying to ignore this little voice in my head that kept telling me to turn away from all that stuff.

  “Something changed in me the day I went back to that church six months ago. I knew it. I felt it. And I’ve been fighting it ever since. Until the morning of the accident. That’s when I told God that I believe in Him and I trust Him, and I asked Him for three things.

  “First, that I would find the right time to end my relationship with Lexi. Second, that He would show me very clearly the path I’m meant to take in this life and give me the strength to take it, even if that means going against my dad. And then I asked for someone to travel that path with.

  “Like I told you, Lexi and I have been over for a while. I just didn’t know how to end it. So I’m kinda relieved she and Grant want to be together, because I really didn’t want to hurt her. And now I feel like we can all move on.

  “All of the things we talked about—the mission trip, me going to college for something other than what my dad wants, making my own path rather than following in his footsteps—everything you said to me just confirmed that it’s what I’m supposed to do. I looked up Sports Medicine degrees at MSU. They’re under the Kinesiology Department.” He winked at her.

  “So we’ll be studying the same thing.” She smiled at him.

  “I never would’ve decided to go for it without your advice.”

  Colton reached into his pocket, revealing another charm—a small pink heart—and attached it to the bracelet.

  His eyes told Natalie exactly what he was going to say before he said the words. He leaned forward until his forehead was touching hers.

  “You’re the one, Natalie,” he said. “My answer to prayer. Although, I had no idea when I prayed about traveling life’s path that we would literally go on a trip together.”

  Natalie let out a little laugh and leaned back to look up at him.