PROLOGUE
One year ago…
“Summer, are you ready to go?” Mom yells up the stairs.
“I’ll be right down, Mom!” I call back. Today is gonna be epic. Mom, Lily, Jake, and I are going skiing today. Mom booked the day off work so we could all go together. It’s Friday, but there’s an in-service today at school, and we had a fresh snowfall yesterday. The timing is perfect! I grab my jacket and run downstairs. “Lily bee,” I sing, “where are you?”
“Summer,” my sister says in exasperation. “Stop calling me that. I’m a big girl now. It’s just Lily.”
“You’re six, Lily bee. Even when you’re old and gray and wrinkly, you’ll still be my Lily bee.”
“Gross,” she wrinkles her nose.
Mom laughs. “Hey, your mom has a few wrinkles from living with you two already. Am I gross?” She asks Lily.
“No, Mom, you’re beautiful. You’re not gonna be old and wrinkly for a long time yet, right?” Lily looks a little concerned about the idea.
Mom and I both laugh at her. “Hopefully, it will be a while before I become gross, munchkin,” Mom replies with a gentle smile aimed at her.
Lily looks closer at Mom’s face, scrutinizing her for a moment, then nods to herself. “Good.”
Oh, to be six and have no filter. I help Lily bee into her ski pants and jacket. We grab our boots, hats, and gloves and walk outside to the car.
We stop and pick up my best friend and boyfriend, Jake. We’ve been best friends forever. He’s helped me through everything life has thrown at me and has been a fixture in our family since I was 5. We met in kindergarten when he pushed a boy down that was pulling my ponytail, and we’ve been inseparable ever since.
Last year things changed between us. Suddenly I started noticing how cute he was, and his touches were causing butterflies in my stomach. Luckily, the feeling was mutual, so we started dating. He lives about 15 minutes away from us.
Jake runs out of his house as we pull up. “Hi everybody. Are we ready for an epic ski day?” He says with a huge smile on his face as he gets in the backseat beside Lily.
“Yes, I’m gonna be an expert by the end of the day,” Lily states with utmost confidence.
I shake my head. It’s Lily’s first time skiing, but she’s determined to get off the bunny slope today.
“Well, I have no doubt you’ll be racing us down the big hills in no time, Lil,” Jake tells her.
We stop at a fast-food joint and grab some breakfast sandwiches before we get on the road.
Mom turns up the tunes after we finish eating. She loves rock n’ roll, and she belts out her favorite song as she drives. We all join her in singing and dancing as we make our way up the mountain.
It’s a beautiful day outside. The sun is shining, glistening like crystals on the fresh snow, as we travel up the winding roads to the ski hill.
“Man, that sun is bright today,” Mom says, adjusting her visor.
As we turn the next corner, the sun blinds us for a moment.
“Hold on!” Mom yells.
I look up, blinking away the colorful dots from my watery eyes, and see a truck coming down the mountain too fast in the opposite direction. It crosses the median and slams into Mom’s side of the car before we even complete the turn.
Lily screams as the car slides sideways towards the edge of the road. I turn my head and lock eyes with Jake. He looks as terrified as I am.
Suddenly, we’re tumbling over the edge of the mountain, the car rolling downwards. It seems like an eternity before we collide with something, and there’s a loud crunch.
Everything goes black.
Chapter 1
PRESENT DAY
