Page 76 of Tailwhip
“It was really good and fun.” I start walking toward my room that I use for my writing and notice Heath is watching me very closely. “Why are you watching me like that?”
Heath doesn’t say anything at first, thinking before he talks. “There is just a surprise in there for you, that’s all.”
I eye him suspiciously, then turn to open the door and right there are five large boxes of my books. I forgot they got delivered while I was gone. This puts a smile on my face.
I walk around my desk and pull my laptop out of my backpack along with the charger. I kneel down and duck under my little table I have by the desk, get the charger plugged in and when I start moving out from under the table, I smack the back of my head and hear my picture fall over and the glass break. “Ow, dang it–that hurt!”
I rub my head and sit in my chair. When I look over and Heath is standing in the doorway. “Ashlynn stop getting hurt please, for crying out loud!”
I let out a small laugh and turn my chair to clean up the broken glass. I pick the frame up and see a sticky on the table, with handwriting I know all too well. I grab the sticky and read it. “I just miss you!”
My eyes start to water, and I turn back to Heath. “He came to see you while you were gone. He wanted to talk to you, to apologize for everything that happened. He stayed for more than a few hours and told me everything. You know what sticks out the most that he told me?” I close my eyes and shake my head. When I open them, Heath is standing right in front of my desk. “He instantly regretted what he did. Once he told me that, Ash. I knew he was a good guy. He owned up to everything. Give me your phone so you can read what else he has been trying to tell you.”
I am quiet with Heath for a few minutes. I am still stuck on the fact that Anthony came to see me. Little does he know, I have already unsilenced my alerts for Anthony and read all his messages. “I already read them all, Heath. I read them last night.”
Heath blows out a breath, like he is relieved that I did it on my own, even though Cora gave me the nudge to go for it. “Thank goodness! You should go to the Overbear page too. I have to head out, but I will talk to you later.”
Shortly after, I hear Heath and Neha tell me bye from my living room and close the door behind them. I open up Instagram and go to the Overbear page. The first picture is of the whole team, with Anthony standing in the middle of all of them with the caption saying, “Ville is back in the game!”
I loved my messages from him, but this caption and picture makes me happier. He is back riding–where he belongs. I then go to watch a few of the newer videos, and they are from recent competitions. Anthony is more than back–it’s like he never left. He won first place in the two they have posted of him. I also see a few pictures that he is tagged in, and he is at the skatepark at Memorial Park in Colorado Springs. He came back to Colorado when he stepped away from riding.
I am sitting in my living room, holding my phone and contemplating if I should call him or send him a text message. I want to call him to hear his voice, but I am unsure of what to do, really. He dropped in on me and now it’s my turn to drop in on him. I smile to myself and say out loud, “He came to see me!”
44
Anthony
Trendsetter – Connor Price & Haviah Mighty
It’s mid-April, and we have been hitting the competition scene like crazy. We have had some back-to-back shows and some that have been spread out. I feel the way I felt when I first started riding and started on the pro circuit: pure excitement and adrenaline. The first two competitions that I was back at I won first place, like I never even left. The Overbear team keeps raking in the winnings. I couldn’t be prouder of this team.
It's been around two months since my last message to Ashlynn, and since she finally read all of them, I have gotten nothing but silence from her. My stubborn, stubborn girl! She knows that I am waiting for her. I want to hear her voice and see her face. I have looked again on her Instagram page and the most recent post is one of her sitting on the floor with stacks of her books surrounding her, and she has the biggest smile on her face. It brings a smile to my face to see how happy she is and how much she is succeeding with what she is passionate about. It crosses my mind that maybe she is happy without me being in her life. I don’t want to believe that, though.
I have a competition to head out to in a week with Noah for park. I was asked if I would be an announcer for it. This puts me into a bind, since I also have Mateo doing his first dirt competition out in Frisco at a new bike park that is dirt. I have no choice but to ask Nash if he would go out with Mateo to that one, while Noah and I head out to Chenga in Brook Park, Ohio.
After figuring out these competitions, I head down into the kitchen, and without thinking, I open the freezer and grab a pint of ice cream. Just then, the back door opens with Nash and Chase walking in. “Hey, what’s up, guys? Nash, I have a huge favor to ask you.”
Nash takes a seat at the island. “What’s up?”
“I need you to go out to Frisco, Colorado with Mateo for his dirt competition. It is the same weekend that Noah and I are heading to Chenga.”
Nash is giving me a weird look and says, “First, why are you asking me? I don’t ride dirt. Shouldn’t Clay and Grady go with him? Second, why are you eating your ice cream like that?”
I am confused at the problem with how I am eating my ice cream, until I look down and see what I have done without even thinking about it. “It’s cookie dough ice cream. I like to save those pieces and eat them last.” I secretly smile to myself, thinking about my girl and her habit. “Second, Clay and Grady are heading back home. Their mom is sick, and they don’t know what is wrong with her. So, we don’t know how long they will be gone for.”
Nash and Chase are both surprised about Clay and Grady. I just got the news late last night, so I haven’t had the chance to tell anyone yet, but now they know.
After the talk with Chase and Nash, everything is set and good to go. Chase heads out to go to the airport to head home for a while before the Santa Cruz competition, where he will be meeting all of us. Once Chase is gone, Nash turns to me. “What’s the real reason you don’t want to go with Mateo to Frisco? Ashlynn is there?”
Dammit, Nash knows me too well. “I do want to go to Frisco, but I haven’t heard from her in two months since she finally read all my messages. I don’t know what to think about anything. So, I figured it would be best if I didn’t go because I know I wouldn’t be able to stay away from her.”
Nash leans back and crosses his arms. “What if that is what she is waiting for you to go to her? The only way you are going to get over this mountain is by climbing to the other side.”
I nod my head because I know he is right, but I want us to both come together. “I know you’re right, but I guess maybe I am holding onto hope that she will come to the competition in Santa Cruz. She knows Mateo is riding and that it is his first big dirt competition. I would understand if she doesn’t watch me, but I also want her, too.”
Mateo hasn’t told me, but I know he and Ashlynn have talked from time to time. “Would you care if Mateo and I stop by and see her?” Nash asks me.
“No, man I wouldn’t care. I think she would be happy to see you both.” After we finish talking, we head outside and ride around the ramps for a few hours.