Snapshot (18 page)

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“Go! Go! Go!” Adam’s friends chanted the next day.
 

“You can do it, baby!” Adam encouraged Marti who looked terrified, but sexy as hell, in her bikini. They were both flying high since they had sex last night. He’d never experienced such euphoria in his life.

She gripped the rope, jumped in the air and screamed as she sailed past the rocky drop off and out over the lake. She let go and splashed into the water.

She popped up. “Oh my god! That was a riot!”
 

Adam grinned, proud of his beautiful, gutsy girlfriend.
 

“Come on Rock Star, show us what you’ve got. Or can’t you perform without a sold out stadium?” she taunted.

“Harsh,” Kyle said with a laugh.

“Wish I would have thought of that one,” Justin said from his spot with the others near the cliff’s edge that dropped about ten feet. Kyle and Kayla knew about this place—which was on private property—from a previous year’s camp.

The rest of his friends watched. They had all taken their turn to swing over the edge and past the rocky shoreline below. The bottom dropped off to deep water another couple feet from there.

“You better be able to swim fast, ‘cause you’re going down.” Adam hauled the rope up the hill.

“Ooh, I’m so scared,” she called, treading water.

“Kyle, would you hold this for a sec.”

Kyle took the thick rope, and Adam disappeared around the side of the old shed. He found a woodpile to climb and then hoisted himself onto the roof.

“Nice. Wish I’d thought of that.” Kyle swung the rope up to him.

The added height churned the nerves in his gut, but he knew the water was deep with no protruding rocks. They explored it before trespassing onto this absent cabin owner’s property.
 

“Adam, you’re crazy. That’s too high. You could break your neck,” Haley said, biting at her thumbnail.

“Piece of cake.”

“Look at who’s the big man now,” Marti taunted.

Adam gripped the rope and jumped. He sailed out over the lake more free and alive than he’d ever felt. Instead of letting go and dropping into the drink like everyone expected, he hung on for a second swing out.

“Let go!” Brooke yelled.

He shot them a smug look as the pendulum he rode swung back toward shore.

“Show off!” Marti called from the water.

He reveled in the warm air as he flew like Tarzan. As he approached the cliff, a huge crack sounded. The rope lurched lower. The branch of the tree broke and he dropped like a shot.

Panic struck.

He was falling.

Everything moved in slow motion.

Girlish screams filled the air. He hoped his voice wasn’t one of them.

The safety of the water was far away. Against all instincts, he released the useless rope. His arms flailed as he tried to control his fall.
 

The wall came at him fast. He tried to brace himself mentally and physically.

His body smashed into the side of the rock drop off. His shoulder and hip took the brunt of the impact.

He fell, scraping against the jagged side, leaving skin behind as a mark he’d been there.
 

The impact of each protruding section of stone jolted him. His body fell like a ragdoll.

In an attempt to break his fall, he held out his arms.
 

His left hand hit first, he heard a snap. His body crushed against it.
 

He slid off the boulder, and lay in a heap.
 

Chapter 10

“Adam!” He heard his name screamed over and over.
 

Stunned, he couldn’t quite answer. His face was pressed against the gritty boulder. He attempted to move, but a jolt of pain shot through his pinned left arm, so he decided against it. He took a breath. His shoulder was jammed between the rocks.

“Adam, please talk to me!” Marti screamed for him, her voice growing near.

“I’m okay,” he said with a shaky breath convincing himself more than anything.
 

His adrenalin pumped, and he began to panic. Was he okay? He needed to calm down. He managed a deep breath.
Better
. He’d hit so hard he felt useless to even try to move. He rested a second, afraid to find out how badly he’d been hurt.

He lay on his left side, his arm under him. The angle prevented him from getting up. His right arm was free and uninjured. He moved his feet and legs. They seemed fine. He sighed in relief.

The others were shouting, but it sounded distant in his freaked-out brain. He took another breath. He slowly shifted to a sitting position among the rocks. He tried to use his left hand to push himself up. Searing pain shot up his arm and into his shoulder. He doubled over.
 

Shit
.
 

Something was seriously wrong with his left arm. He used his right hand and carefully lifted his wrist and cradled it. Throbbing pain pounded from the area of injury. His hip ached like a son-of-bitch. He knew he needed a lot more than a Band-Aid and an ice pack.
 

Fuck!

One glance at his arm, and he knew it would be quite a while before he could hold a guitar. He leaned his head back and glanced skyward. Life had been so perfect, and now he royally screwed it up. He swore again.
 

He was a dead man. His dad would kill him and if he didn’t, his oldest brother, Garrett, would. Could they still tour if he couldn’t play? Would they have to postpone the tour? All the hard cold realities struck him like a bucket of cold water. He hung his head. What the hell was he thinking to jump off that roof?

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Marti climbed over the rocks and boulders, scraping her legs raw to reach Adam. She could see him moving around, so at least he wasn’t dead, thank god. As she got closer, she noticed huge scrapes and blood on his side, shoulder and legs.

“Are you okay?” She crouched down, trying not to drip all over him. Please let him be okay. She didn’t know what she’d do if he wasn’t.

“Looks like I’ll live.” He offered her a strained smile. It was nothing like his normal, adorable grin. Scratches and dirt covered his handsome face. He tried to get up but winced in pain. She wanted to fix it, but didn’t know how.

“Don’t move! What if you broke your back or your neck?” She reached toward him but wasn’t sure where to touch him without causing more pain. She pulled her hands away.

“I didn’t break my back. I jammed my arm against the rock pretty hard, but I think that’s it.” He sounded more annoyed than anything else, which was a good sign.

She signed in relief. “What can I do? Tell me what to do.” She needed to help and not sit by helplessly.

“If you could help pull me up, that would be great. I can’t get off these damn rocks without letting go of my arm.”

Marti spotted the other guys frantically climbing over the rocks to reach them. She gave them a thumbs-up.

“Hang on a second. The guys are almost here. They’ll be more help than I am.”

“Please tell me that Ryan doesn’t have his camera.”

She laughed. “No, he doesn’t. You’re safe for the moment.”

Justin arrived first. “Dude, you missed the whole point. You were supposed to fall
into
the water. I thought I explained that.”

Adam responded. “Fuck you. Now get me the hell up.”

“He’s fine.” Kyle grinned.

Justin reached down and held Adam’s upper arm firmly. “You tell me when you’re ready.”

“Hang on a sec.” He positioned his feet against a boulder. “Ready.”

Justin pulled him up off the rocks, holding Adam’s shoulder with his other hand.
 

Adam grimaced but found his balance while cradling his injured arm. His face screwed up in pain. “Damn, that hurts.”

Marti and Justin exchanged worried glances. He was really hurt, and not in a way that could stay hidden. Would he be able to take pictures with his injury, or play guitar? She knew they’d have to tell Tony and get him to a doctor. What if he had to leave camp. They had all broke the rules and they were all in deep, ugly shit.

“Let’s get off these rocks before some other idiot comes sailing over the side of the cliff,” Kyle said.

With the guys supporting him, Adam climbed over the rocks to the path leading back up the hill. Marti followed close behind and noticed that Adam never released his injured arm.
 

The other girls met them on the path, and they all trekked back to camp. She could see Adam grit his teeth when his arm got jostled, but he didn’t complain again. She prayed his injury wasn’t too severe.

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“Mom! No! Do not come! I’m fine.” Adam held the phone with his good arm.

“You’re in the hospital! I’m not going to sit here while you need medical attention,” his mother insisted.

“I’ll be out of here in an hour and back at camp. It’s a simple broken arm. No big deal. There’s no reason for you to make the trip from San Antonio. I’ve only got five days left of camp, and then I’m coming home anyway.” There was no way they could make him leave camp, or Marti, and they better not try. He didn’t care how badly he’d been battered and bruised, he was staying put.

“Don’t use that tone with your mother,” his dad warned.
Great, Mom put the call on speaker
. “You brought this on yourself. You know better than to act so irresponsibly. You need to start thinking about more than just yourself. What in god’s name made you act like that?”

“Dad. I wasn’t trying to break my arm. The tree branch broke.”

“Adam, I’m no fool. We both know you were trespassing on private property. That’s another issue I’ve got to deal with. Not to mention the media problem this will create.”

Adam cringed. His dad was right. He couldn’t hide his identity on medical records and someone at the hospital would likely blab. He’d already received plenty of interested looks from the x-ray technician. A lot of curious medical staff kept popping in to see if he needed another blanket, apple juice, a magazine or whatever excuse they could come up with.

“The doctor said you’ll be in a cast four to six weeks! Do you realize how many appearances and concerts that affects? This is a logistical nightmare. If I didn’t already have heart issues, this would definitely give me some.”

The old man played dirty, throwing down the heart attack card. “Dad, I’m sorry.”

His mother interrupted. “Jett, calm down, we’ll get it all sorted out.”

“Nonsense. Adam made all these commitments and now what do we do? Jamieson’s lead guitarist can’t play!”

Adam wanted to remind his dad that
he
hadn’t made any commitments! His dad made them, along with his brother, Garrett. Adam’s guilt weighed heavy.
 
He realized he screwed up the tour and basically the whole damn schedule. How could he possibly play with a broken arm? Would they keep their performance schedule or cancel. He hoped like hell they didn’t cancel, but then again, it would piss him off if they someone else played lead guitar.
 

“Adam, I’m calling the airline the second I hang up. I’ll be there tomorrow, and we’ll start getting this smoothed out,” his mother said.

“Mom, please. I
never
get a break! I’m always wherever you tell me to be. Have I ever complained once about giving up my freedom for the band?”
 

He didn’t want to whine, but she had to see it his way. “This is important to me. I’ll never get another chance to go to camp. There are only a few days left. And if I go home now, what will I do other than sit around and be miserable? Please, I’m begging you. Don’t make me come home. Let me stay.”

Silence
.

The seconds passed like minutes.

“I never knew you felt that way.” She sounded emotional. “But you’re my youngest, my baby. I know you hate it when I say that, but you’re so far away, and you’re hurt, and I love you. I worry.”

“I love you too, Mom. But I’m not a child any more. I’ve been living the life of an adult for a long time. I’ve been performing concerts for thousands of people. I’ve traveled the world. Heck, I’ve performed for the President. I’ll be okay for another few days. I promise.”

He sensed her indecision and knew he had her. While his mom was fiercely protective, she also fought to keep as much normalcy in her kids’ lives as possible. When they traveled, it was the whole family in their tour bus; no one else joined them. No managers or entourage. Just family. They stopped and had picnic lunches and played Frisbee. His mom found out-of-the-way places where they could sneak in and Go Kart or watch a demolition derby at a small county fair.