Once in a Lifetime

Once in a Lifetime

Copyright 2017 Caila Olsen

Published by Caila Olsen at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition License Notes

Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 – Riley

Chapter 2 – Riley

Chapter 3 – Riley

Chapter 4 – Riley

Chapter 5 – Aden

Chapter 6 – Riley

Chapter 7 – Aden

Chapter 8 – Riley

Chapter 9 – Aden

Chapter 10 – Riley

Chapter 11 – Aden

Chapter 12 – Riley

Chapter 13 – Aden

Chapter 14 – Riley

Chapter 15 – Riley

Chapter 16 – Aden

Chapter 17 – Riley

Chapter 18 – Aden

Chapter 19 – Riley

Chapter 20 – Aden

Chapter 21 – Riley

Chapter 22 – Aden

Chapter 23 – Aden

Chapter 24 – Riley

Chapter 25 – Riley

Chapter 1

RILEY

I wake up to a rhythmic, steady beep. My eyes require a second to adjust to the blinding light coming through the window. Something is not right. That is not the wide window with the elongated white drapes swaying in the summer breeze I am used to. No, these are different. They look bare and impersonal. My heart sinks as I realize where I am. Everything was so perfect just a few days ago.

Good morning Riley, Nurse Daisy greets me as she comes through the hospital room door. She comes over and places water on the night table next to my bed. Next, she switches out the old bandages that cover the stitches on my head. I wince even though she does it with the gentlest of touch. It still is tender.

How’s Aden doing? He is all I can think about since the accident. It’s unbearable not being able to be by his side. I want to be with him every second. I want to be the first person he sees when he wakes up.

No signs of any activity yet. A specialist is coming tomorrow to do more tests to see if there is anything they can do, Nurse Daisy tells me. She walks over to the other side of my bed and throws away the old gauze into the metal trash can.

Are they any good? Do you think they can actually help? I ask.

They have been working on these kinds of incidents for several years. They specialize in the brain and injuries to it, She explains to me.

When can I see him? It’s been 3 days not seeing him. It worries me to not know when he will wake up.

I spoke with Dr. Patrick this morning and he feels that Aden should be stable enough now to have select visitors, Nurse Daisy says.

Thank goodness! I have so much to say to him.

Nurse Daisy assists me into my wheelchair. I feel so useless not being able to walk. A few months of physical therapy should get me up and walking. I will try to work hard, who knows? Maybe I can recover in less time. I hate feeling helpless.

Nurse Daisy turns the corner into a small bare room. My heart races at the sight of him and my eyes brim with tears. I can’t help myself. That whole night comes flashing back. It’s almost too much to handle.

I wheel over to his side. His once lively gray blue eyes now stare blankly into space. Unconscious and cold. There are black bruises along his sharp jaw bone and stitches sewn up to close the gashes in his head. I close my eyes and open them again. This must be a bad dream! The image doesn’t go away.

Can he hear us? I ask, looking back at Nurse Daisy.

The doctors can’t tell for sure right now until further tests can be done, but there is no harm in talking to him, she says, I will leave you two alone.

Nurse Daisy exits the room. Everything is silent except the beeping of the monitors. I reach out and clutch his hand, hoping for him to grab hold of mine too and tell me everything will be all right. Instead, it just lies there motionless. I am sorry Aden, I whisper, I need you to pull through for me. I can’t imagine you not being here.

I just lay there with my head on his chest and feel his lungs expand and contract as he breathes. I close my eyes and replay every moment with Aden in my head.

Chapter 2

RILEY

Good morning students of North High, the results for your senior prom are in! the morning announcements blare through the intercom speakers. Drum rollllll….. and the theme is………..A Starry Night!

An applause breaks out in our senior homeroom. This will be the perfect end to our senior year. Ace all classes, check! Get accepted into Stanford, check! Valedictorian, check! And my all-time best friend since kindergarten is going to the same university as me and we will be roommates!!! It can’t get any better than this.

EEEP! I just got a text from Ethan Bradley asking me to prom! Sam squeals. Ethan is one of the football players at North High. Sam and Ethan have been hanging out for the past couple months. Nothing serious, just friends. I could tell that Sam was hoping it would turn into a more than just friend’s relationship.

OMYGOSH! Sam! I knew it. I see that look he gives you every time he looks at you. This calls for celebration! I say, sharing the same enthusiasm as Sam.

Not so fast missy, I heard rumors that his friend Aden was going to ask a certain someone to prom, she says as she points a finger in my direction.

Aden has hung out with us a few times when Sam and Ethan are together. I have had a HUGE crush on him since he moved here in 5th grade. I’ve dreamed about him asking me, but that’s all it is, a dream. Aden would never ask such a dork like me to prom. He and his girlfriend Lisa have been on and off again all year. I am sure they will make up by the time prom rolls around.

No way! Last I heard was that he and Lisa were back together, I say not believing her. I grab my pencil and start jotting down a reminder for myself about our final exam date.

Well, I happen to have an inside source, Sam declares, And that inside source would never lie. We would be like the couples of prom. There would only be one problem though…

What would that be? That Aden hasn’t actually asked me out or will ever ask me? I set down my pencil and roll my eyes at her.

No, I am certain he will, and when he does…only one of us can be prom queen you know. If you win, I may have to rip that crown off your head! Sam teases. We both giggle.

It’s all yours, I say in defeat.

When we were little, our moms had put us both in some pageant. It was the first and last one we would ever be in. That was where I met Sam for the first time. It was down to her and I. Both she and I have been competitive since we can remember so we gave this pageant all we had. We twirled our batons and flashed the judges our darling little smiles. Now it was down to the two of us. We stood next to each other smiling and waiting for the judges to come up and crown the winner. It seemed like a very long time, but then finally they announced, Riley Warren! One of the mature pageant girls came out on stage and placed that exquisite sparkly crown on my head. It was so huge, it barely fit on my little head. I won! I can’t believe I won! This was a great accomplishment for little me.

Little miss Sam was not happy with that. She wanted that crown and when Sam wants something, she will get it. So what does she do? She rips it out of my perfectly curled hair and put it on hers. I was devastated! How dare she! I won that crown fair and square.

I start crying and take it back, and then she starts crying! It wasn’t pretty, but in the end our moms made us apologize and make up. Somehow we became the best of friends that day. It’s funny how friendship works.

Ring ring ring. The first period bell rang. See ya lunch period! Sam says as she grabs her Betsy Johnson bag from the desk and makes her way out of the classroom door.

I gather my stuff too and make my way down the hallway. Just as I turn the corner, clumsy me kicks in at the worst time ever to be clumsy. I feel my body crash into another. All my books and papers fly everywhere and crash! I end up on the ground looking up at the ceiling. The figure I bump into comes into view and holds out their hand to mine to help me up. As I regain my vision, I see who it is. His perfect sandy blonde hair combed to perfection, those beautiful gray blue eyes you could get lost in all day, that athletic, solid body and the smell of musk cologne. It could be non-other than Aden. Aden Hansen.

I am so sorry! Aden exclaims as he reaches his hand out to help me up. I take hold of it and bring myself back up on my feet. My cheeks are probably the color of tomatoes right now! I hope he doesn’t notice. Maybe it will do me a favor and add color to my washed out face. A subtle glow, maybe? Who am I kidding, I am a mess! I hope my hair still looks okay.

Thanks, I say shyly. I know I have hung out around him before, but I get like this every single time. I forget how to talk and my heart feels like it is in one of those horse races speeding up to a million miles per minute. He probably thinks I am a dork. I try so hard to act normal, but that is never the case. I always end up making a fool out of myself.

It was totally my fault. I shouldn’t have been walking right there, He laughs, showing his perfect white teeth. Let me make it up to you. Prom?

Is this really happening right now? Aden is for real asking me to prom?! Somebody pinch me! What should I say? Say yes! But I shouldn’t sound too excited right? Play it cool Riley. Um, the only sound that comes out of my mouth. Really?! Just say yes already. Sure I would love to go to prom with you, I finally spit out, But I think that fall was my fault, I smile, My mind was somewhere else and I wasn’t paying attention to where I was walking.

I don’t think it matters whose fault it was. All that matters is me and you dancing the night away. To be honest, I think I am the real winner here. I get to take you, Riley Warren, the most beautiful, intelligent girl in the whole school to prom. He winks as he hands me the rest of my fallen papers. Pick you up at 7.

And that, my friends, was the start of it all.

Chapter 3

RILEY

It’s been about a week since graduation. The feeling of being done is incredible, but kind of daunting at the same time. It’s kind of like when you finish a book. That book made you laugh and cry and fill you with different emotions as you read chapter after chapter. There are twists and turns along the way, and by the end, you feel so delighted. Maybe the princess got the prince or the savior conquers another quest. It makes you feel good, but at the same time, it can be sad because it’s over. Time to move on to the next book. It’s exciting to start a new book and see what adventures it will take you on. It can be a little daunting to start from the beginning again, but you know it will be worth it in the end. There is a whole new world I