01. Chasing Nikki (28 page)

“I’ll do my
best to make you proud, wherever you are.  You’re a piece of my soul too, and I
will never forget you as long as I live.  Thank you, for everything.  I love
you.”

I stayed
there for several long moments, staring at the spot where her body lay, having
a hard time getting my feet to move from the spot.  I finally forced myself to
turn and walk away.

“Goodbye,
Nikki,” I whispered. 

I hurried to
my truck and drove away, fighting the urge to look back, my hands shaking
against the steering wheel.

I pulled
into the lot at the school and parked, leaning my head against my arms.  This
was too hard.

Stop
looking at the past,
her voice echoed in my mind. 
Look to the future.

Sighing, I
reached into my pocket and pulled out my cellphone, dialing a number.

“Hello?”
Coach Hardin’s voice came.

“Coach. 
This is Chase.  I’m sorry I missed all the practices and the game last week. 
Is it still okay if I keep playing?”

“Of course
it is.  You never lost your spot.  We’ve been holding it for you until you felt
you could come again.  Your mom and Grandpa both talked to me about it.”

“They did?”
I asked, surprised because no one had said anything to me.

“Yes. 
They’ve been worried about you.  We all knew you needed some time to get over
the initial shock of things.”

“Thanks,
Coach.” I felt overwhelmed.  “I’ll see you at practice this afternoon then.”

“That sounds
good to me,” he replied.  “Glad to have you back, Chase.”

I hung up,
and put the phone away, releasing a deep breath.

I got out
and headed toward the school, staring at my feet as I walked alone, not really
wanting to make eye contact with anyone.

“Hey, bro,”
Brett’s voice said, and I looked up to find him standing with Brittney, Tana,
Chad, and Wes.  “We’ve all been waiting for you.”

I couldn’t
speak as I saw my friends here, ready to support me even though they were
dealing with their own grief too.  I was going to get through this—
we
were going to get this—together.

Epilogue

Four
Years Later

The crowd
was still going wild as the television reporter pulled me off to the sideline,
shouting at me so he could be heard over the melee.

“Chase
Walker, this has to be an amazing moment for you today, not only to be playing
here in the college Fiesta Bowl in your home state of Arizona, but to also
score the winning touchdown in a very tight game.  You’ve been an amazing
quarterback for this team, and there are already many bets on you being a first
round pick for some of these scouting NFL teams.” 

He turned
and pointed up to the screaming fans in the stands. 

I looked up
to see my mom hugging her husband, Greg.  Grandpa was beaming as he wrapped his
arm around Grandma.  Brett was smiling—high fiving, Brittney, and Chad and Wes
were giving me two thumbs up.

“It’s
obvious you’re a fan favorite as well,” the reporter continued loudly.  “If you
could pick one major thing that you felt you owed your success to, what would
that thing be?”

I didn’t
hesitate in my reply.  “Chasing Nikki.”

Author’s
Note:

Death from
pulmonary embolism is a very real occurrence after injuries.  Sadly, many
injuries that are not life threatening can end in this terrible result if not
treated properly.

I
experienced this heartbreak in my own life, after my mother fell from a ladder
and broke her back.  She was in a lot of pain which made it difficult for her
move.  She spent several weeks in physical therapy, trying to overcome her
injury, but had a second bad spell.  Due to her lack of efficient movement, she
developed a blood clot and passed her first pulmonary embolism. She was placed
in the hospital and treated for her condition, but, unfortunately, the damage
was done.  She died a week later of second massive pulmonary embolism—the day
after she was released.

Hospitals
routinely try to treat for this condition after accidents, which have helped
lower the occurrence of this significantly.  However, incorrect dosages and/or
extenuating circumstances can still allow this killer to strike unexpectedly.

For more
information on pulmonary embolism, its causes, signs. symptoms, and appropriate
prevention, you can visit the Mayo Clinic’s Website at:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pulmonary-embolism/DS00429/DSECTION=prevention

If you have
recently experienced the loss of loved one, there are many grief/counseling
services available to help.  You can search the internet to find a group or
service near you.

About the
Author

Lacey
Weatherford is the bestselling author of the popular young adult paranormal
romance series, Of Witches and Warlocks.  She has always had a love of books
and wanted to become a writer ever since reading her first Nancy Drew novel at
the age of eight.

Lacey
resides in the beautiful White Mountains of Arizona.  She lives with her
wonderful husband, six children, one son-in-law, one grandbaby, dog, Sophie,
and cat, Kiki. When she’s not out supporting one of her kids at their
sporting/music events, she spends her time reading, writing, blogging, and
socializing with her readers on her social media accounts.

Visit
Lacey’s Official Website:

http://laceyweatherfordbooks.com

Follow on
Twitter:

LMWeatherford

Or Facebook:

Lacey
Jackson Weatherford