45
Ashlynn
Breaking the Broken – Sparta
I don’t know what compels me to text Anthony. After I saw the pictures and reel of Noah’s first place ride. I just wanted to send him a message and I know it’s probably not a message he wants, but I know he will like it because it’s from a song we would listen to in high school.
I still haven’t called him, and I have been wanting to. However, I have been pulled in all directions since being back from Vancouver for the book. It also looks like he has been extremely busy with back-to-back competitions. I just push it back, knowing that we will come back together when the time is right. Mainly, that time will–hopefully–be in Santa Cruz. I talked with Mateo recently and he asked me if I would still come watch him because, of course, his dad will not be coming, and he doesn’t think his brother will be there for him. So, of course, I won’t hesitate to be there to support Mateo. I will also make sure to watch Anthony ride both park and dirt.
Neha and Heath are over at my house helping me get all the books signed, packaged, and sent off. We have an assembly line going and a good rhythm. We are all just talking and laughing when my doorbell rings. We stop what we are doing, look at each other, and wonder who it could be since we are all sitting here, in my den?
Heath gets up to answer the door, and he comes back to the den, “Ash, I think you need to come see who is here.”
I start to shake, thinking it’s Anthony and my mouth gets dry. I stand up on shaky legs and walk to the front door, only, to my surprise, it is Nash and Mateo. I’m slightly disappointed that it is not Anthony, but I’m also happy to see the guys.
“What are you guys doing here? It’s so good to see you both!” I tell them while giving each of them a hug.
“We are here for a competition for Mateo, at the Frisco bike Park.” Nash tells me.
“Also, I wanted to ask you if you would come watch me.” Mateo says and looks almost shy, asking.
Out of nowhere, Neha comes up. “Heck yeah, Mateo! We will be the loudest ones cheering you on!”
Mateo just laughs at Neha and says, “Thank you.”
That night, we all have dinner at Neha's house. While we eat, Nash updates us on Clay and Grady, explaining that they had to leave to go home because their mom is sick and not doing well. All I can think is I hope she will be okay. I have heard Clay and Grady talk about their mom; she is the rock of their family. We finish up eating and just hang out for the night. As I am sitting on the couch by the fireplace, I keep checking my phone and notice Anthony saw my message, but that’s it. I guess what I sent wasn’t really anything he could respond to.
“Ashlynn, can I talk to you outside?” Nash asks me.
“Yeah, of course.” We go out and sit on the front porch and just sit for a bit without either of us talking.
Nash breaks the silence. “Ashlynn, how have you been? Be honest, please.”
I close my eyes and let out a breath in the cold air. “Honestly, I am okay. I’ve been walking around on my own again and going places. The book tour is starting soon, and things are good!”
I can see Nash shake his head out of my peripheral. “Ashlynn, it’s me. You don’t need to sugarcoat anything.”
I look over at Nash and I can feel the tingle in my nose that I get before my emotions take over; my eyes start to water, and with a heavy sigh, I let him know. “I miss him, Nash. You want to hear something crazy? I’ve been having dreams about him lately and when I wake up, I reach out for him. Only, he is never there.”
Nash puts his arm around my shoulder for a quick hug, “He misses you, too. He misses you a lot.”
I smile, hearing this. Though, I know he misses me from his messages. “Are you going to be in Santa Cruz?” Nash asks me.
“Of course, I will be there. Mateo asked if I would come. Before you ask, yes, I am going to watch Anthony ride.”
After our quick talk, we head back inside. Nash and Mateo leave but let us know what time to get to the competition in the afternoon, but not before Mateo asked if we could all have breakfast.
The next morning, I get up bright and early to make breakfast for everyone. I think Mateo is a bit nervous about today. It’s his first competition for the team–first dirt one, too. Chances are, his nerves are all over the place. I haven’t seen him ride dirt but have seen him ride park, and he is amazing at that, so I have no doubt he will be just as great! I finish up the food, just as everyone starts coming through the front door. As we sit and eat, Mateo leans over. “So, I got an interesting call this morning!”
I take a bite and look over. “Is everything okay?” I ask him.
“More than okay–my brother is coming to Santa Cruz to watch me!” Mateo says, and he is so excited about it; I can just tell by the look on his face.
“That’s really great Mateo, I am happy he decided to come!”
We finish eating and all head out to the dirt park. Mateo has been bouncing his leg up and down the whole drive over. Neha turns to me. “Is Heath meeting us up there?”
I shake my head at her. “No, he is dealing with his brother and the crap he pulled with his old job.” Neha nods her head because we don’t want to air out Heath’s brother’s issues in front of Mateo and Nash. Heath already doesn’t like knowing we know about it, but he would hate it even more if others knew as well.
As we pull up to the dirt park, I realize this is not a small competition, but a decently sized one. We stand with the guys while they check over Mateo’s bike to make sure everything is good to go. That’s when I grab my hoodie out of the back of my truck and pull it on. “Nice hoodie!” Nash says.
It’s the Overbear hoodie I kept from Anthony when they were out here for the park tour. “Hey, I need to wear an Overbear something, so people know who I am supporting. I bought a t-shirt from the Extreme Tour, but I have no clue where it is!”
Nash smiles over at me and shakes his head. “You and Anthony are hopeless! Doing things that remind yourselves of each other.”
I’m a bit puzzled. “What do you mean by that?” I ask him.
His eyes get wide, “Oh, ah shit, nothing. Just forget I said anything!”
I am a bit skeptical, but I don’t push it. Once done looking over the bike, I end up recording a quick reel with all of us and saying into the camera, “Good luck to the newest Dirt Rider with the Overbear Team, Mateo Cooper!” I quickly upload to Instagram, tagging the Overbear team and Mateo’s page.
Neha and I head up in the stands and find a good seat, so we have nothing obstructing our view of the jumps. If I had to guess, there are probably about 25 to 30 riders here. I didn’t notice what Mateo's number is for his ride today. Once it gets started, Nash makes his way over to us and we watch rider after rider go. I am sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for Mateo’s turn, when finally–lucky number 22–he is up and ready to go.
Mateo drops in, starts off with a tailwhip, to an X-Up, and to finish his first set, he ends it with a back flip 360. Back up on deck, they announce his scores, which are close to a few riders. They announce the riders who are to do a second set and Mateo is in it! He is second to start. Dropping in, he does not hold back on this set, wanting to get that first-place win. First set is a tuck no hander, second jump he does a no footed can can, and the final set he pulls a double back flip. Just as Neha told Mateo, she and I are the loudest in the crowd, cheering Mateo on. I know he can hear us too, because he has looked over at us and just shakes his head in embarrassment! Nash got both his runs recorded and the announcement of the winner. As soon as they say first place goes to the newest Dirt Rider of the Overbear team, Mateo Cooper, all three of us cheer as loud as we possibly can. Mateo has the biggest, goofiest smile on his face. He has won his first dirt competition.
Once done with his riding, we all take a picture together and I post it to my Instagram page, with a comment of “Congrats to Mateo.”
I couldn’t be prouder of him and Noah for killing it with their first competitions. Now, this makes me even more excited to see what they both do in Santa Cruz, especially Mateo, since he will be riding both dirt and park.
It’s been a few weeks since Nash and Mateo were out here, and I finally got all books signed and sent out. I have started to get packed for the next month. This will be the longest I have been away from home. I am equally excited and nervous to start the book tour, but luckily, I have Heath by my side every step of the way.
May 1st, we head down to Colorado Springs for the first stop. Neha drove us since we will be flying out of here as well to Chicago next. The line was longer than I would have expected it to be for my first book, but it makes me happy to see that people really liked my book enough to want to come meet me and have me sign their books. It takes a few hours to get through the line. Once done, we start getting our stuff together to head toward the airport, but not until I get an unexpected guess.
“Ashlynn Black, were you not going to tell your own mother about your book?”
My heart sinks when I hear my mom’s voice. Why did she come? I don’t know why she is surprised I didn’t tell her about this. It’s not like we have a relationship. I turn and look at her. “I didn’t tell you because we don’t have that type of relationship anymore. I have to go; I have a plane to catch.”
Shaking her head at me, she says, “I see you are still mad at me about that boy. I just thought I would come see you. Your book was okay–could have been better.”
She knows exactly how to push my buttons and cut me where it does hurt, saying my book could have been better. I stand up straight and look her right in the eyes. “Thanks for your feedback, but it’s not necessary because your opinion doesn’t matter. Also, I recently saw that boy and he turned out better than you could even have imagined. Goodbye, mother!”
I smirk as I walk past her and out the door, knowing that pissed her off more than anything.