Chapter 1
On the last day of our graduation trip, altitude sickness hit me.
The three friends I'd grown up with left me alone at the mountain lodge for the sake of the transfer student.
Before he went, Ethan Rowe pushed the oxygen tank into my hands with a frown.
"Brooke, Summer hasn't had many friends since she transferred. All she wants is to see the peaks turn gold once.
"Don't make everybody sit in a room because you don't feel good."
Two hours later, the valve on the tank failed.
My chest kept tightening, so I called them six times.
The fifth call got cut off.
Nobody picked up the sixth.
By the time the lodge owner forced the door open, I was on the floor.
The ambulance was headed for the county hospital, and I had an oxygen mask on when a reminder came up on my phone.
[College application deadline in 17 minutes.]
My first choice still listed the school that the four of us had promised each other for twelve years.
I deleted it and typed in Seaside University.
Two words came up on the screen.
[Submitted successfully.]
Outside the window, the sun was rising behind the snow-capped peaks.
They probably saw it.
That was good.
I'd caught my own sunrise, too.
*****
By the time the ambulance reached the hospital, I didn't have the strength left to sit up.
The nurse asked twice. "Where's your family? Who came on this trip with you?"
I took off my oxygen mask and gasped for air. "No family. I came with classmates. They're still up on the mountain."
The nurse looked upset and turned to call the doctor.
Half an hour later, Ethan and the others finally arrived.
The hospital room door burst open with a loud bang.
Ethan rushed in first, his hair wild from the wind, his face white as a sheet.
Ryan Hayes was right behind him, still holding the broken tank.
Jason Monroe had his camera on his shoulder and hadn't even gotten the lens cap on.
Summer Shaw came in last, and the second she was through the door, she started crying.
"Brooke, I'm so sorry. I never thought it would get this bad. I wanted to see the sunrise so much. If I'd told them to go back sooner, you wouldn't be lying here."
Ethan hesitated for a moment, then walked over to the bed.
"Why didn't you answer when you were awake? The owner called me, and I nearly died. If the altitude was hitting you that hard, why didn't you go down to the front desk?"
I looked at him.
"I called you six times."
His face went stiff.
Jason fumbled for his phone. "The signal up there was terrible. We were shooting the whole time, and our phones were in our bags."
"The fifth call went through," I said.
The room went quiet.
Ethan instinctively reached for his pocket.
I continued, "It connected for three seconds, then you hung up."
Summer bit her lip.
Ethan quickly said, "The viewpoint was packed. I was holding my camera and tripod, so I might've accidentally hung up.
"Brooke, we didn't take care of you and that's on us. But don't make it bigger than it is. The doctor said you got here in time. Two days of rest and you're fine."
The doctor standing by the door suddenly looked up.
"Who told you two days of rest would cover it?"
He looked over the test results, his face turning cold.
"She got over a lung infection a month ago. Her doctor wrote it out clearly. No high altitude for the time being.
"She'd had chest tightness and headaches from ten thousand feet on, and you left her in a room alone. The oxygen failed. If she'd come in any later, who was going to answer for that?"
Ryan's face went pale.
The doctor set the file down on the table. "Did any of you read her workup from before the trip?"
No one said a word.
I looked at Ryan.
His fingers clenched tightly.
He was the one who picked up that report for me.
The day before we left, he'd held it out and told me, "Doctors always write it conservative.
"Half the tourists in the Westmount Highlands go up and come back fine. If you feel bad, tell me. I'll be right next to you the whole time."
I closed my eyes.
A nurse came in with the intake forms. "Who's your emergency contact?"
Every time I filled out a school form, Ethan was always my emergency contact.
Our families lived right across the hall from each other.
With my mom always away on engineering projects, Ethan got used to picking up calls from my teachers ever since middle school.
The nurse handed me the pen.
This time, I wrote my homeroom teacher's name instead.
Ethan stood by the bed, his face growing darker.
"Brooke, what's that supposed to mean?" Ethan asked.
I handed the form to the nurse.
"She lives close to the hospital. It's easier."
He stared at that line for a long time.
Summer started crying harder.
"Ethan, don't blame her. She's still angry with us, and that's on me. You all came out to watch the sunrise with me and she got left behind."
Ethan turned and put a hand on her shoulder. "Alright, don't take everything on yourself.
"We all decided on the route together. No one thought her condition would get this bad," Ethan added.
I turned away from them and gazed out the window.
The far peaks were bright with morning on them.
My phone lay quiet on the pillow.
The application system had already closed.