Kaitlin and her family walked into their beach on a hot, sunny day in Playa Linda. She was a sixteen year-old girl who absolutely loved racing back at home. She was the bet in her division. Now, it's all over.

Kaitlin walked into her room and looked around. She set her bags down and walked near a dresser. Over the dresser was a mirror. She looked at herself in it. She had a bandage on her forehead and cuts and bruises on her arms. She placed her fore and middle fingers on the bandage. She closed her eyes and opened them again seeing that she wasn't at the beach house. She was at a race track. She was looking down at the track where the cars raced. Everything was normal. The crowd was cheering and, the racers were racing. Then, out of nowhere, she saw a car crash out of the corner of her eye.

"Ah!" Kaitlin yelled as she jumped back.

Her parents came running into the room as she began to sob. "What's wrong?" her father asked.

All that Kaitlin could do was cry as she stared into the mirror.

"Sweetie, talk to us. What's wrong?" her mother begged.

Kaitlin gulped and said quietly, "Racing."

The doorbell sounded and Kaitlin's younger sister, Lauren, went and answered it as her parents tried calming Kaitlin down.

"Mom! Dad!" Lauren called.

The two headed downstairs and saw their long time friend, Ava Gregory.

"Ava!" her mother yelled hugging her.

"Hey, Janet. Hey, George," Ava said hugging them, "How have you been? It's been a while."

"I know. The three of us are fine. How are you?" George asked.

"I'm good. My sister's three kids moved in with me in the beginning of the summer from Kansas. Their parents were killed in a flood accident. Nikki's around Lauren's age and Bradin's around Kaitlin's. Derrick is 10 almost 11. Speaking of Kaitlin, where is she?"

"You know how she loved to race?" Janet asked.

"Yes. It's all she ever talked about whenever we met when you guys were here. Why?"

"She moved into a different age group this year and got into an accident. She was in the hospital for a week. She's really upset. She almost died," Janet explained to Ava.

"Oh my. Will she be okay to come to dinner at my house tonight? Is you guys don't come, I'll understand."

"We'll call you if we can't make it."

George looked at his watch and walked up to the bottom of the stairs. "Kaitlin, it's time for your medicine!" he yelled.

Kaitlin slowly made her way out of the room and down the stairs.

"Hi, Kaitlin," Ava said.

"Hey, Ava."

"How are you feeling?" she asked. Kaitlin just shrugged. "Jay's excited that you're staying in Playa Linda again."

"Does he still work in the surf shop?" Kaitlin asked.

"Yeah. He works for about two more hours. Go and visit him. I'm sure that he'll be glad to see you."

Kaitlin looked at her parents hoping that they knew what she was asking.

"Take your medication first," her mother said.

Bradin stood behind the counter of the surf shop working on the cash register that needed new paper for the receipts. He heard the door open and looked up. There was a girl about his age, few inches shorter than him, brown hair with gold highlights, and a bandage on her forehead. She was wearing shorts and a hoodie.

"Can I help you?" he asked her.

"Hi. I'm looking for Jay," she said.

"He's in the back. I'll go get him."

Bradin walked into the back and got Jay. "There's a girl here to see you," Bradin told him.

The two walked out to the front and Jay froze. "Kaitlin?" he asked.

"Hey," she said with a smile.

Jay ran and hugged her tightly.

"Watch it," she said as she tried not to yell.

Jay pulled away and looked at her. "What happened?" he asked pointing to her forehead.

"Racing. I got into an accident about two weeks ago."

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine. I'm not over it yet, though."

Bradin stood behind the counter to finish loading the paper. He listened to Jay and Kaitlin talk. He saw her life up her sleeves of the hoodie when Jay asked why she was wearing it. His eyes widened and how bad they looked. It looked like she got beat really bad.

"Oh. I want you to meet someone," he heard Jay say. Jay walked up to the counter with Kaitlin and said, "This is Bradin. He's living with us with his younger bother and sister. Bradin, I want you to meet Kaitlin."

Bradin and Kaitlin shook hands.

"How is New York?" Jay asked.

"Boring. All I do is race. If I'm not racing, I go to the movies or just sit around my house."

"How did you know where I was?" Jay asked.

"Ava told me. She said that I should come and see you because you probably couldn't wait until tonight when my family and I come over for dinner, that is if I feel better than I am now."

"You should get better. I miss seeing the happy side of you," Jay said.

Kaitlin smiled. "I got to go. I need to finish unpacking."

"Okay. We'll see you tonight," Jay said hugging her.

Kaitlin hugged him back. "Bye, Jay. Bye, Bradin," she said.

"Bye," Bradin said smiling as she walked out the door.