One Chance

2010
Jordan pulled up to her cottage. She smiled at it. She missed it the summer before. Her dad had gotten sick so they couldn't come up. He passed away in early December. He told his family before he passed, that he wanted his ashes poured into the lake. Well, he said 'his lake'.
She climbed out of her car. She popped her trunk and grabbed as many bags as she could. Her mom hadn't made it to the cottage yet. Jordan saw a car parked in the driveway next door. The same car she saw being packed her last day two years ago. She smiled to herself as she walked into the cottage.
Once settled, she decided she needed to make a trip to the beach. After changing into a green, bandeau bathing suit, she set off for the beach. When she arrived, she found three girls playing beach volleyball.
Jordan walked over instantly. Her love for volleyball was still burning inside her. She had quit when her father fell ill, and she missed it. She set her bag down near a tree that shadowed the court.
"Need a fourth body?" She offered.
The tallest girl looked over. She had hair, blonder than Jordan's natural colour. She smiled, nodding her head. She tossed the ball to Jordan, who caught it and prepared to serve.
Her serve was perfect. The two younger girls on the other side hit it back. They went back and forth before one of the young girls missed her hit.
After the girls played for a good two hours, they decided to head out for lunch together. The diner on the beach was the go to spot. They got a table and ordered before the small talk began. They finally introduced each other.
"I feel like I've seen you before." Candace sighed, staring at Jordan.
"Maybe two summers ago? I had blonde hair back then." She gestured to her brunette locks.
"Do you live around here?" Cassidy piped up. Jordan shook her head. "Do you have a cottage up here?"
"Yeah, 402." She explained.
"Oh my god, we're neighbours!" Candace exclaimed. "We're 404."
"Shit, eh?" Jordan laughed. "Oh my god, you're Tyler's little sisters."
The two blondes nodded. She remembered looking over at Candace when she called for Tyler while they were saying goodbye. She wondered where he was, but wasn't about to ask.
"Tyler doesn't come up anymore." Cassidy rolled her eyes.
"I thought he loved it up here?" Cassidy's friend, Hailey, spoke up.
"Yeah, but last year, he was training for Whalers because he didn't like the stats he pulled." Candace explained. "And then he got drafted to Boston so he's all about doing Boston well."
"He got drafted?" Jordan questioned.
"Second overall." Candace nodded.
"Ugly Taylor Hall went over him." Cassidy hissed.
"Wow, I told that kid he wasn't going anywhere with hockey. Was I wrong or what?" Jordan laughed.
"Why'd you say that?" Cassidy gasped.
"He was probably being a total asshole." Candace shrugged.
Jordan chuckled. "He was, but only because I was too."
That night, Jordan sat at her cottage. She read a book while listening to music. She looked outside and saw how nice the lake looked. Temptation took over, and she decided on a late night swim.
She strutted towards the lake in a plain, black bikini. Her feet reached the water and she continued to go deeper. Once above thigh level, she dove into the water. She swam out further. She surfaced, spotting a figure standing on the shore.
"Jordan?" The voice called.
She knew the voice anywhere. She dove back under, swimming towards shore. She started walking towards him. He smiled before pulling her into a hug.
"Freddy." She shook her head.
He was all grown up. He wasn't the same sixteen year old dweeb he was last time they ran into each other. He grinned at her. She looked the exact same, with darker hair. Her body had matured, but it still curved in every way he remembered.
"I can't fucking believe you dyed your hair." Was all he managed to say, grabbing a lock of it.
"I decided it needed a change since everything else around me changed." She shrugged.
The pair walked down the beach together. There were kids having bonfires all down the beach. It made them laugh knowing they were those kids two years ago.
Freddy could tell Jordan wasn't the same. She had a sense of humour. She didn't roll her eyes at his cheesy one-liners. Well, she did, but only while laughing. She was nicer. But something else seemed different about her.
"How's volleyball going?" He asked.
"Uh, I quit." She pressed her lips together while she nodded. "My dad got really sick so I wanted to help him out."
That was the difference.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. Is he doing better now?" Freddy frowned.
Jordan tilted her head. "Yes and no?" She said. He cocked a brow. "It kind of depends on how you look at the situation."
"Is he hospitalized?" He quizzed.
"No, he, he passed away in December. I mean some people would say 'Oh, he's in a better place!' but I don't think there's much good in dying." She laughed, looking down.
Her arms wrapped around herself. Freddy let out a sigh before pulling her into a hug. She rested her head on his shoulder. She didn't hug back, she just held herself.
"I'm so sorry, Jordan. I loved your dad. He taught me a lot." Freddy whispered.
"Speaking of that!" She shot back. He let go of her. "How's the music thing coming along?"
Her dad had taught Freddy how to play guitar when they were twelve. He really took a liking to it and started playing all the time. He learned he could sing shortly after.
"It's coming along." He chuckled. "Kinda hard to do much with it when I'm in school and still playing hockey."
"Wow, still playing hockey. Where?" She cocked a brow.
"I'm in Boston with Ty so I play out there." He explained. She nodded her head. "He's crazy about impressing them."
"How so?"
"He basically wakes up, works out, trains, sleeps. I don't think the guy has time to blink." Freddy shook his head.
"Wow, so he's like built now?" Jordan thought aloud. Fred nodded. "I can't picture him looking like anything but a scrawny dweeb."
"Still a dweeb, he just has muscles bigger than you." Freddy stated.
Three days passed, and it was the day that Jordan's mom had planned for family and friends took a boat out to her father's favourite spot to empty his ashes.
Freddy, Matt, Jake, and their families all came. Some of her other friends and families joined. Candace, Cassidy, and her friend even came. Jordan sat between her mom and her older brother.
She'd seen Tom cry three times in her entire life. The first, when they were kids and Jordan broke her wrist while they were wrestling. He only cried because he was going to get in trouble. The second, was when their dad first past away. Tom and their dad were close. Super close. He learned everything he knew from that man.
The third, was right now. He didn't care that he was the man of the family now and was supposed to be the one keeping it together. Deep down, he was a little boy who just lost his daddy.
Jordan looked up at him before she squeezed his hand. She placed her head on his shoulder. His went on top of hers and they cried together.
The boat pulled up to the spot their father always went to fish. Jordan, Tom, and their mother stood. Her mom had a small speech to say before she was going to let Tom pour the ashes. Jordan couldn't listen. Her head was all over the place. She grabbed the urn from where it sat then handed it to Tom. He took a deep breath while pouring it over the side of the boat.
The ashes flew, some through the air, some straight into the water. Jordan cried harder. She knew her dad would be happy knowing he got to spend the rest of his life in his favourite place.
That evening, Jordan and her family had everyone over to their cottage for some time to relive her father. They set up picture boards where they put some up but others could add to it.
She sat by herself on the back steps. Her view was the beach. She could see it now. Her, Tom, and all their friends sat around the fire pit with their dad. He'd sing old country songs while they roasted marshmallows. They'd get into scary stories, which he just made silly. She could still remember the one he told about the ghost in the attic, picking his nose while he chanted 'when I getcha, gonna eat ya'. She smiled at the ground.
Someone sat beside her and she looked up at them. Freddy gave her a warm smile before wrapping an arm around her. She leaned into him. They sat in complete silence.
"I talked to Tyler earlier, told him about today." He spoke. "He said he would've been here if he knew and he's sorry about your loss."
Jordan nodded. Everyone was sorry for her loss. She was sick of hearing it. She knew they only meant well, but she was tired of being reminded. She wiped her eyes and stood up.
"Tell him 'thanks' and I wish him the best in Boston." She said
She walked into the house. She made it past all the people before running up the stairs. She got to her room and closed the door behind her. She let out a deep breath before she laid on her bed. Beside it, was a picture of her family on her bedside table.
She was two, maybe three, and they were sitting on the porch of this very cottage. She had her blonde hair in two little pigtails. She sat on on her dad's lap in a pink, checkered shirt with jean overalls get up. She had her fingers in her mouth and looked angry.
Five year old Tom was on her mom's lap. He was wearing jean overalls too, with a yellow shirt under his. He was mid eye-roll when the photo was taken. You could tell neither children wanted to be in the photo.
A knock on her door pulled her from her trance. The door open and Tom stepped in. Jordan shot up, wrapping her arms around her brother's neck. His wrapped around her waist. He buried his face in her neck as the pair cried.