Page 85 of Meet Me in Ivy Falls

Several deputies stood in the entryway questioning and handcuffing two men and a woman. All of them swayed on their feet like they couldn’t find the strength to hold up their own bodies. A painful breath crowded my chest as I jumped over broken beer and wine bottles littering the once immaculate hardwood floors.

Blue and green paint had been splashed across the soft cream walls. The antique light fixture was ripped from the ceiling and sat in pieces on the floor. Along the staircase railing a succession of sledgehammer gouges ruined Manny’s beautiful work.

How was this happening? How had these people gotten in here?

A dozen other questions buzzed through my frenzied mind as I took the stairs two at a time. I raced toward the hallway bathroom. Before I could get inside, another deputy blocked my path.

‘No one is allowed in,’ he said, rolling back his broad shoulders.

‘This is my house!’ I gritted out again.

The deputy waited a beat and then stepped aside. Two bright red equipment bags sat on the counter. Ripped gauze packaging and plastic tubing littered the floor. One dark-haired paramedic placed an IV line in a thin white arm.

I slowly inched forward. My heart practically vaulted out of my throat as I stepped over a smashed bottle of tequila.

‘You can’t be in here.’ The dark-haired paramedic waved me back.

Like a zombie, I took another step forward. My breaths came in strangled spurts. When I saw the beautiful face I loved, my knees gave way.

‘Oh shit,’ Torran said from the doorway. ‘Is that Piper?’

A short black leather skirt sat high up on my sister’s hips. Dried vomit covered her face. Her beautiful dark brown eyes rolled back in her head. The paramedic began shouting and started chest compressions.

‘Is she not breathing?’ My broken voice sounded odd to my own ears.

A young paramedic with short blonde hair raced into the room. ‘Get out. All of you!’

The deputy tried to pull me back to the door but I fought him off.

‘No! That’s my little sister. I need to be here for her.’

I continued to struggle with the deputy. Torran grabbed the tail of my shirt and pulled me back into the hallway.

‘This can’t be happening. She’s supposed to be in New York,’ I said, collapsing into her arms.

A loud, angry voice filled the entryway and boomed all the way up the stairs. Manny appeared at the end of the hallway, his eyes ablaze. Without saying a word, he started opening doors. His curses filled the air as he moved from room to room. He stopped at the bathroom and his swearing cut off.

‘Is that who I think it is?’ he said.

Manny took two steps toward us, and we all sank down onto the hallway floor. The scent of mahogany stain and fresh paint coated the air. The deputy backed out of the bathroom and the stretcher followed. The tinny grind of the wheels rattled in my head.

The dark-haired paramedic appeared and spoke into a walkie-talkie. ‘Pulse is back but thready. Could have been choking on her own vomit. It’s alcohol poisoning or a possible drug overdose. We’re on our way in for a full workup.’

The blonde paramedic helped pushed the stretcher out of the bathroom. A thin breathing tube lined the area below Piper’s nose. The men pushed the gurney forward and toward the stairs.

I jumped to my feet. ‘Can I come with her?’

The dark-haired paramedic gave me a long look. ‘Yes, but you need to sit where I tell you and do what I say if she flatlines again.’

‘Yes.’ I took a deep swallow. ‘Okay.’

Once they reached the top of the landing, they lifted the gurney and collapsed the wheels. Step by step, the two men made a slow descent toward the front door.

‘I’m coming with you,’ Torran said.

I held out a hand to stop her. ‘It’s been Piper and me all along. My stupidity brought her to this point. To this fucking house. This is on me. I need to take care of her. Alone.’

‘Beck, please let me help you.’