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CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Asher
My phone vibrated, buzzing loudly in my ear. I opened my eyes. It was still dark outside. I grabbed for my phone and noticed it was eleven forty-three at night. I didn’t recognize the number. Who would be calling me at this hour? I thought of Mel being in trouble somewhere. I sat up, swiping the answer button and held the phone to my head.
“Hello?”
“Asher.”
“Karen?” It was Mel’s mom and she was crying. Oh no, something awful had happened. “What’s wrong? Is Mel okay?”
“I can’t reach her. She isn’t answering her phone. Do you know where she is?”
“I…uh…”
“It’s Teddy, Ash. The police just called me. He’s…he was in an accident. They said he died,” she sobbed into the phone.
I couldn’t speak. My throat constricted and I couldn’t utter a sound. Surely I’d misunderstood her.
“Asher? Are you there?”
“Yeah, I’m here. I…” I didn’t know what to say? What she was saying just didn’t compute. My other best friend was dead? “What…how…are they sure?”
“I have to go identify the body. But they’re pretty positive.” It was difficult to understand her through the sobs. “The police are here now and they’re going to take me. Asher, Melody had a date tonight, and now I can’t reach her. I’m worried about her. I need you to find her and meet me at the hospital. Down at the…” Her speech was broken and difficult to understand through her sobs.
She stopped, and a couple of seconds later a different woman spoke into the phone. “Hello. This is Detective Wilson. Mrs. Stevens is having a difficult time as I’m sure you understand. Could you meet her at the city morgue with her daughter?”
“In San Francisco?”
“Yes, sir. That’s where they’ve taken the deceased.”
“But, that’s not possible. He was supposed to have gone back to Phoenix two days ago.”
“I’m sorry. Mr….”
“Beaumont.”
“Mr. Beaumont. I’m sorry for your loss, but we are fairly certain that the deceased is Theodore Owen Stevens. The accident took place at nine fifteen this evening on the corner of Taylor and Bush Street. A hit and run. The driver of the truck that rammed into the side of Mr. Stevens’ car is unknown at this time. Please meet Mrs. Stevens on the first floor in the lobby waiting room. We will be there in about twenty minutes.”
“Okay. I’ll be there.”
“Asher?” Karen was back on the phone. “Please find my daughter.”
“I will. We’ll meet you there as soon as we can. Don’t worry.”
The call ended, and I stared blankly at the phone through blurry eyes as I swiped the tears that dripped down my cheeks. Ted was dead?
I had to go find Mel. I dialed her cell and it went straight to voicemail. Why wasn’t she answering her phone? Thoughts of her discarded in some back street alley after being forced to walk home in the middle of the fucking night without a working cell phone invaded my mind. I grabbed my jeans from the chair I’d put them on and quickly tugged them up, then shrugged into a t-shirt I quickly snatched out of my drawer. I swiped my jacket off the hook and stuck my wallet in my pocket. I grabbed my keys and hurried over to Mel’s apartment. I knocked.
No one answered. I knocked again, but there was still no answer. So, I did what any concerned best friend would do and pounded my fist on the door until it slowly opened. Mel stood just inside, and Erica walked out of her room, rubbing her eyes.
“What the fuck is going on?” Erica asked. “Why are you pounding on the door so late, Asher?”
“Sorry,” I said to Erica. She waved her arm and headed back to her room. Mel stood with her hand on her hip. “Mel, I need to talk to you. You weren’t answering your phone.”
“I turned it off so you wouldn’t wake me up at six, and here you are anyway and it’s not even morning yet.” She waved me away and started to head back to her bedroom. “Asher, if this is about Alex, I don’t want to talk to you. It’s none of your business. Go home.”
“It’s not about Alex,” I croaked out, unable to contain my pain at what I had to tell her, tears flowed down my face.
