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A tall, lean boy, leaning against the wall while holding his books, waiting for Bree and me as we walked down the hallway. As we passed him, he stepped out in front of us. I stopped, staring at him. I didn’t like Evan. He was creepy, and he was always watching Bree. Bree ignored him, for the most part, but this day, she couldn’t.
“Go to the dance with me,” he said, his gaze darting to the side.
Bree let out a sigh. “Get out of the way, Evan. I’m not going to the dance with you.”
Evan narrowed his eyes. “I said, go to the dance with me.”
“Forget it. I already have a date. And if you want to ask me, ask nicely—you don’t tell a girl she has to go out with you. That’s…creepy AF.”
“Seriously,” I said. “That’s fucked up. Leave us alone.”
Evan glared at me, and his look unsettled me. I looked away, not wanting to get involved. His mouth twisted in an unpleasant fashion and he slunk away, vanishing into the lunch crowd. Bree and I shrugged, and continued on with our day…
“Oh crap. Evan Taylor wasalwayshovering around her, all through middle school and part of high school. Then he disappeared.” I struggled to sit up straight. “Do you know where he is? Does he still live in Port Townsend?”
“No, he moved to Starlight Hollow a few years ago. I’m headed over to his house now.”
“We need to get Elphyra to the hospital—” Bran started to say, but I interrupted.
“No. I want to go with you.” I tried to stand up and once again, a wave of dizziness swept over me.
“You can’t. You’ll slow them down,” Bran said. “I’ll go with them. You go to the hospital.” He motioned to the medics. “She should be in the hospital, shouldn’t she?”
“That’s what we’d recommend, sir.” One of the medics came over and led me to a chair. “You really need medical treatment. Let us take you in now, or we’ll require you to sign a waver verifying you’ve refused treatment.”
I stopped fighting. In my heart, I knew that I couldn’t help Bree in the shape I was in. I looked over at Bran. “Find her, please. Find her and save her.”
Daisy, Arnie, and Bran headed out the door, leaving me sitting there with the medics. Atlas and Oscar whined, huddling near the rocking chair. I couldn’t leave them there, and I couldn’t take them to the hospital. I called Dr. John’s emergency number and explained the situation. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t think of anybody else to call.”
“Can you drop them off at the office? I can be there in ten minutes.”
I thanked him and asked one of the deputies still at the house if they could drive Oscar and Atlas over to the vet’s office. He agreed, passing them off to his partner. I gave them the address and then let the medics move me to a stretcher. I wanted to stay, to be here when they brought Bree home. I couldn’t let myself think that she might not be okay. I couldn’t go there.
I leaned back on the stretcher and closed my eyes, surrendering to the gentle movement of the stretcher. Before we made it to the ambulance, I passed into unconsciousness.
* * *
The soundsin the background registered through the fog. Something was beeping nearby, and there was some sort of rhythmic swooping. In the distance, several bells rang, and the muffled sound of voices filled every direction. It felt like I was being held down, but it didn’t feel like I was being restrained. I was lying in a bed, it seemed, but on an incline—my back was propped up.
Taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes and confirmed what I thought. I was in a hospital room, with an IV in my arm, and several gadgets hooked up to me. To my right, a nurse was monitoring a machine. To my left, Grams sat by my bed.
“Grams?” I struggled to sit up but the nurse immediately turned and gently pushed me back.
“Elphyra! You’re awake!” Grams seldom expressed excitement but now, she jumped up and moved over to take my hand.
“How long have I been out? Did they find Bree?”
“Not yet, love, but Bran’s still out there with Sheriff Parker. It’s nearly four AM. You were brought in about ninety minutes ago.” Grams tugged my sheet up and tucked it in around me. “How are you feeling?”
I gauged my body. “My head hurts. I ache all over, but I think that’s more exhaustion than anything. Did I say my head hurts?” I tried to remember everything that had gone on. Bree was still missing. Bran was out searching for her. And… “Faron. How’s Faron? Is he here, in the hospital too?”
Grams glanced over at the doctor and stepped away from the bed. The doctor took her place.
“There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll be direct. Your friend Faron is in critical condition. We’re going to have to place him in a medically induced coma, in hopes of relieving some of the pressure on his brain.”
The words registered, but it was too much to handle. I leaned back against the bed again, closing my eyes. “This can’t be happening. This can’t be real.”
“Unfortunately, it’s all too real. We’ve contacted his next of kin. I think he’s in the waiting room, if you’d like to talk to him. His brother, Kyle.”
