by M. R. Polish
Our eyes never wavered as we stared at each other. My gut twisted and my heart raced so fast I could hear it pound in my ears. Fury radiated from his glare and his whole body tensed. His shoulders reared back making me think he was going to turn around and finish off what he started with Vahn. I watched in frozen fear of what might happen.
“Hey, Steve, we gotta go, man. I hear sirens!” Brick yelled from the jacked-up pickup truck.
Steve hesitated but then jumped into Jonah’s car. They all sped off and as soon as the last vehicle was gone, I jumped out and ran to Vahn.
I helped roll him over to his back. “Oh my gosh, Vahn, I’m here.”
“Keeley…” he whispered.
“Yeah, I’m here.” It was hard to see past the tears, and I wiped them off as fast as they fell. “Vahn, what do I do? Can you get up?”
He groaned as he tried to move. I put my hand under his shoulder to help him, but he fell back to the ground only after he was inches off of it. My heart raced and my mind blurred. I needed to think. My mom taught me first aid since I was old enough to reach the first aid kit, surely I could remember how to help Vahn.
I took a calming breath and wiped off the last of the tears. “Vahn, I need to know where you’re hurt.”
“Everywhere,” he whispered through clenched teeth.
That didn’t help. I thought back to everything my mom ever said about finding someone unconscious or severely injured. “Okay, don’t move. I don’t want to help you up if something is broken and hurt you worse.”
“Since when did you switch majors…and become a nurse?” he tried jesting in between two ragged breaths.
“I told you my mom is a surgeon.” I grasped his hand and he squeezed mine back. I wasn’t going to let go until someone made me.
It wasn’t long before an ambulance and a police car pulled in with lights flashing. Two EMTs ran over to assess Vahn’s injuries. I had to let go of Vahn for them to load him onto the backboard and into the ambulance.
My whole body shook as I watched him being loaded. I tried to explain that a group of guys ambushed us and beat him down.
“Are you okay to drive?” one the officers asked me as I watched the ambulance leave.
“What?” I looked at him, a little confused.
“I assumed you were going to the hospital. Are you okay to drive?” he repeated.
Drive? My heart hammered violently in my chest. “Um, well, I didn’t think about that,” I stammered.
“We can stay with you until you’re ready, if you’d like, or drive you?”
I shook my head. No, they’d be waiting forever. “I’m okay.”
They both shook their heads. “Alright, if you need anything else, or you remember anything else, or even remember a face from tonight, don’t hesitate to call.”
“Thanks,” I said.
They got in their patrol car and I walked to Vahn’s Firebird. Slowly I slid into the driver’s seat. My stomach flipped and threatened to make me throw up, but I forced myself to close the door and put the keys in the ignition. I needed to get to Vahn, but this wasn’t something I thought I’d have to be doing so soon.
After some deep breaths, I started the engine and grasped the steering wheel with white knuckles. As cautiously as possible, I headed out toward the road and stopped. It was strange to feel the power of a car under my fingers again. I forgot how much I used to love driving. I let out one more long breath before pulling out onto the main road.
My nerves reached a new height as the realization that I was driving sunk in. Every car I passed made me tense. What was I doing? I shouldn’t be driving. I should have asked the officers for a ride. My heart rate picked up and I had to steady my breathing to keep from panicking.
I couldn’t even look over in the passenger seat for fear I’d see Celeste’s ghost reminding me of the last time I was behind the wheel.
I couldn’t help but worry over Vahn. I knew things were bad when he couldn’t get up. My worry over Vahn pushed my other fears of driving away until I couldn’t remember what I was scared of. All I could think of was him. I swallowed the lump in my throat and thought about the whole thing. Steve really had a grip over the team, but why? What could he possibly have over them to make them do something so horrible?
I wasn’t any closer to the answers when I pulled into a parking spot and jumped out of the car. The emergency room doors seemed forever away as I ran toward them. They slid open as I neared them, slowing me down.
The waiting room was full of people, but I paid no attention to them as I rushed to the triage desk. “My boyfriend was just brought in by ambulance,” I said in between breathes.
The lady barely looked up at me. “Name?”
“Vahn Silver.”
“You’ll have to wait a moment. I’ll have a nurse come and get you as soon as they get him comfortable.”
My heart plummeted as I found a seat as close to the triage doors as possible. I wanted to barge through the doors and find Vahn. Waiting and not knowing killed me. I wrapped my arms around my middle and bent over with my head between my knees.
Two police officers entered through the doors and were admitted entrance to the back and I wanted desperately to go with them. Were they here for Vahn? Did they find Steve?
Minutes passed, and I couldn’t sit still a moment longer. Pacing was the only way of moving without leaving, so I wore down the tile, looking up hopefully every time the doors would open for a nurse to call back another patient. I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and checked the time for the hundredth time. Thirty minutes passed. When where they going to call me back? Was Vahn okay?
The time alone left my mind open to replaying the evening, to replaying the fight. My stomach churned and every muscle inside me cringed. The door swung open and a nurse in a colorful scrub top called my name. I wasted no time getting over to her. She led me through the doors and down the hall to the small room where the officers I saw earlier were leaving his room. Vahn was on a bed and they already had an IV hooked up to him. A couple of monitors beeped occasionally.
I stalled near the doorway. I wasn’t sure what to expect once I got back to see him, but now that I was there, it scared me.
“Go ahead,” the nurse insisted. “We gave him something to help relax him and for the pain. The doctor will be in shortly to talk with you.”
I walked over to Vahn and grabbed his hand. He stirred and his eyelids fluttered open. “Hey, beautiful,” he said in a raspy voice.
I choked back more tears. “Hey.”
“They said I’ll live, so I guess you’re stuck with me.”
I smirked. “Yeah, well, I guess if I have to be.” I sniffed and forced a smile. “I was so worried.”
“I know you were. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“But it is. I should’ve fought harder.”
I sat down in the chair next to the bed, still holding his hand. “Vahn, that’s impossible. You know as well as I do that neither one of us stood a chance against the whole team.”
“I saw Steve grab you, I tried to get up to help you, I swear. Just knowing I couldn’t save you kills me.”
“It’s okay, I’m okay. I know you will always be there for me.”
Vahn looked away. “Keeley, this wasn’t the last time. You know that they’ll come back for you. What if I’m not there?”
“The police will catch him and it will be okay.”
He shook his head. “But what about the rest of them?”
A light tap on the door interrupted Vahn. A doctor came in and smiled at us. He wore a white coat and blue scrubs. His hair was disheveled and dark rings circled his eyes, giving away what was probably a long shift. “So, this must be, Keeley. Vahn was very worried about you while we were admitting him.” He chuckled. “I’m Doctor White.”
I blushed a little. “Hi.”
“So, Vahn here is a little banged up. A few cuts around his face and a bunch of bruising, but other th
an that, he’s actually okay.” Dr. White looked directly at me. “He’ll have to rest for a few days, stay off his feet. Keep him comfortable. I’m actually quite surprised that he wasn’t injured more. When he first was brought in, I thought for sure he’d have a broken rib, but he got away with some bruising. You take care of him.”
I nodded and squeezed Vahn’s hand. “I can do that.”
“Good. So, Vahn, I’ll be sending you home in good hands it looks like, as well as a prescription for some pain meds. You’ll need to be checked out in a couple weeks, make sure everything is healing okay.”
Vahn and I continued to agree with whatever Dr. White said until I was handed the prescription slips and Vahn signed his release papers.
I pulled the car around to the doors to pick Vahn up. He chuckled when I got out of the driver’s seat. “I never thought I’d see you drive my car.”
“Yeah, well, get used to it.” I smiled at him. “Oh really?”
“Yeah, now get in so we can go home. I am so over this day and just want it to end.”
He cringed as he sat down carefully in the seat. “You and me both.”
Twelve
The next day I kept my head low in Professor Priese’s class and tried to avoid making any contact with Caty. It was hard not to notice Alison’s empty seat behind me. The whole day crawled by with knowing Vahn was in my apartment, in my bed. It made it hard for me to want to be in class, but nothing could have prepared me for returning to school and facing potential enemies everywhere. There wasn’t a corner I didn’t look in waiting to see Steve sneering at me.
“Tomorrow is Alison Porter’s funeral services. Those of you attending can make up any work we do in class. Also, don’t forget, on Friday we are having a class trip to the canyon.”
Most of the class groaned, but I was secretly a little excited. It would be good to get out and do something like a normal college student. I gathered my books and rushed outside. The air was crisp, like impending fall was closely approaching.
I brushed past a few other students trying to make my way to my next class when a large figure slammed into me, pushing me against the wall of the building I needed to enter.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t see you there,” Brick assaulted in my ear. “I heard your little boyfriend will live.”
“You leave him alone,” I spat back.
“I wouldn’t dream of going after him, at least not now.”
His words froze my heart. “Why? What’s changed?”
“Let’s just say that the ball was dropped. Steve isn’t too happy when he doesn’t win a game, and now he’s hiding from the cops. He can’t even come to practice.”
“I’m not a game you, asshole!”
“Shhh… You don’t want people to stare, do you?”
I tried to wiggle away from him, but he pressed me harder against the wall. “I don’t care who sees.”
“You should care.” He dropped his hold on me and moved back, giving me some room. “Whatever you’ve done to Steve, you’re gonna regret.”
“Is that a threat? I haven’t done anything to him.”
“You lie. He hasn’t been the same since you showed up in town, and now he’s worse. Whatever happens to you, you deserve.” He didn’t leave room for further argument and walked away.
My heart raced. A few students glanced my way but quickly turned their attention elsewhere. I cried out in frustration and kicked the wall behind me. A couple passed me, whispering as their eyes roamed over me.
“What? Got something you want to say to me?”
They looked away and kept walking without answering. I rolled my eyes and hitched my backpack up higher.
“I know about Steve,” a voice behind me said.
I spun around to see John, with Tina hanging on to his arm. The last time I saw them was at the first party where I met them. John wasn’t one of the guys yesterday that attacked us. “Come on, we shouldn’t be talking to her,” she whispered, pleading with him as she pulled on his arm to move.
“No, Tina. You know as well as I do that what’s going on is wrong. How can we expect to live our lives knowing we didn’t at least try to stop it?”
I shifted my weight to one leg. He definitely had my attention. “I’m listening.”
“We can’t talk here. Someone will see us. Meet us at the old Silver place in one hour. No one ever goes out there and you know where that’s at.”
I nodded. “How can I trust you that this isn’t a setup?”
John looked around before talking in a hushed tone. “Just trust me. Bring cops if you want. I promise it’ll just be me and Tina.”
I looked at Tina. She was shaking and her face was noticeably paler. “You okay? She doesn’t look like I should trust either of you.”
“No, I’m just scared. If you knew what we knew, you’d be scared too.” She gripped John’s arm tighter.
“Fine, I’ll be there.”
“Okay, meet us inside, right around dusk.”
They walked off before I could say anything. I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea or not, but I was at the bottom of the barrel and had to try something.
I couldn’t wait for class to be over so I could drive out to the wall. I decided not to tell Vahn about it because he would just worry and tell me not to go, and he was in no condition to come with me. I parked the car beside the wall and got out, fingering the cell phone in my pocket and watching everywhere at once. I could feel the hair on the back of my neck rise as the dry grass crunched underneath my weight as I walked toward the house.
I’d never even gone in the house with Vahn. Meeting John and Tina here made it creepy, almost like I was trespassing, along with possibly getting myself killed. The two-story house loomed over me as I walked up the porch steps. I hesitated before grasping the handle to open the door.
It was dark inside the house, but I could still see white sheets draped over everything. That did nothing to help settle my nerves. I had no idea of what or who was under them, and I clenched my phone even tighter.
“John,” I said, making myself jump with my own voice. It sounded so loud inside the eerily quiet home.
“In the kitchen.”
I found my way past the stairs and to the kitchen, where I saw only John and Tina, just like he promised, but I didn’t let my guard down. Steve and the rest of the team could jump out from behind me at any moment.
Tina sat on the island in the middle of the dusty kitchen and John leaned up against it next to her. “I wasn’t sure you’d come.”
I moistened my lips with my tongue and folded my arms. “Well, I wasn’t sure if I should.”
“I’m glad you did.”
I gave a curt nod. “So what can you tell me about Steve?”
John looked up at Tina before turning his attention to me. “I’m not sure where to start, so I’m just gonna start. You can ask questions if I lose you or something.”
“Alright.”
“It’s drugs. I hate saying it, but he even has me on them. I can’t go a day without needing something. I was never into drugs in high school. When I was accepted here, I didn’t know Steve. After so many times being around him, I noticed I was getting aggravated, irritated, even emotional to a point. I didn’t know what was going on until he told me that he’d been slipping drugs into my drinks. It was hard to realize that I was addicted, or at least becoming addicted. All I could think of was that I was here on a scholarship and I was going to lose it. I’d go back home because of drugs. I didn’t want to disappoint my parents that way.”
Well, that much I knew. I let myself relax just a bit. “But if you’re on a scholarship, then how do you get around drug testing? Why would Steve purposely drug you?”
“I don’t know, I mean I do, but… Steve is crazy. I think he’s taken too many drugs. He likes control. I think he has a few screws loose in the head. He’s not really there, you know? He becomes attached to people or things and then add drugs into the mix and you have a psychotic
maniac. He doesn’t think, he just reacts.”
“Why drug you though? I don’t get it.”
“Like I said, he likes control. He has it in his head that he’s a king or some shit. The more people he has to do his bidding the happier he gets. I think he gets off on it, honestly. Drugging people, making them play out his sickest thoughts, watching as he ruins lives around him, it’s all sick and twisted and I’m done with it.”
“What about the scholarships? I don’t understand how you get away with that.”
John ran his hands through his hair and let out a deep breath. “The whole team is basically addicted. The only one who isn’t is Jonah. Steve’s mom works in the clinic and when one of us has a drug test Steve goes in and gets it fixed.”
“Fixed? How?”
“I don’t know exactly, but his mom lets him have full access to the clinic. She doesn’t know he tampers with anything. At least not that she lets on.”
“So he switches the bad tests for clean ones and you’re off the hook.”
John nodded. “Yeah, and if we screw up he won’t fix it and we lose our scholarship.”
“What about the drugs? Where are you getting those?”
John took a deep breath and Tina lowered her head even more.
I threw my hands up. “Let me guess. From Steve?”
They both nodded.
I paced the dusty tiled floor. “So let me get this straight. Steve slips drugs into drinks long enough for people to become hooked, they want the drugs so bad that they do his bidding, and if they screw up he lets them get caught plus he stops giving them the drugs.”
“Pretty much. I mean, we have to pay for the stuff he gets, but I don’t know another way to get it. Like I said, I was never into drugs before.”
“I know. So, where does Steve get his drugs from?”
“I don’t know. He never lets anyone but Brick or Jonah go with him.”
I waved him off. “That’s okay. It’s probably not worth digging into that anyway. I don’t know how to bring down a whole drug organization, but maybe we can just take Steve down.”
