by A. B. Medley
“Just a hug, Dean, if you’ll go grab us something to drink. I’m going to go talk to Jade for a minute… she just walked in.”
Oh shit. Jade needs to be far away from me right now, and nowhere near Ivie. I pull Ivie’s face to mine and tip her chin up and look right in her eyes. “I am sorry, Ivie. Really. You know I love you.”
She looks back with her intense green eyes, and I kiss those perfect lips of hers. I run my tongue over them, and she lets out a little sigh as I deepen the kiss. I pull back and tell her I’ll be right back and catch Jade staring in disbelief. I glare back at her. Jade returns the glare but waves and smiles at Ivie. That girl’s going to cause major problems for me.
“Jade. It’s about time you got here!” Jade gives me a quick hug as I reach her. We aren’t best friends by any means, but we’ve grown up together, always in the same circles. I do consider her a good friend.
“Yeah, I was having trouble keeping my outfit on, but I finally made it. How’s the party so far?”
I look at her and smile, a little puzzled by her comment. “Just the usual, but hey, I’ll see you later. I’m going to go hang out with Dean, just wanted to say hi.” She looks like she forces the smile on her face.
“Okay, girl, have fun.” Was that a hint of anger in her voice? Nah, come on, Ivie, you’re just overreacting because of Dean being late tonight. I turn in search of my boyfriend. Where’s Dean now? I thought I asked him to go get some drinks for us. I guess I’ll do it all by myself. Nothing new about that.
My phone beeps in my pocket. Blocked number. A chill runs down my spine. The text says, Meet me at the pool. You need to see something.
What does this person want? I head to the pool quickly. In the late October air, I get a chill deeper than just the cool, autumn air. It feels like someone’s watching me, though I don’t see anyone anywhere. What kind of game are they playing now? I’m not going to play it anymore. I’ve got to quit cheating on Ivie. I’m getting my relationship back on track with her. I’ve got to get back in there to the party with her, or she really will be ticked.
“Damn it,” I mutter under my breath.
I feel someone walk up behind me, but before I can turn around, I feel pain explode in the back of my head. I’m stunned and start to turn, but all I see is a wooden 2x4 coming my way. The next thing I know pain explodes through my face as it connects, and I start to fall. I feel the sticky blood running down my face and at the back of my head. Right before the darkness pulls me under, I think of Ivie. Her beautiful face flashes through my mind.
“Has anybody seen Dean?” I ask as I head toward Sterling and Lynn.
“Nah, I saw him come in and go toward the back door after he left you, I assume to have a cigarette. Do you want me to help you find him?” he asks with a furrowed brow.
“Uh, yeah, that’d be great if Lynn doesn’t mind.” She shrugs, looking slightly annoyed but resigned. “Yeah, that’s okay.”
She almost sneers at me as I walk away with Sterling. Oh well, she can have him back in a few minutes after we find my oh-so-irresponsible boyfriend. This pattern is astounding.
As Sterling and I make our way through the house he asks, “So how long did it take him to disappear again after he got here?” I could tell by his tone he was trying to make conversation as well as hide his irritation with his best friend.
“I actually saw Jade walk in and told him to go get us some drinks while I talked to her for a few minutes, but that was fifteen minutes ago now.”
Sterling holds the back door for me and tries to flip on the switch to the back deck, but the bulb must be shot.
“I’m going to get a flashlight, just a second.” I go ahead and step outside, and the sound of crunching glass under my foot almost has me jumping back. I look toward where the porch light should be, and let my eyes adjust to the dark. As they do, I can tell the light isn’t working because the bulb’s broken. A shiver of premonition slides down my spine. I think I see the shadow of someone by the pool.
“Dean, is that you?” I walk toward the pool, and my eyes begin to adjust to the darkness. “Hey, Ivie, wait up. I got a flashlight,” I hear Sterling call after me. But I get that uneasy feeling, that something’s not right. I begin to run to the pool and as I reach it, I see Dean’s bloody form.
“Dean!” Sterling starts running toward me when he hears my scream.
“What is it, Ivie?” Sterling reaches me as I’m trying to get Dean to wake up. Another scream escapes me as I see all the blood on his face, attracting attention from the party.
Sterling yells, “Call 9-1-1 NOW!” as people start to pile onto the deck and out in the yard. I proceed to find where the blood’s coming from, all the while checking his pulse. I guess all those Health Occupation Students of America classes paid off.
Sterling’s frantic as he tries to get Dean to wake up. “Dean! Damn it! Open your eyes and look at me!” He checks for his pulse too and comes up with the same thing as me—it’s there, but slow.
Finally, we can hear the echo of a siren wailing. “Dean! Wake up!” I yell as I take his face in my hands, searching for recognition from him.
Sterling looks at me with concern and pulls me up in his arms, backing us up to make room for the paramedics. They hook Dean up to all sorts of monitors and put a C-collar on him to stabilize his neck. They head to the ambulance and load him inside, but instead of driving away, they sit for what seems like forever. Someone puts a jacket around my shoulders as I stare at the ambulance, realizing I’m shaking. Finally, the ambulance tears out of the drive and down the road, siren wailing.
Lucy comes running out to me and grabs me, fingers digging into my arm. “Are you okay?”
I barely hear her but say, “I’m going to the hospital.”
Sterling grabs my arm as I wriggle out of his embrace. “You’re not going anywhere by yourself. I’ll drive.” I don’t even try to argue as he pulls me to his Dodge. In the truck, we’re both silent. I’m afraid if I start talking, I’ll break down and lose any hold I have on my emotions.
As I look down at myself and glance at Sterling, I realize we’re covered in blood. Dean’s blood. A shiver runs through me. What just happened? I don’t understand. What was Dean doing out there, and who was out there with him? The lights of the hospital are coming into view. I feel panic rising in my chest.
Maybe we’ll get some answers there.
Man, what could’ve happened? I don’t want to talk to Ivie about it right now because she looks like she could fall apart at any moment. She’s pale and tear stained, with mascara running down her beautiful face. I can hear her small hiccups as she tries to hold back her sobs. Hell, I’m rattled myself. Who would want to hurt Dean? It just doesn’t make sense.
I look over at her, and her hands and shirt are covered in blood. We’ve got to make it through this night. I have a feeling it’s going to be a very long one, but I’m not going to leave Ivie alone until I know she’s okay. That’s one thing I’m one hundred percent sure of… whether she likes it or not. Lynn will just have to get over it.
I grip the steering wheel tighter as rage flows through my veins. I’m not going to rest until I find out what happened to Dean. He may make some poor decisions sometimes, but he’s my best friend and a good guy. I don’t understand what this is.
We pull up to the ER at Greendale Med and rush inside, only to be told to sit in the waiting room.
I sit beside Ivie and reach for her hand. She looks at me with pain and panic battling in her eyes, and something else I can’t quite make out. She turns me inside out, even at times like this, when everything I know is up in the air. The more time I’ve spent with her over the years, the more I know I like her…a lot. I’m equally sure I shouldn’t let myself feel this way about my best friend’s girl.
It’s after midnight. This is ridiculous. How and why did this happen? Where are the doctors? All things considered, we should know whether Dean’s dead or alive by now—some kind of update.
; What did he do? I asked him to go get us a drink. In those fifteen minutes, he wound up outside by the pool with his head and face smashed in.
Who would want to hurt my boyfriend? I feel the panic rising in my chest again, my mind running ninety miles per hour. Another wave of tears threatens to fall, and I feel fear surging through my veins. Stop it, Ivie. Pull yourself together. We know nothing yet.
Great…here comes Sterling with two steaming hot cups of coffee. I’d love nothing more than for him to hold me again.
“Hey, Ivie. Any news yet?” I take the cup of coffee extended from his hand and take a sip. I can feel it heading down my throat and into my stomach, instantly warming me up. I just realized how cold to the bone I am. I look up at Sterling.
“No. Nothing yet. I don’t understand why, because we’ve been here an hour. I guess since we aren’t family, they don’t feel the need to let us know as quickly as possible.”
Sterling sits down beside me and puts his hand on mine. “It’s going to be okay, Ivie.”
I jump up as if burned and turn around to face him. “No, it’s not okay. Nothing about this is okay. I just got off the phone with Dean’s mom, telling her what happened, and his parents are now catching the first flight back from Washington. They’ve been on a business trip and had no idea they might never see their son again. I might never see my boyfriend again, and he knew I was mad at him. Aside from all that, this is attempted murder, Sterling! Tell me exactly what’s okay about someone you love being attacked like this!”
He looks as if I just slapped him. I just stare at him. I know I shouldn’t take all this out on him, because he cares about Dean too. He opens his mouth to speak when I’m distracted by Lucy rushing down the hall. Her costume has blood on it too.
She reaches me and grabs me, looking frazzled. “How is he? Have you heard anything? How are you, sweetie?” I pull out of her grip.
“No, we haven’t heard anything. How’d you get blood on your costume?”
She looks down at herself and blanches. “I guess when I grabbed you at Taylor’s house, I got it from you.” I forgot she’d even grabbed me. That makes sense. Of course she would’ve gotten blood on her when she grabbed me. I was covered—still am.
“I just need a minute, Lucy.” She nods in understanding as I turn to walk away.
I start walking down the hall when I see a doctor headed our way, and I feel rather than see Sterling and Lucy walk up beside me.
“I’m Dr. Smith. We worked with Dean for quite a while. We did several scans to see what damage has been done. We were able to stop the bleeding, but he’s critical. He has a broken eye socket and a fractured skull. We’re going to be watching him closely for swelling on the brain. At this point I can’t give you much more. Head injuries can be unpredictable, and we’ll just have to monitor him around the clock and see how he does. He has not regained consciousness. We do have him stabilized, but I really can’t tell you much more right now. We’ll keep you informed. We’ve spoken to his parents by phone, and they told us we could update you. But, until they arrive, we can’t allow anyone else in. There’s really nothing any of you can do right now.”
The doctor gives us all a onceover. “My suggestion is you all go home and shower and get some rest. You can come back in the morning.” He starts to turn, and I grab his arm.
“Dr. Smith, I’m Dean’s girlfriend, Ivie Davis. Isn’t there something—”
Dr. Smith cut me off. “Ms. Davis, I’ll have someone call you if there are any changes before morning.” Just like that he turns and walks back through the ICU doors.
Sterling tries to put his hand on my shoulder, but I brush him off.
“Lucy, can you please take me back to my car at Taylor’s house so I can go home?” Lucy trains her gaze at Sterling as if to silence him.
“Sure, sweetie. Let’s go.”
As we walk down the hall, I find the nearest water fountain and pour out my coffee, throwing the cup in the trash. I can feel the heated stare from Sterling as we walk away.
I’m sorry, Sterling. I don’t belong with you. The last thing that needs to be on my mind is Sterling Brigg. Dean and I may have our differences, but I’m certainly not going to abandon him right now, even if I know I don’t belong with him, either. I belong nowhere in this town. I want this nightmare over and to get out of this small backward place.
“Thanks, Lucy. I’ll keep you updated. I’m going home to get cleaned up.”
Lucy shuts her car door. “If you need anything, you know to just call, right?”
I unlock my green Monte Carlo. “Yes, Lucy, I know. I will.”
Lucy heads up the sidewalk and to the front door of Taylor’s house. Jade’s sitting on the front porch smoking a cigarette, and Lucy stops to talk to her. Funny, I thought they hated each other. The look Lucy gave Jade didn’t look nice, though.
I slide behind the wheel and suddenly the wash of tears I’ve been fighting all night takes over. I’ve got to quit being a wimp. If Dean pulls through this, he’ll need me strong not hysterical.
I turn the key and hear the engine turn over. I drive all the way home in a daze, and as I pull up in the drive, I notice my parents have the front door open. I guess they already know. I look further up the drive and a police car is sitting there. I suppose I should’ve expected this. I park my car and get out, taking a couple of deep breaths while standing in the driveway. “Here we go, Ivie. Snap out of it.”
I walk into the living room and see my parents seated on the couch with a detective. My mother rushes over and throws her arms around me. The detective stands up, taking in my appearance, and extends his hand to me as my mother sits back down.
“Hello, Ivie. I’m Detective Trudeau. I realize you’ve been through a lot tonight, but we really need to get your statement since you are the victim’s girlfriend, not to mention one of the people who found him. We’ll be interviewing Sterling Brigg as well, since he was with you.” My dad shoots the detective a hard look and then his gaze lands on me.
After I told him all that I knew, he gave me his card and assured me they’d find out who did this, and if I needed anything or think of anything to give him a call. I accept his card.
“Thank you, Detective.”
When he steps out the door, both my parents give me a hug and go to bed. My dad seems particularly wary. Grateful that they seem to be giving me space, I step into my bathroom and flip on the light, finally getting the full picture of what I look like. There’s blood all over me. My hair is a mess, and my eyes are swollen and red. My cheeks are streaked with tear tracks shadowed with mascara.
I unbutton my shirt and drop it on the floor, along with my socks and boots. I take off my jeans and see Dean’s blood soaked through on my bra. Tears start flowing down my face again as I take off my bra and panties. I turn on the shower and step in. The hot spray cascades over me as I watch the remaining blood sluice off me and down the drain. Suddenly I’m so exhausted that I can’t hold my own body up a moment more. I slide to the tile floor of the shower and let out a strangled sob.
About ten minutes later, I pull myself up and grab my towel off the hook, wrapping it around my body. Wiping the steam off the mirror, I look at my reflection again, and my eye catches on a picture of me and Dean in the room behind me.
My stomach lurches, and I throw up in the nearby toilet. After I’m sure there’s nothing left to throw up, I clean myself up and I pull on some old, tattered jeans and a sweatshirt. I find my tennis shoes and pull my towel-dried hair in a clip, scratch a note on the fridge’s marker board for my parents, and slip silently out the front door.
I slide behind the wheel of my car, just staring sightlessly for a few minutes. Shakily, I get my keys into the ignition, and I start driving. Not sure where I’m going, but I can’t sleep, and I want to be alone right now.
“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Warren. If there’s anything I can do, just name it.” I hang up the phone and kick the stall. I wish I could give her more answers about last
night, but I don’t have them.
My horse Wrigley snorts at me nervously. I reach out and rub his nose. “I’m sorry, boy. I’m just having a rough couple of days.” My phone starts ringing again. I look down but don’t recognize the display.
“Hello?”
“Sterling! It’s Lucy. Ivie’s mom called me, and they can’t find her. She left a note sometime early this morning to let them know that she was going for a drive to clear her head. I’ve tried calling her, but I can’t reach her either.” She punctuates her frantic report with a loud sniffle.
“Lucy, what exactly do you want me to do? Last night I was the last person she wanted. What makes you think if she’s not answering for you, her best friend, or her parents, she’ll answer for me?”
She sighs. “I don’t know, Sterling. I’ve just always sensed there was something going on between you two. Maybe she needs the comfort only you can give.” Lucy’s right, there’s something between us—something neither of us has ever dared to say out loud. I kick the dirt.
“I’ll see if I can find her.” I snap my phone shut and a new sense of dread takes over. Dang it, Ivie. Where are you, and what are you doing? I run to the main house and tell my mom I’m heading to town.
I had just slipped the key in my truck’s ignition when I see Lynn’s car in my rearview. “Great,” I mumble. She pulls up beside me and walks over to the driver’s side door. I sigh and roll the window down.
“Hey. Where are you going in such a rush, cowboy?” Lynn has short blonde hair and blue eyes, with tanned skin and what appears to be a fake smile painted on that pretty face of hers.
“Lucy just called me, and they can’t find Ivie. She went for a drive several hours ago and no one knows where she is. They want me to help.” Lynn’s hand flew to her chest, as if concerned.
