“Someone call 911!” I yelled.
“Already done.” Lexi’s cell phone was pressed to her ear.
“Eric, she needs CPR.”
He looked up at me and blinked. “I don’t… I’ll do what I can but… Sam! Sam’s had training!”
I jumped to my feet but Sam was already there. He pushed Eric aside and started to perform CPR on Lacey. Pinching her nose, opening her mouth, pressing his mouth over hers to give her the breath of life. He pumped her chest. Breathed in her mouth again. More pumps. We all held our breath as we watched Sam at work, trying to revive Lacey.
A trickle of water escaped from her mouth. She coughed and spluttered. There was a collective gasp from the crowd. Lacey opened her eyes, looked up at Sam, and then passed out.
The momentary relief died from Eric’s face. “What happened?”
Sam checked her pulse. “She’s alive. Her pulse is weak, but I can feel it.” He leaned his ear over her mouth. “She’s still breathing.”
“Maybe she’s lost too much blood,” I said.
“Get a towel and press it to her head,” Sam ordered. Eric scrambled up and grabbed a white towel, handing it to Sam. We watched as he gently lifted Lacey’s head and pressed the towel over the blood.
Minutes later, the EMT’s arrived and took over. They placed Lacey on a gurney and carted her into the hotel, down the elevator and into an ambulance. Charlie jumped in with her and in seconds, the ambulance was gone.
* * * * *
In the backseat of the rental SUV, Mari’s screams had subsided into sobs. Beside her, Sam stared out the window, tears running down his cheeks. Only Lexi sat quietly, her face impassive. She could have been a statue.
I sat in the passenger seat, gnawing my nails to stubs. Eric drove, his hands clenched around the steering wheel. His whole body was tense, the muscles in his arms and neck rigid.
“It’s going to be okay,” I said. I dropped my hands to my lap, my fingers clenching together.
Eric didn’t reply. I rested my hand on his arm. He looked down at my hand and then over at me.
“It’s going to be okay,” I repeated. His eyes were so full of pain, his face creased with worry, that it hurt to look at him. I ached to take it all away.
He wrenched his gaze back to the front. His lips moved, but I couldn’t hear the words. I dropped my hand from his arm and shifted closer.
“It’s all my fault.”
“No.” I was so surprised that I almost shouted it. “It’s not your fault. Not at all.”
“Yes. It is.” He shook his head, his hands clenched tighter on the wheel. “If I hadn’t been… I should have paid more attention to her. If I had, she wouldn’t have had so much to drink.”
A wide, gaping pit opened in my stomach. “Eric, it will be okay.” I didn’t know if that was true, but I couldn’t think of anything else to say.
He slammed on the breaks and I looked up to see a red light.
Eric hung his head. “I can’t do this,” he whispered.
I wanted to take his pain away. If I knew how, I would have done it in an instant.
A car honked behind us. The light had turned green. We drove the rest of the way to the hospital in heavy silence.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Eric paced in front of the crinkled leather hospital seats, sandals slapping against the hard floor. He hadn’t changed out of his wet swim shorts. His t-shirt was still damp at the bottom.
Mari and Lexi were flipping through magazines, though I doubted either were actually reading them. Charlie waited with his head cradled in his hands. Sam slumped in a seat with his eyes closed. He could have been sleeping except for the deep crease between his eyes. When the doctor arrived, Eric was the first to reach him.
“Is she okay?” We gathered around, anxious for news.
“She’s in a coma.” The doctor spoke slowly, his eyes going from person to person.
Mari gasped, and if it weren’t for Charlie grabbing her arms, she would have sunk to the ground. Silence stretched around us for a moment before everyone spoke at once.
“Can we see her?”
“What does that mean?”
“When will she come out of it?”
The doctor held up a hand for silence. “She sustained a serious head injury. It could be hours, days, even weeks. We are hopeful that it won’t last long, but one can never be sure in these situations.”
Charlie stepped forward, shaking Mari off his arm. “Can we see her?”
The doctor nodded. “Yes, you can see her now.”
A nurse showed us the way and the six of us piled into her room. Eric went immediately to her side and grabbed her hand, Charlie moved to her other side and did the same.
Lacey’s head was bandaged, her face pale. Tubes snaked in her mouth, her nose, her veins. She looked pale and still, as if the life usually bursting from her had been sucked away.
Eric sat down at the edge of the bed and stroked her cheek with his finger. He looked at her so sadly, so fondly, it broke my heart. At the same time, I felt awful for wanting to take him away from her, for wanting him back when I’d already had my chance and blown it.
Mari and Charlie crowded around the bed. Her brother, her best friend, her boyfriend—they needed their time with Lacey. I grabbed Lexi’s hand and we slipped from the room.
“At least she’ll live.”
I turned around to see Sam following us out of the room. He knew he didn’t belong in there either.
“She could be like that forever,” I said.
Sam had his hands shoved in his pockets and his eyes on the ground. “I mean, it could have been much worse.”
“No, you’re right. It could have been worse.” But it was still really bad. A headache threatened at the back of my skull. I put a hand on my neck and rubbed.
We stood in the hallway in silence. A few minutes later, Charlie and Eric filed out of Lacey’s room, leaving Mari inside.
“You should call your parents,” Eric said.
Charlie pulled out his cell phone and went down the hall to make the call.
Eric ran a hand through his hair, pacing in front of us. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Mari’s with her for now,” I said. “We can take turns at her bedside until her parents arrive.”
“That’s not what I meant,” he muttered. He rubbed a hand over his face.
“Then what?”
He shook his head. “I just can’t believe we’re here right now.”
I put my hand on his arm. “You should sit down. Try and sleep for a bit or something.” He shook his head again. “Mari’s with Lacey, she’ll be okay.”
Charlie returned, ducking into the room and motioning Mari outside. “They’re freaking out. They’ll be on the first flight tomorrow morning.”
“What do we do until then?” Mari asked.
“Stay. Wait,” Charlie said. Mari looked horrified. Her eyes roamed the floor of the hospital, the walls, the nurses hurrying by.
“We can take turns with her,” Eric said. He looked at me. “The rest of us can wait out here.”
Eric, Sam and Lexi walked down the corridor toward the waiting room while Charlie went into Lacey’s room to keep up her bedside vigil. Mari detached herself from her husband and reattached to me.
“I can’t do this all night.”
“We can’t leave Lacey by herself,” I said, surprised that Mari would even want to.
“I know but…”
I put my arm around my sister’s shoulders. “Mar, you need to be here for Lacey. She’s your best friend. Imagine how disappointed she’d be if she woke up and you weren’t here.”
Mari slumped as if the weight of my arm was too much to bear. “But what if she doesn’t wake up?” she whispered.
I pulled her all the way
into my embrace. “She will.”
* * * * *
It was one of the longest nights of my life. Lacey didn’t stir, didn’t move, didn’t wake. I felt the opposite—restless and twitchy. I couldn’t sleep. I alternated between sitting and pacing. Eric paced with me. He barely sat at all, just long enough to put his head in his hands. Seconds later, he would be up and pacing again.
Around four a.m., it was my turn with Lacey. I stared at her, haunted by memories of how she used to be. Her excitement, her innocence, her air of constant happiness—these were all qualities I admired in Lacey.
I willed her to wake up, to be okay, to put us all out of this misery. It was a selfish thought, but I couldn’t help it. When that didn’t work, when I knew I had to find something to occupy my mind, I turned to music.
I turned on my phone’s playlist. The volume down low, I listened to Liszt, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, and I liked to think that Lacey could hear it too. My fingers ran through my orchestra pieces. An endless number of notes kept me awake, kept my mind from worrying about Lacey, kept it from treading to a darker part of me that I didn’t want to acknowledge. The whole room filled with the sound of beauty.
I heard a cough and looked up. Eric stood in the doorway, his hair disheveled, bags under his eyes. I pressed pause, cutting off Barber mid-adagio.
“Any change?” he asked.
I shook my head. “You should get some sleep. You’ve hardly sat down this entire night.”
“I can’t.” He walked into the room and stood by the bed. “I hope she pulls through. I couldn’t bear it if…” He broke off. He knelt by the bed and pressed Lacey’s hand to his forehead. Eric started to sob.
At first, I looked away, unable to bear his pain. Unable to bear his pain for her. Then I went to him, knelt by his side. I wrapped my arms around him. He turned and put his face in my neck, his tears dripping into the silk of my top. He clutched one hand on my back, the other never let go of Lacey.
I stroked his head while his body trembled against mine. I had never seen Eric like this before. Not even when I broke his heart. It hurt. But I pushed my own pain away. Eric needed me. If this was all he needed from me, then I would give it to him. And when Lacey was okay again, I would walk away.
Eventually, Eric’s body stilled. He let loose one deep sigh, his breath warm on my skin. Untangling himself from me, he took my hand. We both stood.
“Sorry.” He dropped my hand. “I can’t believe I just…”
I reached out and lightly touched his cheek with my fingers. “It’s okay.”
Storm clouds raged in his eyes. He leaned into my touch. A breath rested between us. I inhaled, hoping to close the gap, yearning for his comfort. I wanted him to gather me into his embrace.
He turned his face away from me and left the room.
* * * * *
At seven a.m., the hospital began to wake up. Of course, it had never fully gone to sleep during the night, but lights brightened the hallways, nurses filled the empty spaces, and it became acceptable to talk in a normal voice instead of a whisper.
Sam was with Lacey. Charlie was asleep, his legs stretched onto a chair he had moved in front of himself. Lexi and I were talking aimlessly, neither of us really paying attention to the conversation. Mari was the only other person to find sleep, but it didn’t help her foul mood that morning.
I offered to get her a coffee in the cafeteria, hoping it would perk her up. When I exited the elevator, juggling five coffees and a water, Eric’s voice drifted to my ears.
“If it wasn’t for Ava, and Sam…”
I froze in front of the elevator.
“That’s what Ava’s best at,” Lexi said. “Taking care of everyone but herself. You should know that.” The accusation in her tone was clear. I held my breath.
“We both did what anyone would have done,” Sam said, filling the awkward silence.
“Mom and Dad will be here soon,” Charlie broke in. “Ava and Lexi don’t need to stay once they get here. Mari, you should go home with them.”
“No way,” Mari said. “I’m not leaving! Lacey needs me. And what about you?”
“Mar, I’ll be fine. The nanny is expecting us home,” Charlie said. “Ava and Lexi need to get back for their performance, so you might as well go home together.”
I’d listened long enough. Keeping my face blank, I rounded the corner.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. Charlie grabbed two coffees from my hand and gave one to his wife, who was scowling.
“My husband wants us to leave.”
Charlie grimaced. “My parents will be here this morning. I don’t think all of us need to stay.”
I passed the other coffees out to Lexi, Eric and Sam. “You’re right. We need to get back for rehearsals anyway.” I looked at Mari. “Come back with us. The boys are probably missing you like crazy.”
“My mom has been calling me nonstop because Elle keeps begging her to,” Lexi said. “It’s hard to be away.”
Mari softened. “Okay, I’ll go. The boys need me.”
Eric booked us an earlier flight. We had a little time left to say our goodbyes before we needed to head back to the hotel and pack. Mari wouldn’t get a chance to see her in-laws, something she wasn’t too disappointed about.
“Tell your mom and dad I’m sorry I couldn’t see them,” I said to Charlie. I had already whispered a goodbye to Lacey that she didn’t hear, and hugged Sam who was still by her side.
Charlie offered a brief hug. I turned to Eric.
His eyes wandered over my face while I searched for the right words. When they wouldn’t come, I stepped closer. He leaned toward me and I wrapped my arms around his waist. He rested his hands lightly on my hips. Hesitant. But then his embrace tightened, he pulled me closer.
“Everything’s going to be okay,” I said. I wanted to cling to him but I backed away instead. “She’ll be awake and back to her old self in no time. You’ll see.”
I was hoping that would make Eric smile. Instead, he hung his head, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand.
“Make sure you guys keep me up to date,” I said to both Eric and Charlie. “You know how bad Mari is with remembering to text.”
Eric looked up with a frown.
“What do you mean?” Charlie asked.
“I’m going to Malibu until I can find my own place,” I said. Lexi covered her surprise with a cough.
“What? Why?” Mari asked.
“I’ve bugged you guys long enough,” I said. “Besides, when Lacey gets back, I don’t want to be in the way of her recovery.” It was a lame excuse, but I couldn’t admit the real reason for leaving the comfort of Mari’s house.
“But you hate Malibu,” Eric said.
I shouldn’t have been surprised that he remembered.
“There are things she hates worse,” Lexi said.
Lexi was right, as usual. I hated Malibu. But loving Eric and seeing him with Lacey would be unbearable. Memories from the past were easier to deal with than that.
“We need to hurry or we’ll miss our flight,” I said.
Mari tearfully let go of Charlie.
We said our last goodbyes at the elevator. Before the door slid closed, Eric’s eyes found mine and his mouth whispered a goodbye.
Chapter Thirty
The wind blew a salty breeze through the open kitchen doors. Even though I hated our beach house in Malibu, the one thing I loved was the smell. Salt and the coconut scent of tanning lotion lingered in every room, on every surface. I took a deep breath, inhaling the aroma, exhaling the bad memories.
Beth strutted into the kitchen, unloading canvas bags from her arms onto the wood table. Shelby followed behind with even more purchases. So much for being on a budget.
“We went to the farmers market,” Beth said. “There wasn’t much there but I bought som
e organic vegetables. You can cook them up for dinner tonight.”
Lucky me. “Where’s Dad?”
“He’s bringing in his bags.” Beth ripped open a bag of Pirate’s Booty and started to munch.
“You should see the painting he bought,” Shelby said. She reached for some of Beth’s snack, but Beth yanked the bag out of her reach. “It was done by a local, some nobody, but I bet it’ll be worth something someday. He got it for a great deal.”
I rifled through the bags. “How’s he doing?” I asked Beth.
“He’s great!” Shelby gushed. “He said the funniest thing yesterday…” She trailed off at the look I was giving her.
I still didn’t know what Beth saw in Shelby. But then, Beth switched out best friends as often as she switched purses. Hopefully a change would be coming soon.
Beth ignored the mess she was making on the counter. “You’ve missed some great parties. I’m sure Laguna had nothing compared to Malibu.”
“It was okay,” I said absently. Beth had spent tons on food she wouldn’t eat, handmade jewelry she would probably never wear, and countless other knick-knacks and knock-offs. Her shopping addiction was rearing its ugly head.
Beth went to the table, leaving crumbs in her wake. “How’s Mari and her loser of a husband?”
“Charlie’s not a loser.”
Beth coughed—it sounded suspiciously like loser.
“At least he’s got a job.” My eyes flicked pointedly between Shelby and Beth.
“Video game tester is not a job. It’s just a lame excuse to play all day.”
“And what’s your excuse?” I regretted the words as soon as I said them.
Beth huffed. Then her face turned sly. “How’s your boyfriend?”
“Gage?” I started putting the vegetables away in the fridge. “Fine, I guess. I haven’t seen him in a few days.”
Beth glanced at Shelby and then back at me. Her grin widened. “We have.”
“That’s nice.” I hung the bananas on the banana hammock and then put the apples in the swinging basket underneath.
“He’s been by almost every day to visit,” Shelby said.
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