Page 74 of For You I'd Mend
“Thanks, Theo,” Cal said. “You’re the best.”
“Didn’t I just say that?” Aiden yelled.
“But Theo stopped drinking so I could get trashed. That’s why he’s the best,” Cal said, trying to pat my shoulder. He ended up patting the back of my seat before slumping against the door. “Why not just dump me? Why keep pretending she cared about me all summer?”
“Guess she wanted the D until the last minute,” Aiden said. “Oh, I should text her that.”
“Don’t text her that,” Logan said. “You’ll only stir her up.”
I glanced in the rearview mirror again. Aiden had pulled out his phone and was jabbing at the screen with his thick fingers. “Done,” he said. “I can’t wait to see what she writes back.”
“I don’t want to know,” Cal said.
I accelerated as we reached the stretch of country road nicknamed “rollercoaster hill.” Cal, Aiden, and Logan raised their arms and yelped as the car dipped, then rose quickly, a sensation that always made my stomach flip.
“I’m going to miss that hill when I’m at college,” Logan said.
“Oh, shit,” Aiden said, laughing. “Dude, you have to read this.”
“No, I don’t,” Cal said pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes.
“Yes, you do,” Aiden said, flinging off his seatbelt and leaning into the front seat with his phone.
“Sit down, asshole,” I snapped.
“Read it,” Aiden yelled.
“I don’t want to,” Cal said, pressing himself against the door.
“Cut it out, Aid,” Logan said yanking the back of Aiden’s shirt.
Aiden slithered in between the front seats until half his body rested on the center console. “Look, Cal.”
I heard Logan’s seatbelt unlock just before his huge arms wrapped around Aiden and pulled him back to his seat. I entered a blind turn. A seatbelt clicked.
“You can show him tomorrow,” I heard Logan say just as a deer darted into the road.
“Shit,” I yelled, slamming on the brakes and swerving toward the edge of the road. The car skidded, the acrid smell of rubber pouring into the interior. It happened so fast. The deer. Theslide. The sickening crunch as the car wrapped around a tree on the passenger side.
The air bags deployed, saving my head from the steering wheel, pillow-like clouds exploding all around the front seat. I looked over at Cal, my heart hammering. He was limp against the side of the car, the air bag deflating fast, too fast. I flung off my seatbelt and crawled over the console to him.
“Cal,” I yelled. Blood covered the side of his face. His arm bent at an odd angle. I couldn’t even see his legs through the wreckage. “Brother,” I yelled. He still didn’t answer me, but his chest moved up and down.
I turned to look in the back seat. Aiden was slumped against the crumbled door, just as bloodied and broken as Cal. I reached into the back seat and grabbed his left wrist. A surge of relief crashed through me when I felt his steady pulse. Then I realized, he was alone.
The seat where Logan had been moments before was empty. My heart rate accelerated when I saw the broken glass littered across the back seat. Had I passed out? Did he climb out already and call 911? Logan would know we needed help, but why didn’t he check on everyone first? He had to have climbed out.
I pushed down the air bag and opened my door, which was surprisingly undamaged. I rolled out of the car and smacked my knee on the asphalt, the pain soothing some of the panic filling my chest.
“Logan,” I yelled, rising to my feet. I looked up and down the deserted road. Nothing. “Logan,” I yelled again, my voice raw with fear. The moon was covered in clouds and without streetlights, the night lay dark and thick. I fumbled in my pocket for my cell and turned on the flashlight. I crossed the road and scanned the field. The reflective decal on Logan’sshoes flashed back at me from a sweep of long grass. I ran and dropped to my knees beside him.
I knew he was gone the moment I saw him. His neck twisted in a way no one could survive. I rolled away from him and gagged; the beer I drank earlier made sour puddles on the grass. Then with shaking hands, I grabbed his wrist, hoping I was wrong. I wasn’t.
A sound like a hurt animal filled the quiet night. It took me a moment to realize the animal was me.
A gentle hand touched my chest, and I was surrounded by Poppy’s lavender scent.
“Look at me, Theo.”
