Page 79 of Lost
After the past two days, he would never doubt it again either.
Somebody had brought in a white sheet and covered Alfonzo’s body. Lysander was already making a point of not looking at it, but to Zack it only made the scene look more ghastly than before, particularly as it soaked up red from the floor. At least now there was no doubt that he was dead.
And good riddance, Zack thought to himself.
“Mr Bennett.” The young officer stepped forward slowly. His eyes moved between father and son, like he knew he was interrupting something. “The ambulance is waiting outside. If you’d like to—”
“Ambulance?” Lysander repeated, startled.
“Yes, ambulance,” Zack replied. “It had to be here, just in case something went wrong. Besides, You’re going to the hospital to be checked out — and I don’t want to hear any arguments about it. It’s non-negotiable.”
Lysander had indeed opened his mouth as if to argue, but snapped it shut again at Zack’s words.
He went along without a fight.
It wasn’t until they were at the hospital and Lysander was being checked over by a doctor and questioned by a police officer that Zack finally called home. Georgia answered on the first ring, and her frantic “Hello?” told him she’d been sitting beside the phone all afternoon, waiting for news. Not only for herself, but for their friends as well. They were all at his house, anxiously waiting to hear the outcome of the afternoon’s events. There for support, no matter which way the situation had gone. He was glad to be calling with good news.
“It’s me,” he said gently. “Lysander’s fine. It’s all over. We’re at the hospital now, getting him checked out. You wanna meet us here?”
“We’ll be there in five minutes.”
Lysander dealt with everything like a pro. He didn’t complain when a nurse took two vials of blood from him and insisted on setting up an IV to keep his fluids up, and he answered every question asked of him by the police officer without delay, even if the look on his face said he’d rather be anywhere else. Zack sat on his other side, ready to stop the interview the second Lysander made it clear he was done. But he never did.
“I think that’s all we need for now,” the officer said at long last. He re-capped his pen and dropped it into his front pocket. “If we have any further questions, we’ll be in touch. Likewise, if you have any of your own, feel free to call us. Thank you for your time, Mr Bennett.”
“Maverick.”
The correction had been automatic, but it made Lysander pause. He seemed startled by his own abruptness, and a look of guilt crossed his face as he turned to Zack. Zack raised an eyebrow back at him. He hated to see the look on the boy’s face. He wanted a smile. Anything positive, for that matter. Just not guilt.
“What’s the matter?”
“That made me sound really ungrateful.” Lysander grimaced. “I’m sorry.”
“You’re not ungrateful, kid. And if it bothers you that much, you can always change your name. You know I wouldn’t mind.” He put a gentle hand on his son’s shoulder. “But it’s your choice. I’m not going to make you.”
“I know. But I don’t think I’m ready to give up that part of myself. Not yet.”
“Maverick suits you,” Zack assured him. In dismissal he added, “Thank you, officer.”
Left alone for the first time in more than twenty-four hours, Zack and Lysander were silent. Lysander relaxed into the crisp white sheets, looking utterly exhausted. Seeing him like that, safe and with the horror firmly behind him, Zack let the tension release from his own shoulders.
From the moment Pat had convinced him he needed to call the police, life had been a cacophony of movement and sound. He’d had cops dressed as civilians entering his house to question him, friends and family offering company when all he had wanted was to be alone and scared, movies playing all night just to fill the void that was supposed to be for sleep, alarms blaring in his head every time he remembered that his son’s life could be in danger. It was nice to just soak up the silence for a change. The only sound now was the sound of himself and his son breathing.
“You’re sure you’re okay?” he asked after a while, unable to help himself. “Everybody’s been going crazy over this. Jack’s been blaming himself for not stepping in and doing something.”
“It wasn’t his fault,” Lysander said. “They would have shot him.”
“That’s what we keep telling him, but he’s going to need to hear it from you.”
“I’ll call him as soon as we get home. Assuming I’m going to have room to breathe. Georgia’s not going to smother me, is she?”
“When we get home? No. Everybody’s on their way here now.”
As if on cue, the woman rounded the corner.
Lysander looked up at his step-mother; Zack looked to his wife. The air around Georgia seemed to clear as she relaxed, as if she’d brought with her the dark cloud that had been looming over them since Lysander’s disappearance. She crossed to them quickly, and in much the same way that Zack had she threw her arms around Lysander.
It warmed Zack’s heart to see his son hug her back.
