August Page 15

  There were already a lot of cars there, so we ended up having to walk the length of the driveway. With every step I could feel myself getting more nervous; I really didn’t want to see Samuel tonight. He hadn’t texted Carley back about whether or not he was coming, but I was sure that if he was home he’d come. He lived next door, for crying out loud.

  Walking into Chelsea’s modern kitchen, I would have been prepared to see Samuel – sort of – but I definitely wasn’t prepared to see Lydia and Leslie. Both girls stood there holding colorful drinks and talking to Chelsea. They looked their usual selves: a mixture of bondage and gothic.

  I gulped. If I’d made a list of all the people I didn’t want to run into tonight there would have been only one person higher on it than Lydia and Leslie. And that was Samuel’s mother.

  “Well, well, if it isn’t Carley’s friend,” said Leslie.

  Seriously? Just today I’d accused them of almost killing me, and now they couldn’t even be bothered to remember my name? Evil, the both of them!

  “Her name…what’s her name?” asked Chelsea. She had trouble not slurring her words.

  “Autumn,” I said. “My name is Autumn.” I emphasized every letter.

  “Right…” said Chelsea. She was sort of looking me up and down in that condescending yet pleasant way that only drunk people can manage.

  “You were right,” I muttered to Carley. “This is going to be an awesome party.”

  I’m not sure if she heard me, though, because she was too busy talking to Chelsea.

  Nick tried to talk to Lydia and Leslie, because poor Nick had no idea just how evil they really were, but they ignored him.

  “I don’t think they like me,” Nick muttered to me after he’d given up.

  “You aren’t losing much,” I said back.

  Nick grinned. “Think I could make Carley jealous?”

  “That’d be mean,” I replied, tucking my hands into my hoodie.

  “I know,” said Nick. “I’m just asking.”

  At that moment I saw that Carley was talking to a gorgeous guy who was standing next to Chelsea, and it occurred to me, not for the first time, that she might deserve Nick trying to make her jealous.

  “She can’t just treat me like dirt and then expect me to be waiting around for her when she decides to come back,” said Nick. “That’s normally a guy thing to do.”

  “You noticed?” I asked, trying not to grin.

  “Yeah it is, and she’d hate it if someone she cared about did it to her,” said Nick. “But she does it to me.”

  I felt bad for Nick. I knew he was right, but they were both friends of mine and Carley had been my friend first. “I guess,” I said. “But in a relationship the person who cares less is always the one with the power.”

  “Are you saying I care more about her than she cares about me?” Nick asked. He wouldn’t look at me. It was always hard to hear a truth that you didn’t want to know, no matter how well intentioned.

  I tried to backtrack. “I was just thinking out loud,” I murmured. “Let’s get drinks.”

  “I’m driving,” said Nick. “And you’ve hardly ever had a drink in your life.”

  It was true. My mother was very strict about where I went and with whom. I’d always planned on questioning her authority, and I had gone to the Solstice Party after she’d expressly told me not to. I got away with it in a way, though of course there was a massive battle and the Winter Queen tried to kill me, so maybe I should have listened to her and not gone. But still, she didn’t find out.

  I wasn’t sure, though, that tonight was the night to break her ironclad rule about drinking; Chelsea’s place didn’t really seem worth it. Maybe sometime with Holt…. I banished that thought from my mind. He still hadn’t texted me back, and my certainty that I’d see him later was starting to waver.

  After Nick and I got sodas and I snagged a bag of chips, we headed outside. I didn’t know most of the people there, and Nick needed to be distracted from the fact that Carley was inside flirting with some guy she didn’t even know.

  Nick and I sat on the sand. The ocean view stretched before us, black as the night except for the streak of the moon’s reflection on the water’s surface.

  After a while the two of us grew quiet and just people-watched. From time to time friends would come up and talk to us, then wander off to dance or play pool or drink. Nick really seemed like he just wanted to be alone with me, or at least, he probably wanted to be alone with Carley, but she was busy. I was too tired from my ocean ordeal to do much.

  “Where’s Carley?” I asked, craning my neck around to look at the house again.

  “I would wonder the same thing, except that she clearly doesn’t give a shit about where I am,” said Nick bitterly.

  At just that moment Carley came outside. She had a drink in her hand and was stumbling. A guy in bright blue swim trunks had his arm wrapped around her shoulders, not the same one as before. This one looked more like a football linebacker with a shaved head.

  “Here we go,” I muttered. This had trouble written all over it.

  Carley was completely oblivious to everything going on around her except for the guy with his arm around her shoulder. All I could see was that she was laughing hysterically at something.

  Out of the corner of my eye I saw Nick’s jaw muscles tighten.

  Bright Blue Swim Trunks swept one of his arms around Carley’s waist and hoisted her over his shoulder. She gave a loud squeal and started hitting his shoulder, but I got the idea she didn’t actually mind him picking her up.

  I didn’t think much of him picking her up, except that Nick might explode next to me – until he started carrying her towards the water.

  Oh, no! I thought. As he got closer and closer to the water’s edge, I jumped to my feet. I had to stop him.

  Too late. He had already gotten up to his waist; then he threw her in.

  Chapter Fifteen

  I didn’t know what to do, so I screamed and ran towards the water. I didn’t care that it was crazy for me to actually go in. The Water Sprite might want me most, but my friend was in danger. I had no delusions about fighting off a Water Sprite; my big idea was to get to Carley before I had to.

  She had yet to surface out of the water, but before I reached the edge Nick ran past me. He wasn’t exactly an athlete and his running was more like a fast loping. I had hoped he was going for Carley, but he wasn’t. Instead, he slammed into Bright Blue Shorts Guy and the two of them went splashing into the water.

  I started to yell more and run faster without realizing that we had developed an audience. Apparently a bunch of people screaming and fighting attracted spectators. Who knew?

  I was up to my knees in the water, still searching for any sign of Carley, when something streaked past me going much faster than Nick had been. If Nick was a baseball thrown by a high school pitcher, this ball had been thrown by a major leaguer. It moved so fast I couldn’t even follow it, but I did catch sight of short dark hair before it splashed into the water. I thought I heard, “Get out of the damn water, Autumn,” but I couldn’t be sure

  I guess Samuel did decide to come to the party.

  Following close behind him were Lydia and Leslie. I’ll say this for them: they might be evil, but they sure could run. If they ran a foot race against Nick, they’d beat him by miles.

  I gulped and got out of the water. Someone handed me a towel. I was relieved that Carley would be in good hands. Well, at least I knew that Samuel would save her, and Lydia and Leslie probably wouldn’t do anything shady or evil mastermind-like with him around.

  I took a deep breath and tried to calm down, but my heart was still racing.

  I could see that Nick was now being legitimately pummeled. Blue Shorts Guy was holding him underwater.

  I thought of trying to help Nick, but my legs gave out from under me and I sat down. In my defense, I wasn’t supposed to go in the water anyway, and it’s not like I could throw something at Blue Shorts G
uy. My aim was shit and he was probably too drunk to feel it. As my dad said: “The broad side of a barn would be safe against you, Autumn.”

  Lucky for Nick, some other guys from the party were coming to the rescue. They were calling Bright Blue Shorts Guy “Big Jake,” and it didn’t require a huge leap of the imagination to figure out why they’d come up with that.

  I continued to stare dumbly at the scene in front of me. I felt too numb to do anything useful, which in hindsight was ridiculous, because it’s not like I was drunk or impaired. It was all just so shocking I couldn’t think straight enough to pick something and do it.

  One of the guys literally had to wrap his arm around Big Jake’s neck while a couple of others pulled on his torso to get him to let go of Nick. Once Nick was freed he staggered over and collapsed next to me. One of his eyes was already starting to swell shut.

  Under normal circumstances I’d be the first one to go get an ice pack for him, but I could see no sign of Carley, so there was no way I was moving. I had also lost sight of the Cheshires. Instead of going myself, I peered back towards the house and yelled, “Hey, can someone bring some ice?” One of the girls went to get what I asked for while Nick sprawled out next to me.

  “That’s going to be quite the black eye,” I commented absently.

  “Ouch,” Nick moaned, his hand over his face.

  “Well yeah,” I said.

  Suddenly Nick sat upright. His eyes had gone wide. “WHERE IS CARLEY?”

  “Samuel went to get her,” I said. I had no idea what else to say, so the truth made sense. I just didn’t know how I’d actually explain it to him.

  “What? I have to go too.” Nick tried to get to his feet, but he only made it to his knees before he started to sway.

  “Autumn, why aren’t you doing anything?” he cried, putting his hand on my shoulder. I’m not sure if he did that to steady himself or to encourage me to action.

  “Because Samuel, Lydia, and Leslie have it under control,” I said evenly. I hoped that was true. “We aren’t any help to them.”

  “Help me up,” said Nick, poking me in the arm.

  “What? You can’t stand. You have to rest,” I protested.

  “Autumn,” said Nick dangerously. I had never heard him use that tone of voice before. “We are going to stand up and wait for Carley.”

  I realized he had a point. I was less help from an on-the-ground point of view.

  Big Jake walked past us glaring, and I stuck my tongue out at him. Petty maybe, but it felt good at the time. He just raised his eyebrows at me and shook his head. I would never be intimidating.

  “They’ve been gone a long time,” said Nick, chewing on a fingernail.

  My phone buzzed. I glanced at the text. It was Holt, asking me which party I’d gone to. There was no way I was going to text him back, though, not until Carley and Samuel came out of the water safely. Lydia and Leslie could go with the Water Sprite for all I cared.

  A girl ran up to Nick with some ice, but he didn’t even notice her trying to hand it to him; his eyes were glued on the ocean. I had to take it from her and press it to his head. At the feel of the cold he winced, but he didn’t look away from where Samuel had gone under.

  “They’re fine,” I said. I noticed for the first time that a few people were around us, kind of looking around warily, but time hadn’t stopped. Everyone else was still enjoying the party. They had no idea that Carley had disappeared.

  How had it happened so quickly? I wondered. She hadn’t even had time to surface. The second she was thrown in, that was it. How could the Water Sprite have been in the right spot so fast?

  Now I could feel myself starting to panic. When I’d first seen Samuel go in after Carley, I’d felt better. Holt had saved me, so of course Samuel would save Carley. Although I would die before I admitted this to them, Lydia and Leslie going in after them had also helped calm me down. It was three against one, right?

  But now, as the minutes trickled past and there was still no sign of life, I was starting to freak out. This was my best friend. A girl I’d spent all summer with. Yeah, she had her faults, but who didn’t? It’s the imperfections that make the person, or at least that’s what I’d always been told.

  “People can’t survive underwater forever,” Nick pointed out.

  Splash.

  “There they are!” I cried triumphantly, pointing out into the water.

  Nick groaned with relief. His face transformed from a mask of pain and worry to one of desperate happiness.

  “Do they have her?” he asked. He was shifting from one foot to the other on the sand. If not for the strong hold I kept on his shirt, he would have dashed into the water to meet them.

  “Nick, that Big Jake guy punched you and tried to drown you. If you go back into the water the Cheshires are going to have another person they have to save.”

  Under Nick’s pale exterior I could see him blush. He knew I was right.

  I took a deep breath and watched the forms moving towards us. They were going very slowly. When they were all almost out of the water, I could see that Samuel was pulling Carley along, while Lydia was behind him, swimming backwards to keep her face trained out on the ocean, and Leslie was trying to support a head. Carley’s head. I let out a moan.

  Even from this distance I could see that she was pale and barely breathing. Nick had gone into hysterics and no amount of shirt holding could keep him from running to her. He did it on wobbling legs and when he got to her, Leslie blocked his path.

  “She’s going to be fine,” she said in a voice that was remarkably gentle and persuasive.

  Samuel came onto the sand and laid Carley on the beach. I dropped to my knees next to her.

  “Has someone called 911?” I yelled.

  I heard someone in the crowd say yes, but my focus was on Carley. She was breathing, but it was faint.

  “What happened to her?” I asked, looking up into Samuel’s troubled eyes. He was wet and his dark hair hung in his face. I could see the muscles of his chest through his wet shirt.

  “She’ll be fine.”

  “How do you know?” I yelled at him. “How do you know?”

  He shook his head. “She just needs to get to a hospital, but she’s not going to die, Autumn. I promise.”

  “Why did it take three of you?” I asked, glaring at them, while Nick knelt on Carley’s other side and took her hand. “Holt didn’t need help saving me.” It was petty of me to point that out, I knew it, but it needed to be said. He’d been alone and he’d been a lot faster.

  “Ungrateful little thing, aren’t you?” spat Lydia. “Because if you must know, Holt is stronger in the summer, just as we are stronger in the winter. It doesn’t seem like that should be a big leap for you.”

  Have I mentioned recently how much I hate her?

  “Leave her alone,” said Samuel gently, poking Lydia. She looked like she was about to say something else, but she thought better of it.

  The rest of the evening went by in a blur. The paramedics came and took Carley away. I had no idea what they were doing to her, and I’m pretty sure Samuel performed Glamour on everyone, because they all thought she’d sprained her ankle when she was thrown in and that’s how the current pulled her out: basically what people thought had happened to me, only with the ankle as an added touch. It’s a good thing people were so gullible. Two best friends have the same accident a day apart. Yeah, that happens all the time.

  I finally texted Holt back and he said he’d meet us at the hospital. Mrs. Hightower had a complete fit when I told her, but of course she’d be at the hospital too.

  Lydia and Leslie, of course, refused to go with us, so Samuel drove Nick and me over. The drive was short, and once we were there we all waited for Mrs. Hightower, since they wouldn’t tell us anything without Carley’s family present.

  Nick was blaming himself. He didn’t think he should have let her go to the party, let alone drink. Samuel told him that girls were stubborn and always tho
ught they knew better and didn’t listen to guys. I had a feeling he was saying it to me as much as to Nick, but I ignored him; I would never tell him that sometimes he might have a point. There was nothing I could have said to Carley tonight to change the outcome. It’s hard to see a friend heading for trouble and to have to sit back and watch it happen, but sometimes the mark of being a good friend is to just sit with someone after she’s fallen flat on her face.

  Finally Mrs. Hightower arrived and spoke with a doctor. By the time she came back to us Holt had arrived and I was sitting awkwardly in a waiting room with a panicked Nick, a drenched Samuel, and a very attractive Holt. Geez, I’d gone from having no guys at all to having way too many. I’d love to know how I managed that.

  “She’s going to be fine,” said Mrs. Hightower, returning. “She’s going to stay here overnight, but we can bring her home in the morning.”

  “Wonderful,” said Nick. Breathing a sigh of relief, he let his head drop in between his knees.

  “You should get that eye looked at, young man,” said Mrs. Hightower sternly. “I mean it. You aren’t leaving here until a doctor takes a look.”

  “No, really, I’m fine, Mrs. H.,” said Nick.

  “Don’t call me Mrs. H.,” she said.

  “Right.”

  “Holt Roth, Samuel Cheshire, what are you both doing here?” she asked, turning to me with a knowing smile. I wondered if it was possible to disappear into the floor. At that moment I thought that if I could choose a superpower, that would be it. My face must have been SO red.

  “You know, if you’re going to be hanging around with Autumn so much you should both come to dinner sometime. How about tomorrow night?”

  Before she gave either of them a chance to respond, she towed Samuel out of the room. He glanced back at me with a pained expression. I grinned. I yawned. We didn’t have much in the fridge. I should probably offer to go grocery shopping for Mrs. Hightower.

  Then it hit me. What she had just said. She’d just invited Samuel and Holt over for dinner. Tomorrow. Together. Oh, man.

  Chapter Sixteen