“Dude, check this …” Armie was attempting a handstand with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. But he was a little too intoxicated and fell flat on his face. I burst out laughing. You could always rely on Armie for some comic relief.
Jesse and Piper paused and turned to watch him.
“You’re such a gymnast,” Jesse joked.
Armie picked himself up and attempted another handstand only to fail once again. He paused on the road to pick up his cigarette.
“Let’s go Mary Lou Retton,” I said.
The light appeared from nowhere. One moment it was dark and the road was deserted, the next moment the bright light hit us. I heard the roar of the engine, the sudden screech of brakes and then the brilliant brightness of car headlights as they descended upon us.
* * * * *
HARLOW
It took me a moment to realize my phone was ringing. I fumbled in the dark and answered it.
Straight away I heard sobbing. “Harlow. It’s Piper.”
“Piper? Why are you crying?”
“You have to come down to the hospital.”
Fear tingled up my spine. I quickly sat up and turned on the bedside lamp.
“What’s happened? Are you hurt?”
There was more sobbing and anxiety prickled across my body.
Please God, let Heath be okay.
“He’s dead Harlow …” Piper’s voice broke.
I sucked in a deep breath and held it.
Not Heath. Please don’t let it be Heath.
“There was a car. We were walking –” Piper broke off sobbing and I clutched the phone. I felt sick.
“Who died Piper? Who?” The sharpness in my voice surprised me and I realized I was speaking through gritted teeth. My heart stuttered and missed a beat.
She sobbed and sniffed. “Armie’s dead, Harlow. Armie’s goddamn dead.”
Within twenty minutes I was running through the doors of the emergency department. Tears streaked down my face. They’d started in the car and I’d be damned if I could get them to stop.
I found Jesse in the waiting room with his head in his hands as Piper comforted him. She looked up when I walked in, her eyes red from crying. She jumped up and hugged me with a sob. I bit back more tears as she broke from our embrace and looked up at me, her face tear stained, her nose swollen from wiping it.
“What happened?” I asked quietly.
“The guys had just finished a show. We stayed back for a few drinks.” She sniffed, wiping her eyes with her fingers. “Heath offered me, Jesse and Armie a lift because he wasn’t drinking so he could drive. We were walking to the car when Armie was goofing around on to the road. He was drunk.” She started to cry again. “It happened so quickly. One minute we were goofing around and the next—” She broke off in a sob and Jesse took her in his arms.
He looked at me, his face drawn. “A car came around the corner. They were speeding but Armie was in the middle of the road. He didn’t have a chance.”
“Where are the others? Are they okay?” I asked Jesse.
“Zack and Tommy are outside, having a smoke. Heath is down the corridor.” He nodded towards a corridor leading away from the waiting room. “He’s not doing too good.”
I headed down the brightly lit corridor bracing myself for Heath’s condition. I found him leaning against the wall, his forehead buried in his arm. He looked up when I said his name. His beautiful eyes were wet with tears. His face crumpled when he saw me and he pulled me to him, burying his face in my shoulder and grasping me close.
“We’re going to get through this,” I said quietly. He pulled back and exhaled deeply, fighting off another wave of emotion. He opened his mouth to speak but closed it, turning his eyes to the ceiling. His dimples flickered as he fought with the emotional pain.
“I just—” He ran his hand through his hair. “I can’t believe he is gone.”
“Do his parents know?”
His eyes found mine as tears spilt down his cheeks. “I had to fucking phone them. Jesus Christ, I had to tell them. The police were going to, but I didn’t want some stranger turning up on their doorstep.” He wiped his cheek. “They’re flying in tomorrow.”
I pulled him into my arms again and felt him relax into me.
“We need to get you home. There’s nothing more you can do for Armie here at the hospital,” I said gently. “You, the rest of the guys, Piper, we’ll go back to your place and we’ll face this together, okay?”
He pulled back from me, bewildered, and his blue eyes were bright with tears. “I don’t know if I can do this.” he whispered.
I held him by the chin so I could look him square in the eye. “You can and you will. But we will do it together, okay?”
We headed back to Heath’s house. Shock and grief set in on everyone. Hardly anyone spoke. We stopped and picked up a couple of bottles of bourbon and sat in the lounge room and talked. There were tears. The pain was raw. It seemed so unreal.
When the sun came up I pulled the blinds so it was dark and slowly fatigue took over and sleep finally found everyone.
* * * * *
HEATH
When everyone fell asleep, to my surprise Harlow took me by the hand and led me to my bedroom. Without words we slipped out of our clothes, down to our underwear, and climbed into bed. She immediately wrapped her arms around me and held me against her. Her warmth and the soft beat of her heart was an elixir to my torment. It helped me to fight off another wave of tears.
Being there like that, in her arms and feeling the soft caress of her warm breath against my cheek, calmed me so I felt like I could catch my breath. And God knew, I needed to catch my breath.
As we lay there in the stillness of the dark morning, gentle fingers traced delicate lines across my skin, lulling my exhausted mind so I finally slipped into a restless sleep.
It happened so fast. The headlights appeared out of nowhere. Having retrieved his cigarette, Armie stood up and was suddenly silhouetted against the car headlights. Brakes squealed. Armie looked bewildered and turned towards the light as if in slow motion. Suddenly, he was propelled into the air.
“Nooooooo!” I screamed.
The impact sent him flying several meters. He hit the road with a sickening thud and slid across the asphalt. The car screeched to a halt, filling the air with burnt rubber.
I ran to Armie who was bloodied and broken on the side of the road. He was barely conscious. I dropped to my knees. There was so much blood. His eyes found mine and he reached out with a bloodied hand. I grabbed it and held it tight.
Everything was slow. Like it was happening a few seconds slower than real life; like the audio had been turned down on a playback. I was barely aware of Jesse and Piper next to me. I heard Piper’s voice and it vaguely registered that she was on the phone to paramedics, pleading with them to hurry.
Armie gave my hand a gentle shake. His dazed eyes were on me and they looked afraid. I could only imagine the pain he was in. He was lying in an awkward position but I didn’t dare move him. God knew what sort of damage had occurred internally. His legs were bent in awkward positions and I could see they were both badly broken.
“It’s going to be okay Armie, help’s on its way, just hang on buddy.”
But it wasn’t going to be okay and Armie knew it. He gripped his hand around mine and swallowed hard.
“Oh damn …” he murmured.
And then he was gone.
Just like that.
Armie took his final breath and died.
I bolted upright in bed, ripped from my sleep by grief and panic, and those vivid images of Armie’s last moments.