Instinctively Molly reached out to grab his arm.
“Wes, what’s wrong?”
His chest heaved as he struggled to get the words out. “There’s been an accident at the lake,” he gasped. “Someone call 911!”
Ryan and his friends sobered in an instant, collectively withdrawing cell phones from their pockets.
“No reception,” Ryan announced after a few minutes of trying. He shook his cell in frustration and cursed under his breath. “We must be out of range.”
“What happened?” Molly asked.
Before he spoke, Wesley threw me a strange look; it was almost imploring, like he was seeking my forgiveness.
“We dared him to dive-bomb from a tree but there were rocks in the water. He hit his head. He won’t wake up.”
As he spoke, his gaze never left my face. Why was he singling me out like this? I’d remained silent, but now a cold panic seized me, wrapping around me like icy fingers. It wasn’t Xavier. It couldn’t be Xavier. Xavier was the responsible one who had gone down there to keep an eye on the others. Xavier was probably down there right now, using his first-aid training until help arrived. But I knew my heart wasn’t going to stop pounding until I knew for certain. Someone else asked the question I couldn’t bring myself to utter.
“Who’s hurt?”
Wesley’s eyes looked guilt ridden and he hesitated a fraction too long, so I knew the answer before he spoke the name out loud.
“Woods.” It came out as a bland statement of fact, devoid of emotion, which didn’t strike me as odd until later when I replayed the scene in my head. But in that moment, all I could feel were my legs giving way beneath me. My worst fear — much greater than anything happening to me — was that any harm should come to Xavier, and now it had just come true. For a second it was too much to take in and I sagged helplessly against Ryan, who tried to hold me up, despite his own lack of balance. So this was what Xavier and I got as reward for spending time apart. I couldn’t believe fate could be so cruel. The one night our paths diverged he ended up unconscious. Wes put his head in his hands and groaned.
“Man, we are so screwed.”
“Was he drunk?” Ryan asked.
“Course he was,” Wes snapped. “We all were.”
In all the time we’d been together I’d never known Xavier to have more than a couple of beers. I’d never seen him touch hard liquor; he thought it was irresponsible. I couldn’t reconcile the image of him drunk and reckless in my head. It didn’t add up.
“No,” I said numbly. “Xavier doesn’t drink.”
“Yeah? Well, there’s a first time for everything.”
“Shut up and call an ambulance!” Molly screeched. Then I felt her arm around my shoulder and her auburn curls brushed my cheek as she leaned her head against mine. “It’s okay, Bethie, he’ll be okay,” she said.
Wesley watched us. His panic seemed to have transformed into a perverse delight in my distress. Others had gathered now and everyone had an opinion to voice on the best course of action. Their voices combined to create a meaningless babble.
“How bad is it? Should we try getting him to a doctor?”
“We’re all screwed if we call 911.”
“Oh, great idea,” someone retorted sarcastically. “Let’s just wait and see if he comes to by himself.”
“How bad is it, Wes?”
“I’m not too sure.” Wesley looked defeated. “He cut his head. There was a fair bit of blood ….”
“Crap. We gotta get help.”
The image of Xavier lying on the ground bleeding spurred me to action.
“I have to find him!” I was already stumbling toward Wesley. “Someone show me the way to the lake!” Molly was suddenly by my side, her hands gripping my shoulders both restraining and comforting.
“Calm down, Beth” she said. “Can somebody drive her?”
“Don’t be stupid, Molly, the lake’s in the woods,” Ben said. “You can’t get there by car. Someone drive into town and call a friggin’ ambulance.”
I couldn’t waste another second listening to their facile deliberations when Xavier was hurt and my healing powers could help him.
“I’m going,” I announced, breaking into a run.
“Wait! I can take you.” Wes had suddenly reverted back to his former concern. “It’s faster than runnin’ in the dark,” he added weakly, as if he knew that taking me to Xavier would in no way exonerate his involvement in the accident.
“No,” Molly said protectively. “You should stay here while we try and get a doctor.”
“What about calling his dad?” someone suggested. “He’s a surgeon, isn’t he?”
“Good idea. Find his number.”
“Mr. Woods is a cool guy, he won’t report us.”
“Yeah and how are you gonna contact him without reception?” Ben sounded exasperated. “Telepathy?”
I was struggling to keep my wings from bursting free and carrying me to Xavier. It was my body’s natural reaction, and I didn’t know if I could contain them much longer. I looked impatiently at Wesley.
“What are we waiting for?”
By way of reply he mounted the bike and offered me his arm so I could use it to wedge myself in behind him. The shiny motorcycle glinted like some alien insect in the moonlight.
“Hey! What about a helmet?” Ben asked churlishly as Wes kicked the bike into gear. He resented the school jocks and their daredevil antics. I could see in his face that he was also concerned about my safety given Wesley’s questionable level of responsibility. I understood that Ben was only being protective, but right then I had only one objective in mind and that was to get to Xavier.
“No time.” Wes was curt. He reached back to grab both my arms and positioned them securely around his waist.
“Hold on tight,” he instructed. “And whatever you do, don’t let go.”
The bike spun around before careening down the driveway and out toward the black ribbon of highway.
“Isn’t the lake the other way?” I shouted over the roar of the engine.
“Shortcut,” Wes bellowed in reply.
I tried reaching out to Xavier to sense the extent of his injuries. But I drew a blank. It surprised me; I could usually sense his moods even before he did. Gabriel had told me I would know immediately if he were ever in trouble. But this time I’d missed it. Was it because I’d been too busy stressing out over a ridiculous séance?
Wes had just turned onto the highway and begun to pick up speed when I heard a voice calling my name from behind. Even over the din of the engine I knew it was a voice I loved more than any other and I’d been waiting to hear it all night. It revived me. Wes swerved the bike around, and I saw Xavier standing, washed in moonlight, on the side of the road. My heart lightened immediately. He looked perfectly healthy.
“Beth?” he repeated my name in a cautious tone. He was standing just meters away from us and I was so excited to see him in one piece that it didn’t even occur to me that anything might be amiss. I didn’t stop to wonder why Xavier looked so surprised to see us.
“Where are you guys going?” he asked. “And, Wes, where the hell did you get that bike?”