“Apparently, you didn’t think she was all that freaky a few minutes ago,” Misty snapped, and a few people tittered.
Oh. Oh, no, Erin, what did you do?If she’d been all over Ben, that, at least, would have explained Alona’s deviation from the plan and her no-holds-barred attack on Erin.
“What do you want, Evans?” Ben swiped the back of his hand at the blood dripping from his nose. Yeah, I’d done that. I might have felt pride, if I had been capable of feeling more than anything but hurt and kind of broken.
“How about starting college without a criminal record?” she demanded. “Do you remember what happened the last time that chick got into trouble at one of your parties? Cops everywhere.”
A murmur spread through the crowd, as though this was the first time they’d considered the possibility of law-enforcement intervention. Dumbasses. Just because Ben was invincible on school grounds didn’t mean the same concept applied here.
“And beating himup is going to help how?” Misty continued, in that same pushy tone I recognized from Alona. “You’re just making it worse for yourself. All he has to do is tell the police he came in to get her and you attacked him.”
The crowd murmur grew louder, and Ben, ever the experienced host, looked around and saw his party on the brink of breaking up in a panic. He shook his head and spat on the ground next to me in disgust. “Whatever.” He kicked at my leg, but since he lacked most of his previous force, it was more for show than anything else. “Get her and get out.”
He turned and walked away. “We’re not going to let them spoil our party!” he shouted to his audience. “Time to tap a fresh one!”
A celebratory cry went up from those standing around me, and the crowd began to dissipate, without anyone giving me a second glance, let alone checking to see if I was okay. The show was over, and I had all the significance of a discarded prop.
Above me, Misty gave Chris a gentle shove to follow Ben, but instead of going along with him, as I expected, she paused for a quick second and scanned me from head to toe, like she was checking for broken bones poking out.
“Thanks,” I managed to mumble. Misty had saved my ass. I could maybe see now why Alona had stuck by her, even after Misty did what she had done with Chris.
For a long moment she didn’t respond, and then she nodded at me. It was barely noticeable—in case anyone was watching, obviously—but it was there. Then she strolled away, beer cup in hand and shrieking a high-pitched greeting to one of her fellow cheerleaders across the yard.
In Misty’s mind, we were even now. Fair enough.
I rolled to my side and the pain made me catch my breath, but I pushed myself up to my knees and then slowly to my feet. Taking stock, I could feel countless bruises and scrapes, and from the sharp pain on my left side every time I inhaled and exhaled, I was betting on cracked ribs. I could, however, still breathe, so probably not a punctured lung or anything.
Goody. Yay me.
I raised my gaze to the tree line in the distance, attempting to steel myself for the walk to find Alona and Erin, wherever they’d disappeared to (and with Alona’s situation I could only pray that wasn’t literally the case) and froze when I got a good look at the woods.
The light—bright, warm, and glorious—reached above the treetops in a gleaming column. It had come for someone. Erin…or Alona?
Or both?
Would Alona be gone before I even got a chance to say good-bye? A real good-bye? One last kiss and the chance to tell her that she’d made my life better even as she’d made me crazy? That we were better together than I would ever be by myself, but that because of her, I would be okay? Not great, but okay, and I owed that all to her?
No. I neededto see her one last time.
My eyes hot and stinging, I pressed my hand against my ribs in an attempt to keep them from being jostled, and took off in a limping run.
I’d barely crossed into the woods and passed a few drunken couples who hadn’t bothered to retreat to Ben’s house for one-on-one time when Ed came charging out and nearly slammed into me.
“What are you doing?” I asked, astonished to see him out here. I hadn’t seen him leave the car after me, but he must have.
He was crying, his glasses clutched in his hand. “She’s gone.”
My heart plunged toward my stomach. “Alona?”
He frowned at me, his forehead crinkling. “Who?”
Before I could answer, he shook his head. “No, Erin. She…the light…it was so bright, and she just…went into it.” He sounded awed and sad all at the same time.
Normally, I would have stayed with him, tried to talk him through it. The first time you see the light, especially if it’s not coming for you, it’s a bit of a mind-blowing experience. But I couldn’t this time, not now.
I shoved past him and kept going.
“Hey, are you okay?” he called after me. “You don’t look so good.”
I ignored him and focused on the column of light in the near distance. It grew brighter the deeper I went into the woods. But I couldn’t tell if that was because I was getting closer or if the trees were blocking out the competing light from Ben’s house.
And then it was gone. Like someone overhead had flipped off a gigantic switch.
I stumbled to a stop, blinded by the sudden darkness.
“No, no, no.” I could hear the broken words in my croaking voice, but they sounded like they were coming from someone else.
When my sight returned, I started forward in the direction of where I thought the light had been, but everything looked the same in the dark. Trees. Everywhere.
“Ally!” I shouted. It was the only name I could safely use for her with so many people nearby, and one I’d come to associate with her, anyway.
No response, and though I’d half expected that, it didn’t prevent me from feeling that socked-in-the-stomach sensation, with which I was all too recently familiar.
I kept going, searching blindly for something, anything, when the moonlight caught a pale shape on the ground about ten feet ahead of me.
Oh, no.
I raced forward, ignoring my ribs, my brain shouting at me to hurry, even though some part of me knew it was already too late. Whatever had happened had happened. And there was nothing I could do to change it.
I slipped in the dead leaves and half slid, half fell into place next to her.
Gathering her up in my arms, I caught the overwhelming scent of beer, but also the fainter scent of the sweet-smelling shampoo she used, both as Ally and Alona. Lily’s body was still breathing, I could tell, but there were no signs of life other than that. Alona was gone, and it was over.
So…that was it. Tears spilled down my cheeks, warm, wet, and stinging my various cuts and scrapes, but I didn’t care.
I lifted her up, holding her closer, her face pressed against my shoulder. “I’m sorry. I should have been here. I didn’t mean for you to be alone.…”
“You know, I went to a lot of trouble to stick around,” she said quietly, her voice muffled against me.
I jumped a little at the sound, and then started to laugh and cry at the same time, feeling ridiculous but unable to stop. “You’re here.”
“It would be nice if you didn’t suffocate me right away,” she continued, sounding exhausted.
I tipped her head away from my shoulder, so I could see her face. “Are you okay?”
“Tired. Really tired, but okay. Nothing a gallon of mouthwash and a full decontamination shower won’t fix.”
She lifted her head slowly, like it was an effort, and it probably was. I kept my hand behind her neck to help support it.
She touched my cheek gently, and I winced. “What happened to you?” she asked.
“Ben was feeling artistic. Wanted to rearrange my face.” I searched her eyes, looking for signs that she was as okay as she claimed to be. Lipstick was still smeared across her mouth, and I used the side of my thumb to rub it away. She’d hate it as soon as she saw it was messed up.