Somehow, O’Bannon managed to drag his son away, apologizing to everyone as they passed. Darcy kept on screaming. He looked back, his hands stretched toward Patrick.
“Go to the dam! Go to the dam!”
Patrick fell back into a desk chair. Was it possible?
Hoover was the closest and most famous dam, but hardly the only one. How could they know? It was probably nonsense. He couldn’t take tips from a hysterical autistic boy. Surely they weren’t that desperate. If there was any chance of finding her, it would only come from good solid detective work. Surely.
“You aren’t real,” I said as I ran my fingertips down David’s perfectly sculpted chest.
“Does it matter?” he replied. “I’m the only game in town.”
I laughed and pulled him closer. “Do that thing.”
“What thing?”
“You know. That thing you do.”
“With… what part of my body?”
“Your nose, silly.” I laughed. I loved it when he was like this, all tender and attentive. Happy. No moods, no complaints, just him and me. “The way you crinkle it.”
“I do not crinkle my nose. That’s a girl thing.”
“You do. Sometimes.”
“I do not.” He pressed against me, letting me feel the ripple of his rib cage, his strong thighs pressing between mine. Letting me remember how it was before…
And then he took me. All in a rush, the way I liked it best, the way that always gave me goose pimples. Orgasm was nothing compared to the creeping, dizzying head rush that hit when he came after me like that. It was all I could do to breathe, to prevent myself from perishing from a surfeit of pleasure.
“Susan?”
I blinked rapidly. That wasn’t David.
A shadow fell across my face. “I’m sorry it took us so long.”
“Patrick…” I grinned a little. “Could you wait a minute? My husband and I were having a thing…”
He put his hand on my forehead. “Why didn’t you stay where Edgar left you?”
“I wanted to stay. David told me I should go.”
“David?”
“That’s what Edgar wanted, you know. He wanted me to stay at that place and he wanted-well, he didn’t get it. I wouldn’t give it to him.”
“You’re delusional, Susan. Which is no surprise, given your condition.” He shouted over his shoulder. “Can I get some help?”
I laughed. “Whatever. You’re not real, anyway.”
He kept on shouting. “Get a stretcher! Start the IV! She’s dehydrated and starved, with a serious case of exposure.”
“You shouldn’t be looking,” I said, giggling a little. “I’m naked.”
“Not anymore.” He spread his coat over me. It felt warm and scratchy. “We’ll get you to a hospital.”
“No, you won’t. I’m just dreaming you. But it’s a good dream. Nice of you to come.”
“I didn’t come alone.”
A moment later, I saw Darcy rush forward, hovering behind Patrick. “Susan!”
Good grief, who let him into this hallucination? “Darce.” I tried to wiggle my fingers but couldn’t. “Nice to see you too.”
His face was weird, eyes wide and kinetic, as if he were being pulled a thousand directions at once. Just as well that he was a stoic sort who wasn’t comfortable with human contact, because-
“Ooof!”
Darcy threw himself on top of me, squeezing me in his arms. “Susan! Susan!”
Well, I couldn’t dream this, could I? “Darcy?” I said weakly.
He was screaming and crying all at once. The volume made me wince, another element I couldn’t be dreaming. “I told them it was a dam. I told them it was a dam.”
“All right, son, please move aside. Let us get her into the ambulance.”
I could tell he didn’t want to let go. Funny thing was, I didn’t really want him to let go. But they pried him away and hoisted me onto a stretcher. Darcy insisted on riding in the ambulance with me. I could tell Patrick didn’t like the idea, but he didn’t want to take the time to argue about it.
It was a pleasant little ride to the hospital, my friends all around me. I slept a little, listened a little, maybe both at the same time. It was nice. Darcy held my hand the whole way.
25
She’s alive! She’s really alive and I knew she would be except I didn’t know but I hoped and she is she’s alive alive and we found her and I guess Jesus does save because I prayed and I prayed and there she was she’s all beat up and she lost her clothes but she’s alive and I’m so happy I was so sad and scared but she’s alive and she let me hold her hand in the big car on the way to the hospital.
Her hand felt nice.
The next time I opened my eyes-at least, the next time I opened my eyes and remembered it-I felt much better. Which was not to say I felt good-I was feeble and tired and had trouble speaking. I felt like hell, like I still had one foot in the grave. But definitely better than before.
“It’s because they’ve been force-feeding you,” Lisa explained. “Through the tubes.”
I made a purring sound. “Must be yummy stuff. Could I get some to take home with me?”
“You don’t want it.” She was sitting beside my hospital bed, her arm snaking through the steel bars and resting on mine. “May be good for you, but it makes your skin cold as ice. You’ll never get a date.”
“Might be better for everyone.” Rachel was also there-really, truly there. I don’t know how she’d managed to slip away from her keepers, but I was grateful they’d allowed it. “Help me out, Rache-have I given you a hug yet?”
“Yes, but here’s another.” She leaned across the bed and gave me a squeeze I could feel through the sheets. God, but that was good. What had I done to merit this attention, this warming affection? It reminded me how pathetically I’d abused their friendship, lying, hiding, them trying their best to help me while I acted as if my only friend was that revolting bottle. I didn’t deserve them. “I love you, Susan.”
Damn it if I didn’t start to cry. Must be the medication. The tears just welled up in my eyes and there wasn’t a thing I could do to stop them. I choked, couldn’t speak. I was going to start earning this friendship, this affection. I had to do better, for them if not for me.