"Promise me you'll call me later and let me know how you are and where you are," Lyon said. "I don't care how late it is."
"I promise," Treston said.
After Lyon closed the door, Treston pulled off the wedding suit jacket and threw it on the floor. Then he reached back into a box behind his seat where he'd packed some clothes and he pulled out a pair of jeans and a black shirt. After he removed the suit and put on the other clothes, he removed all the jewelry and threw it into the box. He changed his shoes and socks and threw the toe rings and ankle bracelet into the box. As he pulled out of the parking lot, hoping he wouldn't run into any of his friends, he pulled up to an open dumpster as close as he could so he wouldn't have to get out, and he threw the wedding suit right out the window. He watched it land on top of a pile of black plastic trash bags, then pulled out of there as fast as he could. He never wanted to see that suit or parking lot again. The only thing he wanted to do was drive as far away from Las Vegas as he could and never look back.
But when he pulled into the street, he made such a quick right turn he didn't bother to look to his left. The last thing he heard before everything went blank was a screech, followed by a bang so loud it rocked the van. He felt peaceful for a moment. The world went silent, bright lights flashed before his eyes, and he felt lighter than he'd ever felt in his entire life.
Chapter Sixteen
At first, Treston thought he'd died and gone to heaven. He'd lost track of time, and for a moment or two he almost forgot about being left at the altar, so to speak, by Cooper Boon.
As the bright afternoon sun filtered through the cracked windshield of the rented van, Treston opened his eyes a few minutes after the accident and saw the face of Jesus looking down on him, framed with rays of glorious rays of sunshine, just like he'd seen in the movies.
But instead of harps playing and celestial choirs singing, he heard the sound of sirens approaching. Then Jesus unbuckled the seatbelt, scooped Treston up in his arms, and carried him away from the smashed-up van. He set Treston down on a grassy section so he could get a better look at him.
Treston was still in shock. It took a moment for him to realize this wasn't Jesus and he hadn't died and gone to heaven. When he realized who it was, he actually thought he might have died and gone to hell.
"Just sit still and don't move," said Chad. "You're going to be fine." He crouched down next to Treston on the grass and took a closer look at his face. When he realized a piece of glass had cut Treston's cheek, he pulled his white T-shirt off his back, rolled it up into a ball, and pressed it up against the wound.
Treston tried to push him away, but Chad only grabbed his arm, held the shirt to his face tighter, and said, "Calm down. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise. It's not a deep cut."
Then Chickey, J.D., and Lyon came running over to see what had happened. When Treston saw them, he wanted to hide behind a shrub not far from where he was resting, dig a deep hole, and cover himself with the dirt.
Lyon crouched down on his other side and asked, "What happened? Are you okay?"
Chad put his arm around Treston and glanced at Lyon. "He just pulled out of the parking lot without looking and my driver hit him. I didn't even know it was him until a minute ago when I ran over to the van. It's a good thing we weren't going fast, because we had no way of knowing he'd pull out like that. And thank God he was wearing a seatbelt."
Chickey stood over them and asked, "Is he okay?"
Lyon sent Chickey a backward glance. "I think so." Then he turned to Chad and asked, "Are you and the driver okay?"
Chad nodded. "We're fine." He gestured to his driver. He was walking around the limo with one hand in his pocket and the other scratching the back of his head, surveying the damage.
Treston looked up and saw all his friends from the club were looking down at him, all dressed for the wedding that would never happen. He figured Lyon had already told them everything and they knew Cooper would not return. On top of that, a crowd of other onlookers and gawkers had stopped to see what was going on. Although Chad was the one holding him, Treston reached for Lyon's hand and said, "Get me out of here. I just want to die."
But when Lyon reached out to help him get up, Chad stopped him and said, "I'll take care of him." Chad looked up at Chickey and said, "Why don't you try to get all these people to back up and give him some breathing room?"
As Chickey motioned to the crowd to step back and give them room, Lyon hesitated for a moment, as if he didn't trust Chad. But then Chickey put his hand on Lyon's shoulder and said, "Let Chad handle it. I've known him for years and he'll take good care of him." Then Chickey and Chad exchanged a quick nod.
Treston sighed and closed his eyes. He remembered Chad had been checking up on him through Chickey. Though he didn't like this, he knew he was in no position to make a scene.
Then Treston overheard onlookers whispering about Chad. "Is that Chad Pratt, the movie star?" And things like, "Is that Chad Pratt, the guy they call the Vegas Shark?" The fact that Chad was so well known seemed to make this all the more entertaining. At the very least, Treston figured it would take the attention off him and his pitiful circumstances. He just wished all his friends from the club would stop looking at him with such glum expressions. J.D. looked so devastated it made him ten years older than he really was.
When the police and paramedics arrived, the crowd was forced to back up in order for them to find out what had happened. When they established what had caused the accident and Treston hadn't been drinking and driving, Treston tried to stand up on his own so he wouldn't have to be taken to the hospital. But he wound up falling backward into Chad's arms, and three paramedics guided him onto a stretcher.
Treston tried to get Lyon to help. "I don't want to go to the hospital. I don't have insurance and I can't afford it. I'm fine. There's nothing wrong with me. Just get me out of here."
Chad glanced at Lyon and said, "I'll take care of any expenses. I want him to be examined. I promise he'll be okay with me."
Lyon glanced at Chickey again, and Chickey nodded. Lyon seemed to trust Chad, so he followed the stretcher to the ambulance and said, "You're going to be fine, buddy. I agree with Chad. You need to be checked out. If you need me later, call me. You know I'm here for you, bro." Before he stepped back, he turned to Chad, grabbed his arm, and said, "Don't fuck around with him. Seriously, man. This guy really is like a brother to me and he's been through a lot of shit today. I'll come looking for you."
Treston couldn't resist. "Whatever you say, don't mention you're like my brother. He'll want to sleep with you. He does that with brothers. Just ask the last guy he dated."
Chad didn't seem intimidated by Lyon or offended by Treston's remark. He actually smiled, as if he liked the way Lyon wanted to protect Treston, and said, "I wouldn't do anything to hurt him."
"But all my things are in the van," Treston said. "My entire life is in there. I can't just leave it." He wondered what more could happen to him. He never thought he would admit to himself being left naked at Lake Mead hadn't been the worst thing that had ever happened to him.
Chad glanced down at him as they lifted him into the back of the ambulance. The limo driver had given Chad a black jacket he'd been wearing to cover Chad's naked torso. "My driver will take care of everything. He'll have the van towed and emptied and he'll bring your things to my home for the time being. We'll figure it out later. Right now I want to know you're okay."
Without giving Treston much of a choice, they loaded him into the ambulance and shut the doors. From inside the ambulance, Treston saw Chad and Lyon talking about something that made them both look serious. Treston had a feeling Lyon was telling Chad about Cooper backing out of the wedding and Treston's heart sank to the bottom of his stomach. He would rather Chad had not known thiat Then Chad and Lyon took off somewhere together and the ambulance pulled away.
* * * *
After Treston was examined by more than one doctor in the emergency room and had a few X-rays, they wheeled his bed into a small room in the emergency section that had been curtained off from the ceiling halfway to the floor. They'd cleaned up his wounds, had found nothing seriously wrong with him, and told him he would be discharged as soon as all the paperwork was ready. He figured he'd call Lyon or Chickey and they'd let him spend the night until he figured out what he was going to do next. Now, more than ever, the only thing he wanted to do was get out of Las Vegas and never look back again.
But he found Chad Pratt waiting for him in the tiny hospital room. Chad stood there in the black jacket his driver had given him, with part of his naked torso exposed, holding some kind of fake flower made out of felt. The fake flower stood up from a brown felt pot about a foot tall, with bright yellow petals, a vivid green stem, and a bold red center. Though Treston knew little about flowers, he figured it was a sunflower. Then Chad lifted the flower higher with both hands and pushed a button at the back of the brown felt pot. The moment the song You Are My Sunshine began to play the flower started to dance around in uneven circles.
Chad reached out with the flower in both hands and said, "I saw it in the gift shop while I was waiting for them to bring you back down. I figured you might like it. They didn't have many choices. It was either this, a stuffed rabbit, or a Sudoku puzzle book."