The Pact(96)
Oh god.
It can’t be.
“What?” I whisper. I almost don’t want him to answer.
“It’s Linden. There was a helicopter crash.”
“What?!” I am shrieking. The whole restaurant is staring at me but I don’t care. My soul turns into a cold, dark place, like the sun has been snuffed out. I’m sucking in air, afraid to move or breathe or do anything. I feel like the longer I hold still, the longer this moment will last, the longer I won’t have to hear news that could destroy my world yet again.
“I don’t know what happened,” James says. “But I thought you should know.”
“Is he alive?” I whisper, frantic. I am pure panic.
“Yes,” he says and I’m so relieved I nearly fall out of my chair. I notice Owen is at my side, holding me up and everyone is still staring. “Yes I think he’s fine. Well, he’s not fine, he’s badly banged up. Broken leg, ribs, arm. Concussion. Lacerations. But he’s alive.”
“How did you know this?”
“Bram, his brother, he called me. I guess he thought we were still…”
Friends is what he wants to say.
“Yeah,” I say softly, understanding, while Owen is rubbing my shoulder now and asking if I’m all right. I ignore him, wrapped up in this phone call, this last lifeline to Linden, to the life I had.
“Do you want to go see him?” James asks.
“What?”
He clears his throat. “Do you want to go see him? In the hospital. Fly to New York.”
“What? When?”
“Tonight. Red-eye. I…I looked online the moment I heard and saw there were flights. Bram said it would be good, that Linden doesn’t really have any friends out there. He said to text him when we get there.”
“You’re going to go?” My heart is thumping louder now. Should I go?
Wait. That’s a stupid question.
“Yeah. I realized I need to apologize to him. For a lot of things.”
I swallow and nod. “Yeah. Me too.”
“So you’ll come if I book us tickets? Eleven PM from SFO. Virgin America. I’ll pick us up.”
“Yes. I’ll go home right away and pack. See you in a bit.” I pause. “Thanks James, for calling me.”
“No problem, Steph.”
I hang up the phone and look at Owen. Thankfully now the other patrons are back to their meals but Owen is looking really concerned. I don’t blame him.
“What happened?” he asks.
“You know my friend Linden?”
He flinches a bit. I know he remembers Linden. “Yeah.”
“He was in a bad accident. He lives in New York now and he’s in the hospital. I’m going to catch the red-eye to go see him. I’m sorry,” I tell him and then stand-up. “I don’t mean to cut out on our date like this.”
“You know, if you didn’t want to see me, you could have just told me. You don’t need an escape plan.”
I put my hand on his arm and squeeze. “Please,” I say imploringly. “This isn’t a lie. I have to go.”
He nods. “I’ll pay up and take you home.” He turns and signals to the waiter. “You know,” he says turning back to me, “you’re a hell of a good friend.”
I can’t even smile at that. I don’t know what I am to him anymore. But I know I need to see him. Sometimes a second chance comes to the other person.
***
Even though it’s been just a couple of months since I last saw James, it’s weird to see him again. Still, when I spot him at the Virgin ticket counter, the first thing I do is throw my arms around him. I let out a deep sigh and he hugs me back. It’s almost like old times. I realize that after everything we’ve been through, I really do miss him.
“Hey,” I say, pulling away.
“Hey,” he says back. He appraises me. “You look good.”
I give him a small smile. My hair is a bit shorter, shoulder-length and layered, and dyed black again. “Thanks. So do you.”
And I’m not just saying that to be polite. He does look good. His hair is shorter too, scruffy with lots of product in it, and there’s a bit more color to his face. “Did you go on vacation?” I ask.
He nods. “Went to Mexico for a few weeks in February.”
“That’s nice. Good for you, getting away and everything.” And because I’m curious, I ask, “Who did you go with?”
It takes him a moment to speak. “Penny.”
I smile widely. “Nice. You’re back together again?”
Now it’s a bit awkward, at least in my head, because I know the reason why they broke up. He knows this too but the way he’s eyeing me tells me he’s unsure of what I’ve heard. “Yeah,” he says. “We just had a little break for a bit. It did us good.”