Indigo (42 page)

There’s another pause, but this time it’s one with awareness. “I didn’t send you any cupcakes.”

I feel my pulse contract in my throat, but I ignore it. “Yes, you did. I just got them, it had your note and everything.”

“Indigo, I didn’t send your cupcakes yet, or a note. Your birthday isn’t for another couple weeks.”

“Then why would…” I muse out loud, trying to make sense of it. “The note said they were from you. Should I call the bakery?”

“Yes, and don’t eat them until you find out who they’re from. You never know…”

My mom continues on, but a faint retching noise from my bedroom instantly draws my attention and sharply twists my insides. The noise is paralyzing, and when I run back into my bedroom, it feels like I’m walking through knee-deep sludge.

“Sabrina!”

The phone drops from my ear as I shriek her name. She’s on all fours, a pile of vomit underneath her. She’s swaying back and forth as if she’s about to fall over face first. When she looks up at me, there’s sweat dripping from her forehead and it seems she can’t keep her eyes open. The stark terror I see in their depths clashes with the uncontrollable movements of her body.

My body clenches in on itself, my mouth falling open in slow motion.

“Something…I don’t know…dizzy…” she rasps out. Her eyes suddenly roll back in her head and I scream again when she loses consciousness and falls into the carpet.

I run over to her and stumble to my knees, trying to turn her over, screaming and grunting as I struggle with the weight. After a few useless moments of trying to get her to wake up, I scramble over to my phone to call 911. I burst into tears when it slips out of my sticky grasp.

I manage to call the emergency line, and crawl back over to Sabrina as I try to explain the situation as best as I can through my hysteria. My mom is beeping in on the other line, but I lose sense of reality as I stare at her on the floor. I think the phone falls from my hands again but I’m not sure.

I lay my head on her stomach, doing my best not to look at her face. I can hear racking sobs, but I barely register that they’re coming from me. This is a dream world. This isn’t real.

Never in my life have I felt a body this still. When someone is sleeping, you can still feel energy there, feel it in the air. I don’t feel that here. I try and tune out everything else in my mind as I lay there, desperately searching for some sign. But when I peer up at her face, there’s nothing.

Her last words echo in my mind, taunting me.
They’re to die for. They’re to die for.

KENNEDY

“Dude, your phone is ringing.”

Bracing myself with my arms against the shower wall, I let the hot water cascade over my body, trying to clear my head. I debate skipping class, but know that I can’t let my personal life seep in and destroy that area too. It’s pretty much ruining everything else, and I don’t know what else to do to snap myself out of it. I think Indigo has officially taken over my life and I’m starting to feel like a crazy person because my mind is constantly spinning off in so many different directions. Her words the other day made me realize that maybe I’m not capable of love, or loving, the right way. Damn.

I miss her so much.

“So what,” I call back. “I’ll get it later.”

I see his silhouette outside the shower, the ring loud as it echoes inside the small room. “It’s Indigo.”

All my attempts at trying to push her out the past few days have obviously failed as my body instinctively snaps to attention. I whip open the shower curtain and snatch the phone from his hands, getting it soaking wet in the process.

“Geez get a towel will ya,” Shawn mutters, heading back into the room.

She’s calling me. My heart leaps and my hands tremble as I pick it up.

“Hello.”

The first thing I hear are a lot of voices. And then, the faint blaring of…an ambulance? Through all that I’m able to pick up on a few muffled sobs and my heart drops. “Indigo? What’s going on? Are you okay?”

I hear her suck back a gasp. “It’s all my fault.”

I grab a towel and wrap it around myself, stepping back into my bedroom to get away from the noise of the shower. “Indigo? What’s your fault? What’s happened?”

“It’s Sabrina…”

“Sabrina? Is she okay?”

At that, Shawn whips his head up and his eyes meet mine.

“No. I think…I think she was poisoned.”

My mouth drops and when Shawn sees my expression, he gets off the bed to stand beside me.

“Poisoned? What? You think she was poisoned how?”

Propping the phone against my ear, I race to my dresser to grab a fresh pair of boxers, and the dirty jeans off my bed. She starts crying again, and by the time I get anything more coherent out of her, I’m fully dressed. I watch Shawn throw on his sneakers and grab his coat.

“It was supposed to be me, it’s my fault,” she whispers between sobs. “It was supposed to be me.”

My stomach drops at the thought and an intense worry that I’ve never felt before races through me. I barely stop the shudder that physically rocks my body. “Where are you?”

“We’re on our way to the Fairbanks hospital…she won’t wake up…”

My eyes meet Shawn’s worried gaze and I reach for my keys, already on the way out the door. “I’ll meet you there.”

I hang up, and without another word, Shawn and I run full speed toward my Jeep.

“What the hell is going on?” Shawn asks the moment we slam the doors. I peel out of my spot and glance at him quickly.

“I don’t know. They’re headed to the hospital now, Indigo said Sabrina has been poisoned.”

“What the fuck? How?”

“I don’t know, she could barely get a word out. She said it was meant for her.” The reminder that something could have happened to Indigo presses my foot hard against the petal as I drive off campus to the hospital about ten miles away. I’ve never in my life felt as frantic.

“Why would someone want to poison Indigo? Was it someone at Fairbanks?” Shawn braces himself against the dashboard, but otherwise doesn’t comment on my speed.

“It might have to do with the hearing. When I went home with Indigo, the cops there were worried something like this would happen. They wanted to give her full-time security to look out for this type of thing, but she refused.” Shame and guilt hits me like a wave, maybe if I had insisted...

I push all that aside and concentrate on getting Shawn and I to the hospital. A million thoughts run through my mind, but the need to see Indigo, to feel for myself that she’s safe and sound, is staggering. I decide then and there, as I pull into the parking lot 8 minutes later, that Indigo and I are making up. I don’t care how much she fights me on it, how much she resists, I’m getting her back and I’m getting her back today. I won’t rely on flowers or flowery words this time around, I’m just going to tell her and refuse to take no for an answer. I will probably sound psychotic, but at the moment, I don’t much care about that either.

Racing into the emergency room, we’re met with a lot of surprised stares. The atmosphere is calm, only a few people dotted in the lobby, completely contrasting the adrenaline I’m feeling. Before I can get my bearings, Shawn runs up the receptionist.

“We’re here to see Sabrina,” he says, leaning down to shout into the small opening.

The receptionist, trained to handle high strung emotions, doesn’t flinch. “Sabrina who?”

“Mackenrow, Sabrina Mackenrow,” Shawn snaps.

The receptionist glances at the computer screen and then back up at the two of us. “She was just brought in about 10 minutes ago. Let me see if I can get a status update for you. Wait right here.”

I let out a big breath and run both hands through my hair, watching Shawn’s head drop down, his arms still braced on the counter. Being here makes all my feelings intensify, and all I want to do is find Indigo and snatch her away. I don’t want to see her in a place like this. I place a hand on Shawn’s shoulder, but we don’t say anything. I think about poor Sabrina, and wonder what the hell could have happened.

A few people in the waiting area staring at us, but I don’t think I have the mental capacity to notice them or even care. Another nurse comes over and tells us we should have a seat, but we ignore the advice.

A few more minutes tick by, each second seeming to claw at my nerves. I have to do something. Without thinking twice, I dial up Indigo’s mom and I’m not surprised when she picks up on the first ring. I don’t think she is aware I’ve heard the news, so she starts trying to explain in a rush.

“This is my fault,” she cries, repeating Indigo’s words from earlier. “I send her cupcakes every year! When her birthday passed the year she was kidnapped, I mentioned it on the news, someone must have remembered…”

Cupcakes? I try to keep up, and since I can hear her driving, I want to keep the conversation short so she can get off the phone. “We just got to the hospital now. We’re waiting to hear word, but Sabrina just got here too so I’m sure they’re working on her now. I’ll update you as soon as we hear anything.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” she says and then pauses. “I’m glad you’re there Kennedy. I know you guys aren’t on the best on terms right now…”

“We will be.”

We hang up, and end up having to wait another ten agonizing minutes before the nurse shows back up. My knees nearly give out from under me when I see Indigo trailing behind her, looking small and vulnerable, her face bright red and puffy from tears. She doesn’t see me until I’m already halfway over to her, but when I hold my arms out, she doesn’t hesitate.

Her legs wrap around my waist, her arms around my neck, and when I feel her safe and sound in my arms a waterfall of relief washes through me. I knew she was okay, but having the confirmation sends warmth straight to my heart.

She’s shaking, but not as badly as me, and I walk with her still in my arms to the nearest seat. I sit down, adjusting her in my lap, and Shawn takes the seat beside us. When her eyes meet mine, it’s as if the last few weeks didn’t happen, and all I can feel between us is familiarity and forgiveness. But none of that is important right now. “How’s Sabrina?” My voice cracks, overwhelmed at having her once again in my arms.

She takes a deep breath and wipes her hands over her face. “Not good.” She looks over at Shawn, her face sad, and then reaches out to grab my hand. I squeeze her little fingers and bring them up to my lips.

Shawn swallows loudly. “What happened?”

Her eyes tear up again and she closes her eyes. “Security brought up a box of cupcakes to my room, with a note saying they were from my mother. It made sense, because my mom makes me cupcakes every year for my birthday.”

Shawn and I stay silent, and I keep her hand pressed against my mouth. “They were a little early, my birthday isn’t for a couple weeks yet. I called to thank her a few minutes later, and when she told me she didn’t send them, I knew something was wrong…but by then, it was too late.” Two tears fall quickly from both eyes, and I bring my other hand up to wipe them away. “She was on the ground, and then she passed out. I tried to wake her, but she looked so…”

Indigo turns to stare at Shawn again. “She couldn’t wait huh,” he jokes sadly, his voice trembling, and then asks, “Have you called the police? Explained what happened? Are there any more cupcakes?”

Indigo nods. “My mom called both the cops in my hometown, and up here. They should be here any minute.”

“Can we see her?” Shawn asks.

“No, not yet. They’re still…” She waves a hand as if looking for the words, but never finishes the sentence. It’s clear that Sabrina is back there right now, possibly fighting for her life.