Steering the Stars (36 page)

       Before I could chastise myself for thinking about Henry while I was out with Miles, the car jounced to an abrupt stop. I looked up to see where he had decided to take me.

       We were parked in front of Taco Casa.

       Awesome.

      
“You have got to be kidding me,” I mumbled.

       “What? You don’t like tacos?” he asked in alarm.

       “No, I do.”

       “Whew!” Miles ran his hand over his forehead in exaggerated relief and I reminded myself that it wasn’t his fault that I was such a mess.

       “Let’s go,” I tutted and climbed out of the station wagon.

       As soon as I walked through the glass doors and was assaulted by the heavy scent of cheap Mexican food, my eyes swept to the corner booth where I knew Henry and his friends would be sitting. To my horror, there was someone else at the table with them in the spot where I’d been sitting just a few weeks ago.

       Elise.

       What was she doing here? And why did she have her hand on Henry’s bicep? A flashback to when they were dating passed through my mind and my heart jerked savagely. I had the urge to walk over there and—and do what exactly? Bitch slap her? Mark my territory like a wild animal or someone on an afternoon talk show?

       But, as much as seeing them together made me feel queasy, Henry wasn’t my territory to defend.  

       “Caroline?”

       I tore my eyes away from Henry and Elise and saw that Miles was watching me.

       “You okay?” he asked.

       No, I’m actually suffocating on my own jealousy.
Letting my breath out, I said, “I’m fine. Just got a little dizzy is all.”

       “You probably just need to eat something,” he replied confidently and led me to the counter.

       We ordered and I made sure we ended up at a table on the opposite side of the restaurant from Henry. It was still too close. I could hear some of the conversation at Henry’s table and their laughter and it made my head pound even harder.

       I tried to focus my attention on Miles and answer his questions with more than one or two words, but it was like my mind was spiraling with confusion. Were Henry and Elise back together? If so, wouldn’t he have said something to me? Except…why would he? He didn’t owe me anything.

       I started messing with the salt and pepper shakers. My food sat on the table uneaten and growing colder by the second.

       “You still feeling bad?”

       “I’m sorry,” I said, trying to pull myself together. But this whole thing was like a car accident. I knew it was morbid and wrong to stare, but I couldn’t stop myself from rubbernecking.

       “No, if you’re sick…”

       “I’m not.” But even as I said this, my eyes flitted to Henry. This time, I found him staring back at me with a curious expression.

       I dropped my head and felt my skin going pink. A moment later, my phone vibrated. It was a text from Henry.

You okay over there? You look bored.

I knew that engaging was a terrible idea, but like everything else, I couldn’t help myself.

I’m not. Miles is incredibly interesting.

     
 
I barely had time to slip my phone back in my pocket before it vibrated again.

Then why are you texting me?

       I rolled my eyes and texted,

You texted me first!

       He replied with,

And you responded

       I fired back,

Well, I’m Not responding anymore!

       I was seriously going to turn my phone off. But before I got the chance another message came through.

You just did ;)

Why don’t you focus on Elise and leave me alone? If you didn’t notice, I’m on a date

       As soon as I sent that last text message I really did turn off my phone. What I’d texted Henry was true. I was on a date—well, sort of—and I couldn’t sit here texting another guy.

       Miles, who had obviously noticed my distraction, tried a new line of conversation, “So, Caroline, do you know what you’re doing for college yet?”

       I picked up a black olive that had fallen out of one of my tacos and I popped it into my mouth. “Um, what?”

       “College,” Miles said. “I know it's only your junior year, but I figured… you just seem like a planner.”

       “I guess I haven't really thought about it yet.” That wasn’t true.

       Hannah and I had very carefully mapped out our college plans. We were headed to the East coast—hopefully Wesleyan, but we were going to apply to Boston College, Amherst, and Dartmouth as well. We were going to share a dorm room, she was going to major in English of course, but I hadn’t quite decided yet, and as soon as we graduated we were going to travel to all sorts of places. But since I still hadn’t spoken to Hannah since our fight, I wasn’t sure what the next year and a half would bring. What if we never made up? Suddenly I wasn’t very hungry.

       “I think I’m probably going to wind up at Missouri Valley. It’s not my first choice but when I looked into the cost of some of the bigger acting schools, it seemed out of reach,” Miles went on, either not noticing that my already indifferent mood had soured completely or ignoring it. “Still, it’s not so bad. Missouri Valley actually has a fantastic theater department and it’s small enough that I won’t get lost in the classes.”

       “That’s nice.”

       Miles continued to talk about college and that was fine with me. As long as he was talking about himself, I could just nod politely and occasionally say
that’s nice
and hopefully, he wouldn’t catch on that I wasn’t really participating in the conversation.

       A commotion on the other side of the restaurant drew my attention. Henry was on his phone. His face was pale as winter and he’d knocked his drink onto the floor. As he listened, his lips tightened. I watched him put the phone in his jacket pocket, say something to his friends, and take off for the door. He hadn’t even bothered to pick up his fallen drink.
What in the world?

      
Miles was still droning on about school. “I have to cut a banana into three sections lengthwise before I can eat it.”

       “That's nice—wait,” I jerked my head around. “
What
?”

       He smiled. “So you
are
paying attention.”

       “Sorry...” My eyes darted back to the table Henry had vacated. Something wasn’t right. I could feel it. “Miles, I know this is rude but can you give me a minute?”

       “What’s going on?”

       I held up my index finger. “I’m not sure. Just one minute, okay?”

       I didn't wait for his answer. I walked over to where Henry’s friends were just starting to get up from the table and clear their trash.

       Alec saw me first. “Hey, Caroline.”

       “Is everything okay? I saw Henry leave and he looked upset.”

       “He is,” he told me. “His dad’s been taken to the hospital in Tulsa.”

       I went unsteady, like my bones had been liquefied. “Oh my God.” My voice was barely audible. “What happened?”

       “Why are
you
so upset?” Elise asked. “It’s not your father.”

       “I-I don’t—” my voice was rattly. I couldn’t believe that Elise was choosing a time like this to be catty toward me. She knew how close I was to Henry’s family. Mr. Vaughn was like a second father to me.

       Before I could stumble over another word, Jaxson inserted himself between us. “Back off, Elise. You know Caroline is his friend.”

       I was grateful for the save but I was more interested in getting answers about Mr. Vaughn than worrying about Elise.

       “What happened?” I asked again. Was he in a car accident? Was it an aneurysm?

       “We’re not sure because he didn’t hang around,” Alec answered me. “But I do know his mom was panicked.”

       “Oh my God.” I felt tears spill onto my cheeks.

       “Caroline?” Miles stepped up from behind and put his hand on my shoulder. That’s when I realized my whole body was quivering. “Is everything okay?”

       “No,” I said, wiping at my face. “I know this isn’t what you had in mind but I need you to take me to the hospital in Tulsa.”

       He looked bewildered. “Right now?”

       “Yes. Henry’s dad was taken in and I don’t know what’s happening and I need to be there.”

       “But school and rehearsal this afternoon…”

       “Mrs. Cobb will understand. And, honestly, I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t an emergency.” I was already pulling him in the direction of the door. Alec and Jaxson called after us, but I didn’t stop.

       Miles might not have been happy about it, but he did drive me to Tulsa without another complaint. He asked a few questions but I barely registered them. I spent most of the drive staring out the window in my own version of hell. I
knew
what it felt like to lose a parent. It was like having the entire world crumble away. Hannah and Henry
couldn’t
go through that.

       I was prepared for Miles to pull up to the emergency entrance and drop me off, so when we reached the hospital, I was surprised that he parked and followed me in.

       The automatic doors swished shut behind us and I scanned the sterile-looking space. When I spotted the reception desk, I rushed over to it.

       “Alan Vaughn?” I asked, breathing heavily.

       The nurse sitting behind the desk was wearing brightly patterned scrubs. She looked up from the chart she was writing in and raised an eyebrow.

       “Alan Vaughn? He was brought in not too long ago.”

       She turned to her computer. “Spell the last name for me.”

       “V-A-U-G-H-N”

       As her fingers rapidly clicked at the keys, my panic increased.

       “Floor three. Just take the main elevators,” she said, blandly pointing to a bay of elevators.

       “Floor three? Is that good or bad?”

       “Sorry, hon. I don’t have that kind of information on my terminal.”

       I barely thanked her before running for the elevator. Miles was right behind me.

       As soon as we reached the third floor, I saw Henry. He was in a partially enclosed waiting room, slumped over with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands.

       “Henry!” I rushed toward him.

       When he saw me, he stood and his arms automatically went around me. As we pressed together, I could feel the tenseness in every one of his muscles.

       “What happened?”

       His head was tucked between my neck and shoulders. His body shook as he said, “Dad had a heart attack.”

       “It’ll be okay,” I said immediately. It
had
to be okay.

       “It was bad,” he went on. “He’s in surgery right now.”

       Surgery? My stomach clenched tighter. Henry loosened his hold on me and carefully pulled away.

       “I’m so sorry,” I said, gently pressing a hand to the side of his face.

       He closed his eyes and tipped his head into my hand. “Thanks for coming.”

       “Oh course,” I said reassuringly. “Where’s your mom?”

       “They called her back just a few minutes ago. I think she's talking to the doctor.”

       “Then you should know something soon,” Miles said. God, I’d forgotten that he was still here.

       Henry noted his presence with a tight nod and deliberately stepped away from me.

       I felt his absence like a wound but managed to say, “Your dad is going to be okay. I know it.”

       Henry opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a nurse. “Henry Vaughn?”

       He lifted one hand. “That's me.”

       “You can go back. Your mom is asking for you.”

       His face went even more ashen. “Is my dad okay?”

       “I’ll let the doctor give you the details,” the nurse said.

       He nodded, but didn't follow the nurse right away. “Caroline?”

       “Yeah?” I asked.

       He turned to me, and I saw true fear on his face. “I haven't called Hannah yet. What am I going to tell her? She’s halfway around the world and our father might be dying.”

       I grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “I’ll call her.”

       “Thank you.” Henry pulled me into another tight hug before he left to go find his parents. Feeling destroyed, I watched him walk down the hall and disappear behind a set of double doors.