"I'm not going anywhere." I give her a smile so she can tell I'm alright. Or I will be.
"Can you tell us what happened?"
I look over at Jim who asked the question. I would have thought Ana or Evie would have told him. I answer his questions with a few of my own, "Is everyone alright? Did everyone get to see the doctor?"
Jim and Jack share a look that tells me all is not alright. "Libby, did something happen? Why are Jim and Jack doing that man thing where they look at one another and think we can't tell something is wrong? Tell me what happened?"
"The doctor is with Evie right now. She and Ana are going to be fine. They're just shaken up." She takes my hand and clasps it to her. "They took Laura to the hospital. She hasn’t woke up yet. They think they might have to do surgery but we can't get any information on her because we're not family."
I look between her and Jack, "Well, can't Don find out and tell us how she's doing?"
"Don's gone, Lexi. He went missing earlier this morning. It was the last time any of us saw him which is why it is so important for you to tell us what happened. Why was Laura driving your car? What caused you guys to wreck?"
I raise my hand to my bandaged head thinking back to right before the car crashed into the tree. Thinking hurts my head but I have to try so they'll know what happened to us. "We were...sneaking out." I look up at Jack waiting for him to shoot me a pissed-off look but it never comes. Instead, he takes the other hand that Libby doesn't have a hold of. "We just wanted to have some girl time. We were going to the mall to shop. I was supposed to be driving but I forgot my license and Evie didn't want us to get caught before we ever left."
Jack squeezes up on my hand at that. I look up to find his eyes a cold, frosty blue. Their so cold that I try to pull my hand away from his and put some distance between us but he doesn't let me. He cups my cheek in his hand, surprisingly gentle for having such a hard stare.
"I'm not mad at you, Sweets. I'm pissed because you could have been hurt a lot worse than you were."
I take a big breath to try to settle myself. I don't think I am going to be able to process this for a long time. "Laura offered to drive us. She seemed lonely and we all thought it would be fun to have another girl come along." I close my eyes but too much comes back to me. When I snap them open I realize I've squeezed up tight on Jack and Libby's hands.
"It was drizzling and we were all talking and laughing at something Evie had said. I turned around to talk to her and Laura started freaking out. She said something about the brakes not working. We went down a slight hill and started picking up speed, she kept trying to pump the brakes but nothing worked. We took a curve too fast and ran off the road." I rush to get as much out as I can but I don't want to go any further.
I hear Jack growl and Libby gasp halfway through my recounting. Jack and Jim move at the same time, both of them head for the door. It's the first time during all of this that Jack's left me alone. Libby is here with me but it's not the same as having Jack close by. I don't want to look too deep into why I feel like that. Not today, not after all that happened and how bad my head hurts.
"They'll be back." I don't know who my sister says it for, me or her. "They're doing what they do best - figuring out how to move forward."
I give her a lopsided smile, "I thought you meant hunt."
She grins back, "That too."
"They don't think it was an accident do they?" She rolls her lips around her teeth before giving me a quick head shake. "They think someone did this on purpose?"
It comes out as a question because I just can't see anyone doing this on purpose. Surely it had to be an accident. Right?
15
____________
Lexi
About fifteen minutes after the guys leave they are back again. Jim shakes his head at Libby's hopeful look. I'm still not sure what they were hoping to find other than Don. When I look to Jack for any idea his eyes are the same cold blue they were before he left.
"While we were gone my friend in the sheriff's department called and said it did indeed look like the brakes were cut but they won't know more until they take the car somewhere to have a better look. They also want you to make a statement as soon as you're up to it."
I give a slight nod, thinking I'll never be up for it but I might as well try to get it out of the way as quick as possible. The room falls into an uncomfortable silence as we all wait.
Jack is the first one to break the silence, "Lexi has to be getting tired after all of this." I look up at him as his eyes sweep over me and he starts moving around the room. "You can come back to visit with her longer tomorrow but I think she needs to rest now." He has a couple of over-the-counter pain meds in his hands when he comes back.
Libby bristles at being dismissed. Jack doesn't pay any attention to the tension that is starting to grow in the room. He goes about his business like there isn't a pissed-off older sister breathing down his neck about to lose her shit on him. He hands me water he got out of the small fridge sitting off to the side.
"What makes you think I'm alright leaving my baby sister here with you for any amount of time?" Her words recall to mind the last time all four of us were in a room standing around looking at one another trying to figure out what to do next.
"Because I owe you from when you took care of me." His words make me bite down on my bottom lip hard. He's just doing this to be nice because of what Libby did for him. None of this is because he wants to take care of me. I at least thought he wanted to fuck me but hearing him tell Libby he 'owes' her I don't know if that's true or not. How do I know this isn't something he and Jim made up so I wouldn't get in their investigation's way. Maybe he's just doing all of this to make a college kid have a great summer romance story to tell and keep me out of trouble along the way.
"And because I'll fuck up anybody that gets within an inch of her, man or woman."
If he doesn't want me why does he keep talking about killing people around me? Is that like a thing for him, like a hobby? "Just like Jim would with you."