25
“Katya? Katya!”
Vieve had all but screamed her name, but Katya hadn't heard a thing. She'd stood on that sidewalk, staring into the street as she'd dropped her phone. She also hadn't realized she'd started sobbing uncontrollably.
The things that happen when panic strikes you.
Vieve had grabbed her phone off the ground, then she'd wrapped an arm around Katya and hauled her down the street. By the time they got to the parking garage where Vieve's car was, Katya was almost on the ground. An attendant ran over to help them, offering to call an ambulance. She managed to shake her head, though, and she was loaded into the large SUV.
While Katya had continued sobbing, Vieve had spoken into her phone. Made sounds of sadness and understanding. Then she'd made another call while she'd pulled out of her spot. By the time she got to her home – Wulf's home – she'd hung up and helped to cart her friend inside. She laid Katya out on Wulf's bed, then she'd shut all the curtains, shrouding the room in darkness. Before she'd left, she'd forced Katya to take three smalls pills. She wasn't sure what they were, but they calmed her down a little. Made her brain foggy. Made everything feel like she was in a dream.
That's what this is. A dream. A waking nightmare.
It had been her parents' neighbors on the phone, the Tunts. The man who had a Harley that her father wanted to race against. Just the other day.
Daddy …
Her father had been in a car accident. On their street, just a couple houses down from home. When she'd heard that, Katya's first thought was it had been that stupid motorcycle Wulf had given him. But no, he'd been in his car, in the Lexus. It had been someone from a couple blocks over, a drunk driver. Doing around seventy miles an hour in a residential neighborhood. He had broadsided Mr. Tocci's car, ramming full force into the driver's side door and sending the car rolling onto its side. It had skidded across the street, hit a tree and spun around before finally coming to a stop.
Her mother had gotten to her father before the ambulance. They said she had to be sedated. Mr. Tocci had been pulled from the wreckage still alive, but they were sorry to say, they weren't sure he would live through the night. They were doing everything they could for him, and in the mean time, could Katya come down, please, so she could help take care of her mother. It was never said, but she got the feeling they also wanted her to come down to say goodbye to her father.
But I'm an only child. It's only us. I can't lose my dad. I just can't.
She curled up in the large bed and just sobbed. Cried into the mattress for a long time while the pills kept her wrapped in a fog. She couldn't imagine a life without her father. Couldn't think about anything else. What was she going to do? How was she supposed to handle this!?
She had no clue how long she laid in that bed for – it felt like seconds, but when she finally sat up, she saw that almost two hours had passed. Vieve had come in and out, bringing her water and wiping at her face. Even cuddling up behind her for a bit. She had a vague memory of Brighton stopping in and saying she was sorry.
I can't be here. I need Tori. I need Liam. I need Wulf. I need my mother. I need … my daddy.
“I have to go,” she said in a hoarse voice, wiping at her face as she finally emerged from the bedroom.
“Of course,” Vieve said, jumping up from the sofa. “I've spoken to my mother – she's gone over to your parents' house, made some meals for you and tidied up, locked all the doors and took home the keys. She said you are welcome to come stay with her, if you go home.”
“Thanks. I have to ...” Katya's mind was everywhere. She felt like she was stoned. “I need to go to my apartment. I need to get a bag, and Tori. A car. I need …”
Her chin started shaking. She was going to start sobbing again.
“We can go right now. I can stay with you, I can drive you down there,” Vieve offered, grabbing her purse and leading the way out of the penthouse.
“No, no,” Katya coughed to clear her throat as they got onto the elevator. “You have things to do here, interviews, everything. I'll go alone.”
“No. That is a very, very bad idea. I … I hope you don't mind, I called Wulf.”
“He was kinda close to my dad,” Katya whispered as they got out at the lobby.
“I know. He's in Los Angeles right now.”
“I didn't know.”
“An emergency meeting, an issue with a property. He flew down this morning and was coming back tonight. He said … he said he was so sorry,” Vieve told her.
“That's nice.”
They were silent when they got in the car and Katya leaned her forehead against the glass. She closed her eyes, letting the vibrations from the vehicle give her a headache.
When they got to her apartment, Vieve walked her inside and waited while she drank an entire bottle of water in one go. She offered more of her magic pills, but Katya declined. She needed to be alert. She needed to be present. She needed to get her ass in gear.
“So much to do,” she whispered.
“Let me help you,” Vieve offered, but Katya held up her hand.
“No. No, I really, really appreciate your help. I can't even tell you how much. But honestly, I just want to be alone,” she said.
Most people would've argued, she knew. Not Genevieve Stone, though. As a woman who had seen her fair share of disaster and pain, she seemed to know that when someone said that – they really meant it. She gave Katya a big hug, crushing her to her chest. Then she asked to be kept informed as she finally left the apartment.
The moment the door was shut, Katya started crying again. She leaned against the island and wrapped her arms around herself, trying her best to hold herself together.
What to do … what to do … you need to go. You need to go right now. He's dying, they said. He won't last the night, they said. You have to go right now.
But she couldn't go alone. She knew she physically could not make that drive by herself. She felt half a step away from fainting. Someone would have to go with her, would have to drive her. It wasn't terribly far, but it was asking a lot so late in the day – whoever it was would probably have to stay the night.
Wulf was out of the question. Even if he got on a plane right that moment, he wouldn't make it into San Francisco for at least another hour. She couldn't wait that long. She tried calling Tori, but the other girl had made a bank run, and had apparently left her phone behind the bar. Katya asked if Liam was there, but they said no, he'd taken the afternoon off.
I was supposed to meet him at four.