nowhere (18 page)

She wasn’t in the hall.
Can she have darted into the girls’ locker room?
I had my hand on the door when it opened.

“Dooner. What a surprise,” feigned Liz. “Was that a love quarrel I just witnessed?”

“Is she in there?” I asked. 

“Yeah, she’s in there. And so is the rest of the cheerleading squad. There’s no chance in Hell that you’re getting by me.” She stuck out her chest as she moved to stand directly in front of the door, blocking it. “What did you do now to upset that poor girl?” When I didn’t respond, Liz continued, “Well, whatever it was, it made her run straight for the toilet. Right now she’s puking her guts out.” She laughed. 

I didn’t find any of this funny. I’d noticed that Mikayla was a little flushed. I just thought it was because she was so worked up. Maybe she wasn’t feeling well again.

“Let me by, Liz,” I said through clenched teeth.

“No.” She smiled devilishly. “And if you try I’ll be sure to tell Mike about our little rendezvous last night by the bleachers.”

“Go ahead. There’s nothing to tell.”

“Are you sure about that? I was crying when the girls found me in the gym. You kissed me and when I didn’t kiss you back you had a hard time taking no for an answer. They saw you grabbing my wrist and twisting it. Why, I think Emma said she saw the scratch on your arm that I gave you when I tried to get away.” Instinctively I looked down at my arm, making me appear guilty. The mark stood out brightly against my skin. However, it didn’t happen the way Liz was implying. She knew it too. She was after something.

“What do you want, Liz?” I asked, growing impatient with her games.

“You know what I want,” she said, running her red painted fingernails down my bare chest. I shivered in horror. “I know you want me too. You’re wasting your time with that bitch in there.” She pointed behind her. “She’s not like you and me.” 

“Get it through your head. I’m not interested in you. And I never will be.”

“We’ll see,” Liz said, sounding sickeningly sweet.

I was about to respond when Tyler came sauntering down the hall.

“Hey, baby.” He made a bee-line over to Liz, sticking his tongue halfway down her throat. It looked more like a perverted dental exam, than a kiss. I shook my head in disgust.

Tyler finally came up for air. “What’s going on?” he asked, eyeing me suspiciously.

Liz answered, “I’m guarding the door. You’ll never believe this, but your crazy cousin, Mike, went running into the girls’ locker room. Dooner thinks he can just break the door down and go in after her.” She rolled her eyes.

“Really?”

“That’s all you’re going to say?” asked Liz in utter surprise.

“Yeah.” He shrugged.

“You have to stop him,” Liz pleaded.

“No, I don’t.”

Tyler looked at me and continued. “I’ve changed my mind. You and Mike deserve each other. I was just trying to look out for her, but apparently she can handle things herself.”

“Gee, thanks, man,” I said sarcastically.

“Come on, let’s get out of here. I have some steam I need to blow off.” He grabbed her ass as they walked toward the gym. I had few doubts about where they were headed. She looked over her shoulder at me one last time before they were out of sight.

With Liz finally out of the way, I could go in and see what was wrong with Mikayla. I opened the door, just as Emma was bringing her out. She could barely stand up.

I gasped. There was definitely something wrong with her. She was as white as a ghost. I’d never seen her look so pale and weak. 

“What happened?”

“She has the flu, you jackass.” Emma gave me a dirty look. 

“Here, let me help.” I picked Mikayla up easily, cradling her in my arms. She was light as a feather. Holding her, I also realized that she had a high fever. Her skin felt hot against my bare chest. My skin always heated up when she touched me, but not like this. This was different. “I don’t think this is the flu, I think it’s something more than that. She’s been throwing up for two days now. And she’s burning up.”

“Put me down,” she murmured weakly without even putting up a fight. I gently brushed her hair back. She couldn’t even hold up her head; it rested against my shoulder.
If anything happens to her…

“What should we do?” Emma asked worriedly.

“I don’t know. We could call someone for help.”

“Hey, maybe my mom’s still here,” Emma said hopefully. “She came in early for a meeting. I can go to her room and see.”

“Okay, but hurry.”

It felt like Emma was gone forever. I paced back and forth; Mikayla barely moved in my arms. Finally she returned with their mom. I felt relief at seeing her. She’d know what to do.

“What’s she doing here?” her mom asked, frowning. “She’s supposed to be home in bed.” 

“All I know is that she came bursting into the girls’ locker room looking really sick. She ran straight for the toilets and started throwing up. It sounded awful.” Emma cringed. 

A moan escaped Mikayla’s dry lips. She didn’t even have the energy to speak. 

“I’m so glad you’re here, Mrs. Mooney. I’m really worried about her. She’s burning up with fever.” 

Mrs. Mooney gently placed her palm on Mikayla’s forehead, letting out a deep sigh. She was visibly distraught. “You’re absolutely right, she is hot. She’s been sick since Saturday night.” She counted on her fingers. “I think I better take her directly to the doctor.” Mrs. Mooney quickly took charge. “Emma, run to the nurse’s office and get an ice pack to cool her down. James, if you could carry Mike out to my car, I’d appreciate it. I have to run back to my classroom and grab my purse. We’ll meet at my car. You know which car is mine, right?”

“Yes, the blue Audi S4 convertible.”

“Right. See you in a minute.” She turned and headed back down the hall. She wasn’t running, but she sure was walking fast.

I had to walk a little slower. I didn’t want to jostle Mikayla too much. She’d begun to whimper softly in my arms. I pushed open the door to the outside with my shoulder and stepped out into the humidity.  Sweat beaded on her forehead. Mikayla looked small and frail in my arms; I felt so helpless. I located Mrs. Mooney’s car just as Emma jogged up with the ice pack. The convertible top was down, so I carefully laid her in the backseat. She curled up into a ball, moaning again. Emma placed the ice pack on her forehead and she sighed.

Mrs. Mooney caught up with us. “I see how she got here.” She pointed at Mikayla’s grandfather; he sat in his truck, a few feet away. He noticed us too, and came running over as quickly as he could.

“What happened to her?” he asked, surprised.

“I don’t know, Dad. Why don’t you tell me?” She snapped, accusing him.

“Well, she was all fired up to talk to Tyler.” He didn’t even mention my name, but he gave me a look that said he knew I was part of this too. “She said she had unfinished business that couldn’t wait.” Mrs. Mooney glared. “She convinced me to bring her here,” he confessed, sheepishly. He took a handkerchief out of his back pocket and wiped his brow. “I knew I never should’ve let her talk me into it.” It was obvious that I wasn’t the only one who’d fallen under Mikayla’s spell.

“We’ll straighten it out later. I don’t have time right now. I need to get her to the doctor.” 

“Is she going to be okay?” he asked, his voice suddenly sounding years older. 

“I hope so.” She nodded at her dad, dismissing him as she opened her car door and slid behind the wheel. “Thanks for your help, James,” she added.

“No problem. I’ll come by later to see how she’s feeling.” 

Mr. Jenkins and I stood and watched until we couldn’t see the bright blue car anymore. Finally I said, “Thanks for not bringing up my name.”

“Don’t mention it, kid. I know the two of you will work things out. She doesn’t say it, but I can tell she really cares about you.”

I smiled. Mr. Jenkins was pretty cool for an old guy. “You know it’s not your fault that she’s sick.”

Mr. Jenkins kicked the ground with the toe of his boot. “I know. But I didn’t help any by driving her here today. I should’ve insisted she stay home.”

“Mikayla has a mind of her own. Something tells me she would’ve found a way here no matter what.” I chuckled.

Mr. Jenkins chuckled too. “Don’t I know it? That’s why I brought her here myself, figured it was the lesser of two evils. And look how things turned out.” He shook his head. “She takes after her mother, you know. Stubborn as can be. Good luck to you, kid.” He patted me on my bare back. I’d forgotten that I was still shirtless. 

“Thanks, Mr. Jenkins. Looks like I better head back in and finish getting changed.”

“Good idea, son.”

Later that evening, I knew something was wrong as soon as I pulled into Mikayla’s driveway. Mrs. Mooney’s car was gone and Mikayla wasn’t waiting for me on the porch. I raced up the porch steps two at a time. Knocking loudly on the front door, I waited for it to open.

“Hiya James.” Mr. Jenkins, opened the door. His face had a serene look. It couldn’t be good news.

He opened the door wider and stepped out onto the porch. “Come on, let’s sit down a minute.”

I didn’t sit on the swing like usual. It hurt to even look at it. Instead I chose to sit in the empty rocking chair next to Mr. Jenkins.

“How bad is it?” I asked tentatively.

“She has appendicitis.” He paused for a second, and then continued. “Everything should be okay, though. She made it to the hospital before it burst. She’s in surgery now. My daughter Sarah, Mike’s mom, is going to call as soon as she has news to report.”

It took me a second to process what he’d said. “Wow. I didn’t see that coming. I’m glad she made it to the hospital in time. I just hope everything goes okay.” My stomach was tied in knots.
She has to be okay.

Surprising me, Mr. Jenkins reached out his hand, covered in age spots, and lightly touched my shoulder. “I’m sure she’s going to be just fine. But if you want to stay until Sarah calls, you’re more than welcome to. I’m sure it’ll be any minute now.”

“Thanks.” I nodded.

“No problem. It’ll help pass the time. I started to ask you this once before. Are you any good at crossword puzzles?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never done them before,” I said honestly.

“Well, just so you know, Mike’s real good at them. I can’t say the same about her sister. Or her cousins, for that matter.”

I chuckled. “I sure I’m not as smart as Mikayla, but I’ll give it a try.”

“That a boy,” he replied, pulling a crossword out of his front pocket. He pulled a pen out from behind his ear, making me grin. “Do you know who won Super Bowl XX?”

“Yes, and I’m sure you do too. Is that even one of the questions?” I asked, pointing to the crossword.

“Maybe?” He laughed.

“The Chicago Bears,” I replied.

“Right, you are.”  He filled in an answer. “It’s on football trivia. I thought it would be appropriate.”

I nodded with a smile. “Cool.”

“I’ve been saving it. Mike’s smart, but the truth is she doesn’t know a thing about football.” He laughed and his eyes crinkled. It was obvious he cared deeply about her.

“Yeah, football isn’t really her thing. I hope she’ll come to a game,” I added wistfully.

“I’m sure she will. Lately she’s been slipping in questions about how the game is played while we tend to the garden. I wonder why that is?” He winked.

We spent the next half hour working on the puzzle. Like him, I knew all the answers. We were both equally passionate about the game. When the phone finally rang, it made us both jump. Mr. Jenkins practically knocked over his chair in his haste to answer it.

Suddenly the porch felt empty and eerily quiet. My heart pounded, wondering what was taking so long. Was it bad news?

“James,” Mr. Jenkins called out from inside the house.

I stood and shouted through the screen door, “Yeah?”

“Come on in here.”

I cautiously entered, not knowing what to expect. I walked through to the kitchen where Mr. Jenkins was talking on a phone attached to the wall. “Yeah?” I asked nervously.

Mr. Jenkins held the phone out to me. “Here. My daughter wants to talk to you.”

“Okay.” I took the phone.

“I’ll be out on the porch,” Mr. Jenkins said and left.

“Hello?” I said, hesitantly. 

“James?”

“Yes...”

“This is Mrs. Mooney. I wanted to let you know that Mike’s going to be fine.” I let out an audible sigh of relief. “Thanks for helping today. I don’t know how I would’ve gotten her into the car if it hadn’t been for you.”

Guilt rushed over me. It was partly my fault that she came to school when she should’ve been home in bed. “You don’t need to thank me. It was the least I could do. I’m so happy that she’s going to be all right.”

“She’ll make a complete recovery. However, she’ll be in the hospital for a couple of days and I’m sure she’d love it if you visited.”

“I’ll be there tomorrow.” I had to see for myself that she was going to be okay. Plus I had a lot of making up to do.

“Wonderful.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Mooney.”

“No, James, thank you.”

“Bye,” I said.

“Goodnight,” replied Mikayla’s mom. I carefully replaced the phone on its hook.

* * * *

After our second practice was over, I quickly showered and got dressed. I couldn’t wait to see Mikayla. I jogged out to the parking lot where Old Faithful was waiting. Absentmindedly I tossed my stuff into the back. It was 5:45 p.m. Visiting hours ended at 8, so Mikayla and I had an hour and a half to spend together.

I put my key in the ignition and turned it. Nothing happened.
Shit!
I banged the steering wheel.
I don’t have time for this.
I tried again. Still nothing.

Feeling anxiety building, I took a deep breath. Talking sweetly to Old Faithful, I said, “Come on, girl. Don’t do this to me. I have an important date I can’t miss.” I rubbed the dashboard. “You’ve never let me down before. I know you can do it.” I closed my eyes and turned the key one more time. Complete silence. 

“Damn it,” I shouted. 

I jumped out and popped open the hood. I’d been tinkering around with engines for as long as I could remember. However, it didn’t require a mechanical engineering degree to figure out that the battery was dead. When I bought Old Faithful from my uncle he told me the battery would run for about two years, and that was two and a half years ago. I sighed in frustration, slamming the hood down. I’d be lucky if I made it to the hospital before visiting hours were over.