The last text from him was a few hours ago. Maybe he fell asleep or something. I wait for Jasmine to head back inside before I give him a call. The phone rings, but he doesn’t answer. I try a few more times but it keeps going to voicemail. A dozen scenarios play through my head. What if Leighton came back to surprise him? What if they went together instead? As my mind races, I hear piano music coming from inside. Jasmine must be practicing in her room again. Her music usually helps me relax a little. But time keeps passing and he still hasn’t shown up yet.
I head back inside and sit on the sofa again. How could he make me wait this long? I get that we’re not on the greatest terms, but I’m still his best friend. He must know how much I was looking forward to this. The least he could do is let me know if he’s changed his mind. I’m about to call again when the piano music stops. The house goes quiet for a second. Someone must have called Jasmine’s phone, because I can hear her speaking softly in her room.
For some reason, there’s this strange feeling in my stomach. I’m not really sure how to explain it. A minute later, Jasmine comes into the living room. There’s a long silence as she stands there, the phone held to her chest. The look on her face makes me think something is wrong.
“What is it?” I ask.
“Mom just called me,” she says in a low voice. “She just heard from Daniel’s dad.”
“What did he say?”
Jasmine doesn’t answer this right away. “There was an accident,” she says. “Someone hit their car earlier…”
“You mean Daniel? Is he okay?”
“I’m not sure,” she says.
“What do you mean you’re not sure?”
When she doesn’t answer this, I rise immediately.
“Where is he now?I’m going to find him.”
My heart races as I look around for my keys. But Jasmine comes to the sofa, sitting me down again. She kneels beside me, taking both my hands. Her voice is calm when she says, “I need you to listen to me, okay? I don’t know how to tell you this, but Daniel is not in the best condition right now.” She swallows her breath. “They don’t know if he’s going to make it through tonight.”
My body goes still for a moment. I must have heard her wrong. But the look in her eyes scares me even more. There has to be some terrible mistake. “What are you talking about? He just texted me a few hours ago.”
“I’m only telling you what they said.”
“Then where is he?”
“I’m not sure.”
I rise from the sofa again.
“Where are you going—”
“I need to go find him.”
“Eric, come back—”
Jasmine tries to grab my hand. But I pull away and throw open the front door. My hands are shaking as I step outside,hoping to see his car parked at the curb. That this is all some prank that’s being played on me. But the street is completely empty. The next thing I know, I nearly trip on the lawn as I break into a run. My button-up shirt is tight against my shoulders as I’m racing down the block. I don’t even care if the hospital is seven miles from here. I’m not waiting for Mom and Dad to bring home the car. I have to find Daniel immediately. He must be so scared right now. I need to make sure he’s okay. We were supposed to have our first dance together. There’s no way he would leave me like this. Especially after the fight we had. I never officially told him I’m sorry.
My heart pounds in my chest as I turn down the street. I’m running so fast I don’t see the curb in time, and my body goes crashing to the ground. There’s a blur of light, followed by a terrible pain spreading through me. I must have hit my head on something hard. Because all I feel is an ache in my skull as Jasmine appears beside me.
“I’m right here. It’s going to be okay…”
Her voice is the last thing I hear as I close my eyes, and everything goes black again.
I wish I could have made it to you in time. I wish we could have danced together.
Fourteen
The envelope flutters in my hand as the train roars in. It’sa cold Chicago morning, the winds blowing in through the tunnel. I’m standing on the platform, staring down at the unopened letter. Jasmine sent me another one this morning. I always assumed they would stop coming at some point. We haven’t seen each other since she dropped in for lunch a few weeks ago. I know she’s busy with her music and everything. But it’s hard to pretend like it doesn’t bother me. She hasn’t even told me when she’s leaving yet. Are these letters supposed to make up for that?
Jasmine used to call me every day. When Daniel died, she went out of her way to come home every weekend to comfort me. I would lie in her bed as she played me songs on the piano to help me feel better. But she rarely visits these days. Now all I get are these letters that appear every once in a while. For a second, I think about tossing it in the bin next to me. But then I stop myself. Because I promised I would read them eventually. I place the letter back in my pocket and head up the stairs.
The streets are quiet this morning. I linger outside the theater a moment, watching cars pass along the road. There’ssomething else inside my pocket. A paper rose I found on my desk this morning. Haru left it there after he disappeared again last night. For some reason, I still have hope that he might be there when I wake up. It helps me fall asleep at night, thinking things will be different this time. But all that’s there is another folded piece of paper. At least I know it means he’s going to find me again. I hope I see him tonight. I hold on to the rose as I head into the theater.
