Page 64 of Avalanche
He ends the call, pocketing his phone before fixing me with an apologetic look that I don’t quite understand.
“The police want to speak to me.” He scuffs one booted foot against the linoleum floor, his gaze dropping. “About Tom.” He clears his throat, worries his lower lip with his teeth. “About what happened at the start of the season, before he moved out. They, uh, want to listen to the audio recording I made. You know, after Seth beat the shit out of him…”
My stomach bottoms out, a sickening weight settling, twisting, making my breath catch and vision spin.
Eddie’s gaze flicks back up to meet mine, his brown eyes sharp, those usually smiling lips pulled into a frown. “Seth thinks Tom was the one who hit him. On the road.”
My feet falter, legs turning weak, heavy. Antoine rushes to stand, eyes widening in alarm, but Matty gets there first, his strong arm wrapping around my shoulders, holding me up.
“Tom?” I gasp. “Tom?”
“Edward Walker, could you come through please?”
We all turn in unison at the unfamiliar voice. One of the police officers from earlier is standing there, a serious face with dark eyes beneath a tightly pulled back ponytail. Her short nails tap impatiently against a clipboard but when her eyes land on me, she offers me what she probably thinks is a reassuring smile.
“You must be Lily.”
I nod wordlessly, my gaze drifting from her clipboard to the name badge sewn onto her vest. Smith. Beside me, Matty stiffens, his grasp on my shoulders tightening protectively.
“You might as well come too,” the officer tells me, her smile unfaltering, tone forcefully casual. “If you don’t mind.”
My heart hammers wildly behind my ribs.
Police officers have always made me feel like I’m about to get in trouble. I don’t know why when I’ve never even had a speeding ticket. It’s completely illogical.
“Okay,” I breathe, swallowing back my panic and following the officer down the hall.
All my apprehension is completely forgotten the moment I step into the room and see Seth.
I’m practically sprinting to his bedside, his name on my lips. The only thing stopping me from throwing myself at him is the sight of all those wires and tubes, the brace around his neck, the bruises distorting his features. I pull up short, hovering anxiously by his side, my hands flexing and closing in protest as I stop myself from reaching out, wrapping my arms around him.
“Seth,” I cry.
Cracked lips smile up at me. “Lily, honey.”
“Here, sit down.”
Liam is there, pulling a chair up beside Seth’s bed, indicating for me to take a seat. I do what he says, suddenly aware of how crowded the small room is with two police officers, a frowning nurse and the three of us—me, Eddie and Liam.
“What about me?” Eddie complains, looking around the room. “Where am I supposed to sit?”
“You’re not,” Liam quips.
“I really think all this questioning should wait until he’s recovered,” the nurse complains from where she’s standing sentinel at Seth’s other side. She shoots the two officers a withering glare.
“It’s s’okay,” Seth rumbles. “I don’t mind.”
The nurse’s frown only deepens.
“We shouldn’t be long, ma’am,” the second police officer tells her, folding his arms defensively over his chest. “Shouldn’t be more than ten minutes or so.” He offers the nurse an apologetic smile, then coughs into his fist when she doesn’t return it. “Well, let’s see.” He flips over his clipboard, making a show of turning through pages of notes before fixing his attention on Eddie. “You must be Edward Walker.”
“It’s Eddie.” Eddie shoves his hands into his pockets, then leans against the wall of Seth’s hospital room with a slouching stance that has him looking like a delinquent teenager. “Liam told me what you guys want. Well, I’m gonna be straight up with you—I don’t see what that has to do with this situation. Seth has been hit by a car. Shouldn’t you guys be pulling traffic footage or something instead of asking us about some shit that happened a few months ago?”
Liam makes a choked sound from beside me as I stare at Eddie in open-mouthed shock.
It’s the female officer who speaks first, her sharp eyes narrowing despite the unfaltering smile. “We’re just collecting evidence,” she explains. “It all goes to motive. Seth mentioned that the man he saw driving was Tom, a young man that used to be your roommate? But it sounds like there was some sort of… altercation… before he left. Something involving Lily?” That smile turns on me again, and I find myself inexplicably wanting to shrink away from it. When I don’t respond, she makes an exasperated tut and adds: “Well, we just want to get a full picture.”
Eddie snorts. “The full picture is that Tom is a piece of shit. If Seth said Tom was driving, then Tom was driving. Shouldn’t you guys be tracking him down and questioning him instead of us?”
