Page 74 of Your Echo
“The hospital?”
My shout is almost a shriek.
“He’ll be okay,” Matt repeats. “They brought him in last night. I had my phone off all night, so I only got the news this morning. I’m his emergency contact.”
His voice nearly breaks on the last sentence. The footsteps stop, and I can picture him dropping his head in his hand.
“What’s wrong with him?” I urge.
“Mild alcohol poisoning, some cuts and bruises, and a fractured rib. They thought he might have a concussion, but they ruled that out not too long ago. He was awake for a bit, but he’s sleeping now.”
“Afractured rib?” I clutch my phone so hard my hands starts to ache. “Tabarnak. What did he do to himself?”
“He doesn’t remember. He said the last thing he remembers doing is sitting in Parc Lafontaine. I was going to ask if you were with him at all yesterday...?”
I shake my head before I remember that doesn’t work on the phone.
“I haven’t seen him since two days ago.”
“He sent me this text last night. I thought it might be about you. I didn’t mention it to him when he was awake, since he was feeling...pretty rough. It was weird, though. Maybe it means something to you. It said: ‘She’s the girl. She’s the girl. It was her mom. I didn’t know.’ At least I think that’s what it said. He wasn’t typing very well.”
“He sent something like that to me too,” I admit, “but I don’t know what it means.”
“Weird.”
“Can I see him?” I ask. “I’d like to see him, if that’s okay.”
“He’s seeing a specialist for his rib in two hours, and then he’s supposed to be discharged. You could visit him then, but if you really wanted to come to the hospital now, I’m sure he wouldn’t mi—”
“I’m on my way!” I shout, not even letting Matt finish his sentence as I end the call.
I order an Uber on my phone and then pull a pair of shorts and some shoes on. All I’ve been wearing this morning is underwear and a t-shirt. I shove a few things in a purse and then head out of my bedroom. Molly is standing over the stove in the kitchen.
“Hey, have you heard about the concert?” she asks me. “They did some last minute schedule change and now GHOULS is playing inst—”
She cuts herself off when she gets a look at me. I probably have the appearance of someone fleeing from a hurricane.
“Are you okay?” she asks.
“I’m fine. Here.” I dig through my purse and pull out a crumpled piece of paper. “This is my ticket for tonight. I can’t go anymore, so you can give it to one of your friends. I’m really sorry. I just—I have to go now.”
“You sure you’re okay?”
I nod and practically sprint out of the apartment, thundering down the staircase and into the car that pulls up just as I exit our building. We drive along the edge of Mont Royal, the mountain that rises up in the middle of the city. I pull Ace and I’s text conversation up on my phone, trying to keep myself busy as we get closer and closer to the hospital.
I didn’t know it was you. I swear I didn’t know it was you.
I still have no idea what that means, but a few drops of dread have seeped into the confusion simmering inside me, turning my whole body into one big boiling cauldron of apprehension.
The driver stops the car in front of the hospital nestled at the foot of the mountain, and I jump out. Matt texted me Ace’s room number. It takes me a few minutes to get my bearings inside the huge building, but eventually I find myself on the correct floor.
“Stéphanie!”
Matt’s girlfriend, Kay, jumps up from a chair in a small waiting area. I spot JP and Cole sitting in chairs beside hers, and I walk over to them.
“Where is he?” I ask.
“Still sleeping,” Kay answers. “Matt is with him in the room. The rest of us got here about twenty minutes ago.”
