“Kara staying at ours?” I ask, glancing at them in the back.
“No, Dad will know something is up if she is there in the morning,” Stace says, her voice alarmed. “Can we drop her off first?”
It means crossing a few main roads, but what the hell. If I get caught I get caught. The girls laugh and whisper as I drive. I purposely tune them out, because no doubt they’re gossiping about boys. If there’s one thing I know about teenage girls it’s once you hear you can’t un hear.
“Whose party was it, anyway?” I ask, interrupting their discussion.
“Just a guy from school. It was kinda cool, but then a heap of college kids came and it was all drugs and booze,” Stace explains.
“Your boyfriend?” I tease. Stace shoots me a glare while Kara giggles. “I don’t need to tell you how bad drugs and alcohol are for you, do I?”
“No, between you and Mom, I’m in no hurry to experiment. Trust me,” Stace fires back.
Ouch.
I swing the car into the left turning lane, glancing around me to make sure there’s no oncoming traffic before I push my foot down on the pedal.
“Sax, Wait—”
The sound of the car being crushed into a post interrupts her screams. My head flies forward, hitting the front window.
Pain surges through me as everything goes black.
Chapter Eleven
My eyes flutter open, the light streaming in through the open window nearly blinding me. My head is killing me. I glance at the crisp, white walls surrounding me trying to figure out where I am—something I seem to be doing a lot of lately.
Hospital. My head aches as I try to recall what happened. Am I hurt? I lift all my limbs. Apart from how hungover I feel, I don’t seem to be injured. I clear my throat and attempt to call out, almost not recognizing the strangled, croaky voice that fills the room. My hand fumbles for the buzzer. I press it and struggle to sit up. I need to know what the hell is going on.
A nurse comes in, rushing over to me when she sees I’m trying to sit up.
“Lie back down, Mr. Waite. You’re heavily sedated and in no condition to get up yet.” Her voice is kind, almost grandmotherly.
I don’t fight her as she tucks me back under the covers. “What happened?” I ask.
“You were involved in a car accident,” she explains.
“Is anyone hurt?” I ask, panic rising inside me. A flashback rips through my thoughts: Stace and Kara laughing in the backseat. I’d just picked them up from a party.
Oh God, no.
“My sister,” I say, struggling to sit up again. “I need to see my sister.”
“Shh, Mr. Waite, your sister is okay. She has some cuts and bruises and a broken leg, but she’s okay.”
Relief washes through me, but it’s short-lived when I remember Kara.
“What about my cousin?” I ask. “Kara?”
The nurse hesitates. “We don’t know the full extent of her injuries yet. They’re not life-threatening,” she assures me.
“What does that mean, not life threatening?” I ask, panic rising in my voice. “Is she okay?”
“I’ll get the doctor to come in and speak to you,” she says, not meeting my eyes.
Oh god, something is seriously wrong, or she’d fucking tell me something. She rushes out of the room. I rest my head back on my pillows and try to think of more clues over what happened. I remember Stace calling me. I’d been drinking, but she needed my help so I went and got them. After that, everything is fuzzy.
I open my eyes after dozing for most of the afternoon just as Mom and Dad walk into the room. I brace myself for what I know is going to be an angry conversation, but first, I’m determined to get answers about Kara.