The Chase

Because they were going to have to make some uncomfortable decisions Heavenly didn’t need to overhear.

“Put your pants on first. No sense scaring old ladies and small children.”

“Ha…” Seth flipped him a middle finger, then grabbed the sweatpants he’d borrowed previously. When he disappeared into the bathroom, Beck headed into the condo’s shadowy bedroom and looked Heavenly over.

He didn’t like what he saw.

In the middle of the rumpled king-size bed, she lay curled in a ball, wrapped in one of his old T-shirts, her dirty hair strewn across her pillow. Dark circles bruised the skin under her sunken eyes. She looked pale. Fragile. Spent.

Gut tight, he sat beside her and resisted the urge to touch her. “Heavenly… Time to get up. The day is half-gone.”

She gasped and jackknifed up, shoving a cloud of hair from her face. “Is it Friday? Am I late?”

For her father’s service.

“Not yet.” His voice drew her wild eyes to his. “Today is only—”

“Thank God.” She slumped back to the mattress. “Wake me when it’s time.”

Lashes fluttering, she closed her eyes again, shutting him out.

“You’re getting up now.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I’m sleeping.”

“You need fluids.” Her chapped lips and parched skin told him dehydration was, in fact, an issue.

Heavenly covered her head with her pillow. “Go away.”

“Not happening. When was the last time you urinated?”

Silence.

“Answer me,” he growled.

Nothing…except deep, even breathing that told him she slumbered again.

Beck cursed and stood. It was time to get serious.

Behind him, the toilet flushed, the water ran, then Seth opened the bathroom door, wearing gray sweats and an athletic tank. Beck grabbed a couple of mugs, poured java, and jerked his head toward the balcony.

The PI followed and sat with a sigh. “She refused to cooperate?”

He nodded. “How the fuck do we help her? It’s like she’s willing herself to join her dad.”

“That wouldn’t surprise me. I did. Not right after he died; I didn’t have that luxury since I had my mom and four younger brothers to think about. But after the funeral… Let’s just say I made some less-than-wise choices.”

“Chemical, alcoholic, or sexual?”

“Yes.”

That didn’t surprise Beck since he’d once engaged in his own slew of self-destructive behavior. “What made you snap out of it?”

“About four months after my dad died, I was on my way home from a party one night. I was wasted and still so fucking angry. I almost intentionally plowed my car into a concrete wall going a hundred and ten. Even as I floored the gas pedal, I asked myself what the hell I was doing and how my mother would cope with losing me, too. Then I saw a light bar flash in my rearview mirror. Even though I figured I was going to jail for speeding, DUI, and underage drinking, I was secretly relieved. The cop who stopped me was my dad’s best friend. Gene sat me down and asked me if killing myself was something my dad would have wanted or approved of.” Seth sighed. “I started crying like a baby.”

“Sorry, man. I get you. Sixteen was rough for me, too.” Beck stopped short his trek down memory lane.

“So I’m thinking that since Heavenly voluntarily got out of bed to make Abel’s funeral arrangements, maybe helping her focus on her father is the best way to help her now.”