Thea at Sixteen (16 page)

“SYBIL!” Thea screamed again, and this time they all could hear her, but it was too late. She ran the yards to Sybil's side, and Scotty followed her, dropping his wrappers. We'll have to retrieve them, Thea thought. The wrappers. Sybil's going to want the wrappers.

“My God,” Scotty said as he reached Sam and looked down at Sybil. “Is she alive?”

“I don't know,” Sam said. “I … I haven't checked yet.”

“Checked?” Thea shouted. At least she meant to shout. She wasn't sure she actually said anything, but her lips were moving, and she was thinking checked and candy wrappers and Sybil and alive.

Scotty bent down. “She's still breathing,” he said. “We'd better not move her, though.”

“Here's my jacket,” Sam said. He took it off, and draped it over Sybil. “Thea, we need to call an ambulance.”

“The car hit her,” Thea said. “Did you see that?”

“We saw it,” Scotty said. He took his jacket off as well, and put it on Sybil. Thea couldn't get over how silly Sybil looked, lying on the road, covered by jackets and candy wrappers.

“Wake up,” Thea said. “She hates waking up in the morning. Sybil, wake up.”

“You take Thea,” Sam said. “Find a phone fast. I'll stay here with Sybil.”

“All right,” Scotty said. He put his left arm around Thea, but this time she knew he wasn't going to kiss her, and then they walked down the road, turned on Old Mill Road, walked until they found a house, and then walked to the house, rang the bell, begged for entry, explained what had happened. Thea listened while Scotty talked.

“Accident. Hit-and-run. Twelve-year-old.”

“No,” Thea said. “Sybil. It was Sybil.” And she started crying, and didn't stop, not even when they ushered her into the living room, and didn't stop until she heard the ambulance wail its arrival, and watched as they carefully lifted Sybil off the road, and drove her away, to the hospital, to safety, to a place which made people well—or watched while they died.

C
HAPTER
T
WELVE

It was almost as though they'd moved the weekend party into the surgical waiting room, Thea thought. Everyone was there, except Sybil of course. Sam and Evvie were huddled on the floor, and Claire was sitting close enough to them that Evvie could occasionally reach out and stroke her hair. Nicky and Megs were sitting on a sofa, their faces devoid of expression; but their bodies and their thoughts seemed merged, as though by their unity, they could hold the world together. Clark paced, fidgeted, brought coffee and sandwiches, made phone calls, tried to be useful, and succeeded only in not being invisible. Scotty sat by Thea's side. Thea didn't know why. Maybe it was because they had witnessed the accident together. Maybe it was because he loved her. She was hardly conscious of him, and didn't care what his motives were.

There had been chaos in the emergency room, Nicky hysterical with grief, Megs close to paralysis from shock. Clark had been helpful then, and the doctors had known what to do, how to calm people down so forms could be filled out, information could be obtained. Nicky had stopped shaking long enough to sign consent forms for surgery. Within two hours of the accident, Sybil was on the operating table, and all Thea knew was that the longer they took, the longer Sybil continued to live.

“Come on, girls,” Clark said, sometime after the third hour. “You must be hungry. You need a break. Let's go to the cafeteria and get something to eat.”

“No,” Thea said. She remembered Mrs. Dozier sitting in the cafeteria, and couldn't bear the thought of facing her again. Not that Mrs. Dozier was likely to still be there. But Thea wasn't taking any chances.

“Claire, come with me,” Clark pleaded. “It isn't healthy for you to be sitting so still. And you're not doing Sybil any good by starving yourself.”

“I'm not leaving,” Claire said.

“We're fine, Clark,” Evvie said. “Why don't you go down and bring us back something. We just can't leave right now.”

“All right,” Clark said. “Scotty, come with me. I'll need the extra set of hands.”

So Scotty got up and joined Clark. Thea felt relieved when they were gone. They didn't belong. They weren't family.

Sam turned to Thea. “I thought I heard you scream,” he said. “Did you?”

Thea nodded. “I saw the car coming,” she replied. She could see it again and again, each time in her memory getting larger, and the arc of Sybil's flight growing higher and more delicate. After five hours, it was almost poetry the way Sybil flew and descended, and the candy wrappers looked almost like flower petals.

“I reached for her,” Sam said. “I remember that. I reached for her, tried to pull her out of the way, but it was too late.”

“Sam, don't,” Evvie said. “It wasn't your fault.”

“I don't know,” he said. “There should have been something I could do.”

“There was nothing,” Thea said. “Cars speed on Oak Hollow Road. That's one reason why people drive there, so they can speed.”

“I didn't know that,” Meg said. “About the speeding.”

Thea nodded. “The car was going very fast,” she said.

“No, I mean that cars always speeded there,” Meg said. “If I'd known that, I never would have let Sybil go there.”

“There was no way you could know that,” Nick declared. “Daisy, don't blame yourself. Some hit-and-run driver hurt Sybil, not you.”

“Not you,” Evvie echoed, holding onto Sam.

“She's so young,” Meg said. “Only twelve.”

“She's strong,” Nick said. “And she's not a quitter. When Sybil sets her mind to something, she always accomplishes it.”

Megs began to cry. “She's my baby,” she said, and Nicky held on to her, while she wept.

“She'll be all right, Megs,” Claire said. “I know it. Sybil isn't going to die.”

“She can't die,” Nick said. “She can't.”

Angels like Sybil, Thea thought. Gina had asked after her. Had Gina known what was going to happen? Did the dying know who the dying were going to be?

Clark and Scotty came back with boxes filled with coffee and soup, sandwiches and fruit. Thea stared at the sandwich Scotty gave her. Evvie nibbled on hers. Megs continued to cry.

“Nick, maybe we should get Meg out of here,” Clark suggested. “Find a room for her to lie down in.”

“No,” Nick said, and he held on to Megs even more tightly.

“They were selling Yummie Juniors in the cafeteria,” Scotty declared. “They had a vending machine with them. I almost bought one.”

“They're awful,” Claire said. “They stick in your teeth for hours.”

“I know,” Scotty said. “That's why I didn't get any.”

Thea thought about how much Sybil hated hospitals. It didn't seem fair that she should be in one.

A police officer came by, and asked Scotty, Thea, and Sam for statements again. They'd already told what they knew back in the emergency room, but the officer wanted to hear it again. Color and description of car. Had they seen the driver at all? What about the license plate? They told him what they remembered, which wasn't much, and went back to sitting on the floor, playing with the food, talking about Yummie Juniors.

“There's turkey at home,” Meg said. “We had so much extra because the Doziers didn't stay.”

“They wanted to,” Thea said. “They apologized for leaving.”

“I know,” Meg said. “How is Gina?”

Thea shrugged. Dying wasn't a word she cared to say out loud.

“Maybe I'll have a turkey sandwich when I get home,” Evvie said. “Sam, would you like a sandwich?”

“That'll be good,” Sam replied. “We can make sandwiches for everybody.”

“I can help,” Scotty said.

“Fine,” Sam said. “The three of us will make sandwiches later.”

Time passed in silence. At one point Evvie asked Sam what he had done with her psychology textbook. At another, Claire asked Scotty how many boys there were in his school. Megs and Nicky turned back into themselves. Clark continued to fuss. Thea sat there and pictured the car, the flight, the showering of wrappers. She no longer was sure what color the car had been, although she'd known at the time it was blue.

After five hours, the surgeon came out. He walked over to Nicky and Megs, but all the others could hear him. “She's still with us,” he said. “The internal injuries were extensive, and there was a lot of blood lost. We had to remove her spleen, but she can live with that. And there's no sign of permanent neurological disfunction.”

Nicky nodded.

“The next twenty-four hours are critical,” the doctor said. “The risk of infection is great, and the bleeding could start again.”

“Then what?” Nick asked. “When she makes it through.”

“There was a lot of damage to the legs and knees,” the doctor said. “We patched what we could, but our first concern had to be to stop the bleeding. She's a strong little girl, and her functions are good, blood pressure is stable, she's putting out urine. Let's get her through the next few days, and then you can start talking with the orthopedic surgeon about what lies ahead.”

“Can we see her?” Meg asked.

“Only for a moment,” the doctor said. “She's in post-op. Just her parents.”

Megs nodded. She and Nicky rose, and followed the doctor to Sybil.

“We should give blood,” Sam said. “Tomorrow, let's all give blood. Even if it's not Sybil's type, we should all do it.”

“Good idea,” Clark said. “And once Meg and Nick get back here, we should all go home. We won't do Sybil any good by staying here. She needs us healthy and well rested for tomorrow.”

Evvie nodded. “Clark's right,” she said. “I don't know what Nicky and Megs are going to do, but we might as well leave. Tomorrow is going to be a very long day.”

“It can't be any longer than today,” Thea said. She got up and stretched and was amazed to discover just how badly her body ached. Scotty got up with her, and massaged her shoulders. Thea thought she would cry with gratitude.

Nicky and Megs returned after a few minutes. “She's sleeping,” Meg said. “She's very pale, and they have her wired up a thousand different ways.”

“We're going to go home,” Evvie declared. “Do you want to join us?”

“Later,” Nick said. “We want to talk to the doctors some more. And they might let us see Sybil again if we stay.”

“We'll see you at home, then,” Evvie said. She walked over to her parents, and kissed them. “Call us if you need anything.”

“Thank you, darling,” Meg said. But Thea felt Megs and Nicky withdraw into their own world as the rest of them picked up their jackets and bags and began the procession home.

There was something comforting about being in the house again, even without Nicky and Megs and Sybil. Scotty and Sam cut up the turkey for sandwiches. Claire sliced bread, and Clark threw together a salad. Thea set the table, and Evvie brewed tea. Soon they'd created an instant feast, and if almost none of them ate anything, it still felt better to have shared in the preparations.

Nicky and Megs got home around ten. “We saw Sybil again,” Meg said, hanging her coat in the hall closet. “She looked better, I think, more color in her cheeks.”

“She's going to be fine,” Nick declared. “I think she knew we were there, too. I saw her open her eyes, just for a moment, and look at us.”

“I didn't see that,” Meg admitted. “But Nicky swears she did.”

“Good,” Clark said. “There's plenty of food, if you'd like some.”

“Not just now,” Meg said. “Thank you, Clark.”

“The doctors say every minute she's alive is a minute she's getting stronger,” Nick said. “She's still not past the crisis point, but they said there's every reason to hope.”

“Thank God,” Clark said. “Are you sure you wouldn't like some tea?”

“Tea sounds good,” Meg said.

So Clark ran into the kitchen and brought out two mugs of tea. Megs sipped hers, and Nicky ignored his.

“I called my grandfather,” Sam said. “He's a surgeon, heart surgeon, but I asked him to find out the names of top orthopedic surgeons in the area. He said he'd get back to me tomorrow. He also said the hospital here was excellent, and he was sure Sybil was getting the best possible care.”

“Thank you, Sam,” Meg said. “That was very thoughtful of you.”

“I wish I could do more,” he replied.

Clark took a deep breath. “This is going to cost a lot of money,” he said. “I know you're not ready to start thinking about that, Nick, but the cost is going to add up. How's your health insurance?”

“What health insurance,” Nick replied.

Thea could see the shock in Clark's face. “You're kidding,” he said. “Nick, this could run into the hundreds of thousands.”

“Let it,” Nick said. “We'll find a way.”

“Let me help,” Clark said. “I have more money than I know what to do with. I can pick up the costs.”

“That's very sweet, Clark,” Meg said. “But it isn't necessary.”

Thea realized her parents had already begun discussing the money situation. She saw Megs put a hand on Nicky's arm, as though to restrain him.

“Meg, dearest, this is no time for pride,” Clark said. “You can't possibly afford the sorts of medical bills you're going to be facing.”

“It's none of your concern,” Nick declared. “It's a family problem. We'll solve it by ourselves.”

“Don't be an idiot, Sebastian,” Clark said, his face flushed. “You can't let Meg and your daughters suffer because of your stupid outsider's pride.”

“And you can't buy your way into this family,” Nick said. “Money isn't going to make you Daisy's husband, or the father of my children. So forget it.”