For Always (book one)

Chapter 23: Empty

Malyn

I cried most of the way home, wondering if I should tell Beau what happened, knowing he'd be mad. I was gonna miss Jace but knew that not seeing him for a while would be for the best. Even though I still loved him, I loved Beau more.

As soon as I pulled into the driveway, Grandmama came out and met me. "Hey."

"What's up?" I asked as I got out.

"Well, I still ain't seen Beau. I've hollered for him, turned the ball on, and everything else I can think of."

"Why didn't you call me?" I asked, panicked.

"What good would that've done? Ya already had a rough night, so I thought we'd figure it out when ya got home."

I went into the house and dropped my purse on the counter. "Beau!" I yelled up the stairs and then ran out onto the back porch. "Beau!" He didn't answer.

"I was hopin' ya'd see him around here, somewhere."

"He wouldn't ignore you, though. If he heard you call, he would've answered you, somehow." I ran toward the river, hoping he may be down there and just didn't hear us. That's where he would've ended up when he turned the pump off. "Beau!" As I got closer to the river, I thought I saw something on the bank, but it was so dark I wasn't sure. But as I approached the river's edge, I knew I was right.

Grandmama hadn't caught up to me yet, but yelled at me, anyway. "Do ya see him?"

"Yes, but...." I ran to where he laid face down on the ground. "Oh, no."

"What's wrong? Is he okay?" She finally made it to where I was kneeling next to Beau's body.

I couldn't roll him over or anything because when I tried, my hands went right through him. "Dang it!" I started to cry, panicked. "He's just laying here, not moving." I threw myself on—well, in—him. "Beau, get up!" I smacked the ground where he laid. "Beau!"

Grandmama knelt beside me, putting her arm around me. "I don't know what to do."

"What's wrong with him?" I cried.

"I can't see him, so I don't know. Is he not movin' at all?"

"No."

"Stay here, I'll be right back." She got up and ran back up to the house.

It seemed to take her forever, but when she finally returned, she had one of the EMF pumps. I grabbed her hand to stop her from turning it on. "What if it hurts him? If he's this bad in this form, what will happen when he's solid?"

"At this point, I don't think it's gonna matter. And we need to get him in the house."

I thought about it for a minute, and, since he still wasn't moving, I reluctantly agreed. "Okay, go ahead."

She turned it on and I immediately flipped him over. There were no signs of any trauma, no marks or bruises. But, then again, I wasn't sure if he was even capable of bleeding.

"Can we carry him?" I asked, trying to move him.

"We sure can try."

I got him under his arms and she held onto his ankles. It took us forever, but we finally made it to the house with him. We propped the door open, got him into the sunroom, and laid him on the chaise. Sweat was pouring from both of us.

"What do we do now?" I asked, out of breath.

"We wait, I guess. What else can we do?"

I noticed he was sweating, too, so I got him a cold rag and laid down next to him, rubbing his head with it. "Since we got him inside, should I turn the pump off? Think he can get better faster that way?"