Dead End >> c.h au

Chapter Four

        Sally walked up the stairs hastily. She wanted to put as much distance between her and Calum as possible. She couldn’t believe what he had done. Where had he found something strong enough to melt Luke’s skin off his face? Why would he throw it at all? The more she thought about it, the more unlikely it seemed. By the time she was halfway up the flight, she had almost forgiven him entirely.

        “Are you doing okay?” Michael asked quietly.

        Sally turned to look at him. “Yeah, just worried about Luke,” she told him. That was a lie, of course. She was not doing alright in the slightest. They continued to walk in silence. No one spoke until they reached the next landing.

        “Do you think he’ll go blind?” Michael whispered. He was very sombre, trying extremely hard to stay calm for Sally’s sake. But, she could tell he wanted nothing more than to scream his lungs out and curse to the heavens for hurting his best friend. She imagined Ashton was feeling the same way.

        Sally didn’t answer Michael because she didn’t like the possibility of her answer coming true. She was almost certain that Luke would never see again and it was all Calum’s fault.

        Was it though? Sally shook her head, frustrated. It was like there were two little people playing tennis with her opinions in her mind. She couldn’t decide whether to be mad at Calum or worried that someone else—or something else—hurt Luke. She waved the second thought away. Her life wasn’t a horror movie.

        Sally heard Leo’s voice soothing Luke down the hall when they finally reached the second floor. Leo was supporting all of Luke’s weight as he led him towards his room. Luke was crying, and Leo didn’t blame him. Every so often Luke would claw at his face and let out a pained moan, like a new bout of heat had erupted from the acid searing his skin. He couldn’t see a thing.

        “On your right,” Leo said softly. He steered Luke to the door and let the blond boy use him to stay upright. He looked at him in pity. Leo opened the door and urged Luke forward into the old fashioned suite. Leo walked past the small sitting area and directly into the bedroom on the left wall. He set Luke down on the bed. “I’m gonna go call an ambulance,” Leo told him. “I’ll be right back.”

        Leo hurried out of the room, eager to get downstairs to the phone, but he collided with Tim. He leapt backwards and stared at the older man, terrified. Tim glared at him silently. He reached past Leo’s arm and tugged Luke’s bedroom door closed curtly.

        Leo saw Sally and Michael approaching down the hallway and took the opportunity to slip away and join them. Sally smiled when he did. She pulled him into a hug. She had been crying, but it looked like she hadn’t noticed.

        “What’s up with Tim?” Michael asked.

        Leo turned around to look at Tim again and saw him shuffling away from Luke’s room in the other direction. Leo shrugged. “I wish I could tell you,” he chuckled. “I’ve got to go get the phone, I’ll catch you later,” he said. He looked at Sally once more. Before he could change his mind, he leaned down and kissed her head lightly.

        Michael put his arm around Sally’s shoulders and they walked together to Sally’s room. As she was about to open the door, Michael put out a hand to stop her.

        “Why don’t you stay with Ash tonight?” he suggested. “You seem a little rattled.”

        Sally nodded and let her hand fall from the doorknob. “Yeah,” she agreed. “Okay.” Sally changed directions and walked back to the door next to hers. It was slightly ajar so she shouldered it open and walked in, waving goodbye to Michael as she did. She saw Ashton sitting on the couch with his face buried in his hands. He looked up as Sally entered.