Imagination || L.H.

Chapter 37

The ride to Malibu is spent in tense silence. Ashton nervously taps his fingers against the steering wheel as he weaves in and out of the traffic, inching in front of all the other cars. Michael's knee bounces up and down in the passenger's seat as he stares out the window. Calum fiddles with the hole in his black skinny jeans, anxiously glancing around every few seconds. Everyone's on edge and it only gets worse the closer we get to our destination.

"Is that him?" Mikey asks as he presses his nose up against the glass.

"No, that's some surfer dude," I say. "Besides, I doubt he's just going to be walking around on the streets, Michael."

The white-haired boy pouts, shying away from the window. Ashton's hazel eyes rake over the people walking on the sidewalks anyways, hunting for his best friend in the crowds. Calum furiously texts someone, his fingers flying over the buttons.

"Jack says that the part of the beach they went was by the Pier," Cal announces, relief flickering over his face. After hours of searching for his friend, to get a solid lead on where he could possibly be is a spot of consolation. "He said that if there's anywhere Luke went, it's there."

I turn my phone over and over in my hands just to have something to do. Even though I knew it was in vain, I called Luke sixteen times on the ride to Malibu. He never picked up, but I left voicemails. Maybe if I didn't try to force him to see his mom, he never would have gotten upset and none of this would have happened. I wouldn't have to drive forty minutes to Malibu just because I think he might be there. I wouldn't be so worried about him, not knowing whether he's okay or not. If anything's happened to him...

Calum sets a gentle hand on my shoulder, startling me from my thoughts. "Hey, I know that face. Don't worry, we'll get him back. None of this is your fault, Kat."

"But what if it is?" I say, biting my lip to hold back the tears I can feel starting to form. "I just hope he's okay."

Cal gives me a tight smile, sliding an arm around my shoulders. "We'll get him back," he says again, but this time it feels more like a vow.

Ashton makes a hard left, the ocean coming into view behind all the buildings dotting the shoreline. I lean forward intently, trying to search from him inside the car. Michael has the GPS and he calls out directions to the Malibu Pier to Ash, all the while sneaking glances around at the people walking by. He screeches to a halt in a parking lot close to a restaurant seated next to the Pier and everyone's doors are opened before the vehicle comes to a complete stop. I run down the Pier while Calum pauses to check around inside the gift shop. Ash ducks into the restaurant while Michael investigates the little arcade set up on the boardwalk. But I keep running, remembering the way we used to look at the ocean whenever we finished eating at Oliver's. He has to be here. If he's not... I don't know what I'll do.

I reach the end of the Pier, slamming my hand into the wooden railing with everything I have. Cursing under my breath, I clutch my throbbing hand in my left, gritting my teeth. I really thought he would be here. I was so sure.

Holding back the mental breakdown I feel forming, I start to walk back down the Pier. People cast their fishing lines into the ocean at the end since that's where the water is the deepest while others take pictures. A little girl giggles as she runs down the beach on the strip of sand that goes underneath the Pier-

I freeze before breaking into a sprint, the aching in my hand momentarily forgotten. Calum calls out to me as I blow past the gift shop, but I don't stop. I run down the sand dunes placed between the beach and the parking lot, racing across the beach to the underside of the Pier where wooden stilts hold it above the ground and water.

A shadowy figure leans against one of the poles, looking out over the ocean. I push myself even faster, recognizing the familiar outline. He jumps slightly as I fling my arms around his waist, sobbing into his chest. "Luke," I choke out. "I'm so sorry. When Calum told me he didn't know where you were... God, Luke, he's spent hours searching for you."

"How'd you find me?" His words are slurred and I wonder how much he's had to drink. Judging by the dark bags under his eyes, he didn't get any more sleep than Calum did.

"Jack said that you guys used to come to the beach here, and I figured you weren't in LA because no one could find you." I pull back from him, frowning as I survey him. He sways as if the ground were moving beneath him and his blue eyes are glazed over. "Luke? Are you okay?"

He looks terrible. His skin is pale and slightly blue and he shivers like he's cold. "Kat," he breathes before his eyes roll up into his head and he collapses.

I lunge to catch him before he faceplants, sinking down with him onto the sand. Terror shooting through me, I place a hand on his cheek. His skin is icy to the touch. "Luke? Luke!" I glance around for help, but there's no one around. Clinging to his unconscious body tightly, I pull out my phone and call Michael.

He answers on the second ring. "Kat? Hey, where are you? We-"

"I found him," I blurt. "We're underneath the Pier." I look back down at Luke, who shudders and presses closer to me. "Michael, please come quick," I say through my tears. "He needs help and I-I don't know what to do."

"We'll be there in a second," Michael promises in a firm, authoritative tone that calms me down a bit.

I shove my phone back into my pocket, clutching Luke tighter, hoping that will help. His breathing is uneven and slower than normal, his body temperature dangerously low. But I don't know how to help him. I rest my head against his and slowly rock him back and forth, praying that the boys will be here soon.

"Kat!" Ashton calls out as the three of them run towards us.

"Oh my god," Calum breathes as he drops to his knees beside me. "We have to get him to the hospital. Mike, c'mere and help me carry him."

I step back to let Michael lift Luke, knowing that I simply don't have the strength to. I don't work out or play any sport and Luke's well over six feet tall; I'd never be able to pick him up. I follow close behind them as we climb over the dunes back to the parking lot, taking a seat in the backseat beside Luke and Michael.

"Is he going to be okay?" I ask Michael quietly as we lay Luke across us so that his legs are on Mikey's lap and his head rests in mine.

Michael swallows hard as he glances down at his unconscious friend, who shudders as if it were twenty degrees outside instead of ninety. "I don't know," he says finally. Mike reaches over the seat into the back of the car, pulling out one of the towels we keep back there for emergency beach trips. He lays it gently across Luke, anxiously adjusting the corners.

Calum gives Ashton directions to the closest hospital, which is still, unfortunately, twenty minutes away. I bite my lip worriedly as I smooth down Luke's hair, wondering if maybe we were too late.