Page 113 of Hell Bent

“Can you speak freely?” she asked. “It sounds like a party.”

I had a cold feeling in the pit of my stomach. Not like I hadn’t expected this, but now that it was here, it felt bad. “I can talk,” I said. “What? Is she gone?” Thinking,You shouldn’t have brought Ben out here. You should’ve had him stay home, gotover yourself, and asked Alix to take him up there. You knew this was coming. Selfish.Selfish.

Debra said, “No, but we’re very close. She’s still conscious, but she’s on her way out. She’s asking for Ben.” She paused. “And for you.”

Not too late. The breath left my lungs in a rush, and I got a little lightheaded. Wait, though. She was asking forme?I said, “We’ll come. I have an extra day off tomorrow, and we’ll be there as soon as we can.”

“Tomorrow may be too late,” she said.

“We’re in Pittsburgh,” I said, feeling helpless.

“Oh.” She stopped talking, no doubt thinking,What kind of heartless bastard takes his nephew all the way across the country at a time like this?

I said, “I play for the NFL. We just finished a game. I don’t get to choose about that.” Not sure why I was explaining myself. Maybe just that I couldn’t stand feeling like that heartless bastard.

“Oh,” she said. “That explains it. I couldn’t figure out why she had the TV on, especially showing American football. That’s not what I normally see.”

Solange had watched the game? While she wasdying?I said, “We’ll get there as fast as we can. Will you be there when we do?”

She said, “I’ll come if I’m needed.”

“Oh,” I realized. “When she dies.” The word sat there, cold and hard, but it was the truth.

“Yes,” she said. “An aide will be with her. If Solange is still with us once you get here and you feel you need me, you can call.”

What did I do now?

When you don’t know what to do, you do the next thing. I was in my underwear, so the next thing was to get dressed. I headed back to my locker the same way I’d walked out ofSolange’s bedroom, that first day in Vancouver. Step, step, step, with the blood draining from my head and spiders crawling in my chest. Set the phone on the bench and realized my hand was trembling. Tried to breathe, to get my jeans on, and ended up sinking down onto the bench myself. Just for a minute. Just to get my breath back.

Owen said, “Hey. You OK?”

I looked up. “Huh?”

“Hey, man.” He was sitting beside me. “What’s going on? You hit your head out there?” Concern in his bearded face.

I shook my head, put my hands on my knees, tried to focus. “My sister’s on her way out. Dying. And Alix and Ben are here. Out there. Somewhere.”

“And you need to get where?” Owen asked.

“Uh … Vancouver.” I put up a hand and shoved my wet hair back, then stood up and grabbed those jeans, began to pull them on. “Right. I’ll be flying back to Portland with the team within the hour, so that’s fast, and Alix and Ben will … I’ll figure out how to get them back faster, too.” Jeans on, belt fastened. Good. Get on my phone, figure out how to work this.

Owen said, “Hang on,” and I didn’t pay attention. T-shirt over the head, then pull on the flannel shirt. Fasten the buttons, tuck the shirt in. Once I was dressed, I’d call Alix, figure it out with her. She didn’t lose her head. That was a good thought. I’d focus on that.

Harlan in front of me now, Owen beside him, Harlan saying, “Hey. Owen told me.”

“Yeah.” What, was this going to be some group therapy deal? I didn’t need that. I needed to figure this thing out.

Harlan said, “So you and Alix and Ben are all here, but you need to be in Vancouver ASAP. That’s easy. Private jet.”

“What?” I looked up from pulling on my socks.

“Private jet,” Harlan said again.

“How?” I asked. “And won’t that take even longer, on a smaller plane?”

“Nope,” Harlan said. “The bigger jets can fly faster than commercial. Higher altitudes, that’s why. No airport time, either.”

Owen said, “Passports.”