Godplayer

Fifteen

Cassandra could hear someone calling her name from a great distance. She tried to answer but couldn’t. With a great effort, she opened her eyes. Joan Widiker’s concerned face emerged as if from a dense fog.

Cassi blinked. Slowly glancing upward, she could see a tangle of IV bottles. To her left she heard the incessant beep of a cardiac monitor. She took a deep breath and felt a stab of pain.

“Don’t try to talk,” said Joan. “It may not feel like it, but you’re doing fine.”

“What happened?” whispered Cassi with great difficulty.

“You were in a car accident,” said Joan, smoothing back the hair from Cassi’s forehead. “Don’t try to talk.”

As if recalling a dream, Cassi remembered the nightmare ride with Thomas. She could remember her anger and grabbing the wheel. She had a vague memory of being slapped and then bracing herself against the dash. But after that, it was as if a curtain had been dropped over the scene. It was blank.

“Where is Thomas?” said Cassi, struggling up in fear.

“He was hurt too,” said Joan, urging her to lie quietly.

Cassi suddenly knew that Thomas was dead.

“Thomas didn’t have his seat belt on,” said Joan.

Cassi hesitated, then said the word aloud. “Dead?”

Joan nodded.

Cassi let her head fall to the side. But as the tears poured down her cheeks, the memory of her last conversation with Thomas returned. She thought of Robert and all the others. Gripping Joan’s hand, she said, “I thought I loved him, but thank God…”