No Return

28

Boom .

Wes popped open his eyes.

He was in bed, the room still dark, a sheen of sweat covering his arms and chest.

“Are you all right?” Anna whispered.

Boom. Boom.

Wes turned toward the sound. “What the hell is-”

“Wes, are you awake?” It was Alison, her muffled voice coming from the other side of the door.

He and Anna shared a confused look.

“Hold on,” he said loud enough for Alison to hear. To Anna he whispered, “Stay here. I’ll see what she wants.”

He glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand. 2:53 a.m.

Two hours of sleep. Great.

He grabbed his T-shirt and his jeans off the floor and pulled them on as he headed across the room. When he got to the door, he cracked it open just wide enough to look out. Alison, dressed in a pair of lime green sweats and an L.A. Dodger’s baseball cap, stood alone just on the other side.

“What’s going on?” Wes asked.

“Sorry,” she said. Her arms were crossed and she rocked slightly left and right. “I know this hasn’t been a great night for you, but I tried knocking on Anna’s door and she didn’t answer. And there was no way I was going to try Danny’s.”

“What’s going on?”

“Can I come in?”

Wes hesitated. “Hold on.” He closed the door and glanced back at Anna. “She wants to come in.”

“Why?”

Wes shrugged. “She looks upset.”

Anna sighed, then scrambled out of the bed, grabbed her clothes, and headed into the bathroom. Wes waited until she was out of sight before he opened the door and let Alison in.

“Thanks,” she said.

Wes shut the door behind her. “You want to sit down?”

She shook her head.

“Okay,” he said, then waited.

She fidgeted for a moment, biting the inside of her cheek.

“You want to tell me what’s going on?” he asked.

More fidgeting. She was starting to open her mouth when the bathroom door swung open, and Anna, now dressed, sheepishly emerged.

“Hi,” she said.

Alison stared at her as if she wasn’t sure Anna was really there. Then her shoulders sagged a little. “Sorry. I … um … I didn’t mean to disturb … I’ll just … I’ll-”

“No, it’s all right.” Wes hesitated, then added, “I’m sorry. I should have told you before.”

“You don’t have to tell me anything.”

He could tell she wanted to leave, but she didn’t move.

“Anna and I have been going out for several months.”

She bit the inside of her lip again, then said, “Great,” without any enthusiasm. “Good for you guys.”

Wes reached out to touch her arm, but she pulled away.

“Don’t,” she said. “I … I …”

“Alison, why don’t you tell us what’s going on?” Anna said.

Alison shot her a dirty look, but then quickly closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and seemed to relax a little. “Sorry, I’m just worried.”

“About what?”

“Tony. He’s not back yet.”

“How do you know?” Wes asked.

“I knocked on his door to tell him about the break-in, but he didn’t answer. That was hours ago and he’s still not back.”

“You’ve been awake this whole time?” Wes asked.

She gaped at him as if the answer should be obvious. “I’m freaked out, and when I get freaked out, I can’t sleep. You know that.”

“Could he have decided to go back to L.A.?” Wes asked.

Alison shook her head. “How would he get there? He didn’t have a car. Besides, he would have told one of us.”

“Maybe he hooked up with someone like Danny did,” Anna suggested, “and went home with them.”

Alison was quiet for a moment. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“God, let’s hope he didn’t hook up with someone like Danny did,” Wes said. “She’d be old enough to be his mother.”

A smile from Anna, but Alison’s expression didn’t change.

“He’ll probably show up sometime tomorrow hungover and smiling,” Anna said.

Alison took another deep breath. “You’re probably right. That’s got to be what happened. Nothing like a little overreacting, huh?”

“Totally understandable,” Wes reassured her.

She took a step toward the door. “I’ll get out of your hair.”

“You want me to walk you back to your room?” Wes asked, realizing a second after it was out of his mouth that it was the wrong thing to say.

But before Alison could jump on him, Anna said, “I’ll do it.”

Alison pulled open the door, then turned back. “Just tell me, am I the last one to know about you two?”

Wes shook his head. “Not even close. Dione’s the only one on the crew who knows.”

A wan smile and a nod, then Alison stepped outside, Anna following behind her.

Several minutes later Anna let herself back in.

“Well done,” she said. “I see your people skills are in top form.”

“I know. I could have handled that a little better.”

“Yeah. I can think of about two dozen ways right off the top of my head.”

“Sorry.”

The smirk that had been on her face held for a moment longer, then melted. She walked over and put her arms around him. “At least she knows now.”

“Yeah,” he said, trying to smile. “So what did you two talk about?”

“She’s my friend. I just wanted to make sure she’s going to be okay.”

“And is she?”

He could feel her shoulders go up and down. “Hope so.”

As they climbed back into bed she asked, “So what were you dreaming about?”

“Huh?”

“You sounded like you were having a bad dream when Alison knocked on the door.”

“Was I?” he said. The dirt. The plane. Anna in danger. “I don’t remember.”