Page 54 of The Executioners Three
She’d been scared of what she might find within. Then at 12:46 (Freddie had known because there’d been a clock on the vending machine), her mom had come out and told her that her dad had passed away. The heart attack had been too strong; Frank hadn’t been able to overcome it.
Freddie hadtriedto feel sad about this. It was what people had seemed to expect from her. But she hadn’t been sad. In the hospital or at the funeral a few days later. How could she be sad when she’d barely known the man?
Grief, she discovered, did come eventually. Less sharp and wild than in the movies, more textured and heavy. A sensation only elevated by the unspoken rule that had settled over her house like a shroud. Freddie hadn’tknown her dad; now she never would. She would forever be the girl whose dad had died.
In the twelve years since Freddie had come to the hospital, the linoleum had been updated to a cool gray, and they’d added fake plants that did give the space slightly nicer appeal. The alcohol smell was the same, though. And the autumn bite outside—she remembered that being the same too.
Freddie went straight to the front desk and asked to see Mrs. Ferris. The nice man told her to head to the third floor, so after an elevator ride and two hallways, Freddie found herself walking into a tiny waiting area.
It looked identical to the one from twelve years ago. So much so that her throat closed up, and her feet stopped working midstride. Over there was the vending machine. Beside it was the muted TV with closed captioning. Even the mauve seating looked exactly as she remembered.
But no. Thiswasn’tthat waiting area. This wasn’t even the same floor. And now someone else was sauntering into the room from the opposite hallway—someone with tawny hair and a navy blazer.
He caught sight of Freddie right as she caught sight of him, and just as Freddie had done three seconds before, Theo Porter drew up short.
Freddie gasped. Theo lookedawful. His left eye was swollen and purple, his jaw was worse, and even from across the room, she thought she could make out individual finger marks around his neck.
Without thinking—and completely forgetting what she’d told Divya less than an hour ago—Freddie crossed the room. Theo didn’t move. He just watched her approach, expression inscrutable. And the closer Freddie got, the worse he looked. Stitches cinched across his eyebrow. A gash marring his right cheek, and the top of his lip busted too.
She halted before him and stared up. She itched to reach for him, to touch him. But her mind was smarter than her muscles. She balled her hands at her sides. “You look terrible,” she said instead.
He huffed a laugh. “Thanks?”
“What happened?”
His chin tipped so he could assess her from the bottom of his eyes. “I made the mistake of trying to do a good thing.”
“Oh.” It was all Freddie could say. Especially since she could relate to that sentiment. She’d only wanted the same when she’d called the cops on a bunch of drunk kids in the trees.
But at least that had only earned her the enmity of an entire school.Nota pummeled face.
Theo cut past Freddie, aiming toward a nearby chair. After knocking a backpack to the floor, he sank onto the seat. Freddie eased into the chair beside him. “Does it hurt?”
“I mean, it doesn’t feel great.” He picked at a loose thread on his blazer. “I see you got your camera back?”
Freddie blinked, startled by the subject change—but also willing to play along. “Yes, I did.” She held out the Nikon. “Xena, meet Theo. Theo, meet Xena.” She pitched her voice high.“Hi, Theo! Don’t get too close or me and Gabrielle will getcha!”
Theo did not laugh. In fact, he didn’t react at all.
And Freddie sighed. “No snooty retort for me, Mr. Porter?”
“Not today, Gellar.” His tongue flicked over his upper lip. He winced. Then shifted forward to brace his elbows on his knees.
Which left Freddie staring at his hunched profile, broken and defeated. It was so strange to see him that way. This was not the perfectly composed Theo of the Quick-Bis, nor the arrogant Theo from pageant practice. Nor even the restless Theo—the one she’d seen outside of Sheriff Bowman’s house and beside the water mill too.
This was sad Theo, and even if he was her enemy, Freddie didn’t like to see him this way. “Is… is your grandmother really bad?” It was the only explanation she could conjure.
But he shook his head. “Actually, she’s doing okay. The doctors were able to stitch up the cuts on her back, and they don’t think the knock on her head will leave any permanent damage. Though…” He shrugged one shoulder. “It’s hard to know for sure until she wakes up.”
Freddie frowned at her hands, guilt unspooling in her belly. “So she hasn’t woken up yet?”
“No.” Theo glanced her way. His expression softened. “She’ll be alright, though. Thanks to you. Youarethe one who found her, right?”
“Yeah,” Freddie tried to say, but it came out tight. “The thing is, though… I just…” She wet her lips. Fidgeted with Xena.
“You just?” Theo nudged.
“It’s just… Well, it’s basically my fault she’s here at all.” Freddie covered her face with her hands. Then in a torrent of words, she told Theo allthe terrible things she hadn’t had the guts to admit to Divya. About how sheshouldhave stopped Mrs. Ferris. About how she should never have gone back to get Steve. About how if she had just been stronger or smarter or remembered she had a phone now, Mrs. Ferris wouldn’t be in the hospital at all.
