Page 126 of Vespertine
“Ms. Benoit,” Mrs. Wells began, “no running in the ha—”
“Father.” Lizzie came to a halt, so out of breath the wordwas barely audible. Tears ran down her face.
“Lizzie, what is it?” He grabbed her shoulders when herknees almost buckled. Sobbing, she thrust her phone at him. He looked at Mrs.Wells, then at Lizzie, and then at last at the phone between them.
Breaking News: Rock God Nico Blue FearedDead of Alleged Overdose in His Home; Music World in Mourning.
He nearly dropped the phone, but Mrs. Wells caught it. “What’sgoing on?” she asked, but he barely heard her. A surge of cold adrenalineroared through him. He grabbed his own phone from his pocket and hit Nicky’snumber, but it went straight to voicemail.
Mrs. Wells was patting Lizzie’s head and talking to her, butJasper couldn’t hear a word she said. His fingers shook as he sent a text.Where are you? What’s going on?Nicky didn’t respond so hetried calling again. Voicemail. He stared at the last text he’d sent askingabout the rumor that Nicky had checked into the Beverly Hills Hotel. He quicklyGoogled Nico Blue.
Nico Blue Found Dead This Morning AfterAlleged Overdose.A picture of a body being wheeled from a home into anambulance.
Has Another Rock Star Partied For TheLast Time?A picture of Nicky looking skinny and bedraggled after hislast concert.
Nico Blue of Vespertine Rumored Dead.Aphoto of Nicky’s house and aBMWparked in thedriveway with an ambulance beside it.
Nico Blue’s fans mourn and celebs reacton Twitter.Fans crying around the front of Nicky’s gated neighborhood,and screencaps of condolence tweets.
Nicky’s sharp smile and blue eyes crinkled in laughterflashed into Jasper’s mind and speared his heart. He made a mournful noise andshoved the phone back in his pocket.
“Take…take care of Lizzie,” he whispered.
“Fath—Jasper, what—” Mrs. Wells must’ve looked at Lizzie’sphone because she gasped. “Oh no. Jasper, wait. Where are you going? You needto come and sit down. I’ll call someone. I’ll call Andrew, don’t—”
“Take care of Lizzie,” he repeated, pushing the sobbing girlinto her arms, and then he was out the door.
He ran.
His bike was at the school, but he left it. He ran down thestreet, not caring who stared at him. He began to sweat almost immediately inthe July heat, and he ripped the buttons off his shirt and pulled it out of hisjeans. Desperately, panting on the side of the road, he yanked his phone fromhis pocket again and managed to type inNico Blue newsin the search engine. Again came a barrage of news sources proclaiming that he’dbeen found dead, but there was one with a video from a “witness.” Jasperclicked play.
“I saw him just a few hours before ithappened. He walked right past us on the sidewalk by the church over there andhe looked determined, like he had some purpose.” She started to cry. “I can’tbelieve he’s dead. It’s insane.”
Jasper’s chest felt like it would crack open. He calledagain. Still voicemail. He sent another text.Please Nicky.Please.
Then he ran on. He reached the short cut through the woods tohis parents’ and the Blumfelds’ houses and ripped off his shirt. The tank topunderneath was soaked through, and still he ran and ran until he didn’t know ifthe salt stinging his eyes was tears or sweat. He stopped in the Blumfelddriveway, pulled his phone out of his pocket, and dialed.
“Yeah, it’s Nicky. Chances are I don’t want to talk to you,so go away.”
Jasper sobbed and nearly sank to his knees, exhausted, buthe pushed on. Trembling, he knocked on the Blumfeld door, but no one answered.
He stayed there for fifteen minutes, knocking until his fistfelt raw, alternately trying Nicky’s phone, sending texts, and looking at thelatest news trying to find some evidence that these reports were wrong. Hetried Adrian’s cell phone, but that went to voicemail too. Was Adrian at work?Did they already know? He circled the house twice to make sure they weren’t inthe yard, which was when he noticed the biggest of the Blumfelds’ two boats wasgone.
He had to find Nicky’s parents, he had to— His head jerkedup when he heard wheels over gravel, but it wasn’t Adrian or Miriam’s car, itwas his mother’s next door. Jasper stepped back and looked up at Nicky’schildhood home. It looked as peaceful as it always did, but completely empty.
With every step weighing on him like he couldn’t takeanother, he aimed for his mother’s house.
Is this my punishment? But no,that was just more arrogance. People died and the world kept turning. All itmeant was that Jasper’s world would be a monochrome copy, devoid of color andmusic.
Oh, Nicky, why?
His mother opened the door, looking mildly put-out to bedisturbed, until she saw his face.
“Oh my God, what happened?”
He held it together long enough to say, “It’s Nicky. He’sdead.” Then he crumpled, and she caught him, and for the first time in forever,he found comfort in his mother’s arms.
Sometime later—he had no idea how long—he came back tohimself in the living room. Jasper sat on the immaculate leather sofa while hismother perched on the ornately-carved wooden coffee table. Sunlight spilledthrough the two-story windows into the living room and it was all too bright.His head hurt.
