“The neighbor,” Vivien said. “What are you doing out here?”
“Heather woke up and discovered that you were gone. You’re not answering your phone. She’s worried about you,” William answered. He lifted a hand to touch her shoulder, only to pull back in surprise to find it wet. “What in the world, Vivien? What happened? You’re soaked.”
William instantly pulled off his t-shirt and wrapped it around her shoulders. The body heat from the material helped fight the chill. He walked her toward the kitchen door.
The light struck them as they went up the stairs. She gave a small laugh. Furry creatures covered his pants. “Are you wearing teddy bear pajamas?”
“Grizzly bears,” he corrected as he reached for the door to pull it open. “They’re manly.”
“If you say so.” Vivien gave a weak cough.
He yelled, “Found her!”
“Vivien?” Heather and Lorna called out in unison. They appeared in the doorway from the hall at the same time.
“We’ve been calling you,” Heather said. “Why didn’t you answer your phone?”
Lorna had a jacket pulled onto one arm. “We were just about to come to look for you.”
“Phone’s dead.” Vivien put her cell phone on the counter.
“Are you…?” Heather rushed toward her. “What happened?”
“I saw Sam,” Vivien said. “He led me to the ocean.”
“Why would he lead you into the ocean?” Lorna touched Vivien’s head. “William, go start a warm shower. She’s freezing. We need to get her temperature up.”
William instantly went to do as his girlfriend bid.
“Good call,” Heather said. “Come on, Viv, we need to get you warmed up.”
“I saw Sam with my phone.” Vivien wanted to tell them everything but was finding it difficult to get a coherent story out.
“Why did Sam take your phone?” Lorna asked.
“No. I saw him on my phone,” Vivien said. “Sam led me to the ocean, and Troy pulled me out.”
“Troy was with you?” Lorna shared a look with Heather.
Her friends wedged themselves under each of her arms and dragged more than walked her toward her bedroom. She felt their worry for her. The concern overwhelmed her own confused emotions.
“Does she feel quiet to you?” Heather asked. “I mean her feelings. Do they feel quiet?”
“Yes.” Lorna nodded, and they walked her faster. “Something’s not right about this.”
“Sam wanted to go swimming,” Vivien said, “but I thought the bonfire would be more like the old days.”
“Viv, hon, I love you, but you’re not making any sense right now,” Heather said.
William came into the hall. “Shower’s on.”
“Thanks, babe,” Lorna said.
“You might as well go to bed,” Heather told him. “Unless you want to see Viv naked.”
“Call if you need me,” William answered, quickly leaving them alone.
Heather pulled at Vivien’s sweater as they walked her toward the bathroom. She tossed it into the sink. The sound of the shower caught her attention.
“He touched me,” she tried to explain, needing them to know but unable to find the right way to say the words. It was as if her thoughts were held hostage where only moments of clarity could surface.
Heather and Lorna pushed her into the shower with her clothes on. The warmth hit her skin, and she gave a violent shiver as it chased away the cold.
“There you are,” Heather said. “I feel you coming back to us. Lift your hands. Give me the t-shirt.”
“Do you got this? I can go make her tea,” Lorna said. “It might help with the agitation.”
“Chamomile,” Heather said by way of agreement.
Lorna nodded. “Scream if you need help. I’m just going to start the kettle.”
“Heather,” Vivien grabbed her hand to stop her from lifting her shirt. “He touched me.”
“Who? The hottie neighbor?” Heather asked.
“Sam touched me. He was trying to show me something in the water.”
“You know for a fact that it was Sam you were with?” Heather jerked the shirt up, forcing Vivien to lift her arms. “We thought the demon was Glenn, so I’m going to have to hear you say you actually saw Sam’s face.”
“I saw him glow.” Vivien closed her eyes as the warm soaked deeper into her body, and she stopped shivering. She felt Heather systematically stripping her down to her underwear but didn’t care. “I wanted him to come back to me, and he has.”
“Shower first. Then you can tell me all about it.” Heather grabbed a loofah and squirted soap on it. The water cascaded over her clothes and hair, but she didn’t appear worried about herself. She leaned over and began washing the sand off Vivien’s calves and feet.
“You don’t have to do that. You’re getting all wet,” Vivien protested.
“Shut up and lift your foot. You’re lucky I love you, or else I’d be screaming at you right now about going out in the ocean by yourself. That was very stupid, Viv. You know what the currents are like. You could have died and we wouldn’t have known to even look for you there.”
“I know. I love you, too.” Vivien smiled, braced her arm, and weakly lifted a foot. “You’re pretty good at this.”
“Well, you know, when I’m not remodeling houses, running theaters, summoning demons, or fighting crime, I moonlight as a foot washer. It’s a passion of mine.”
Vivien laughed. “When did you fight crime?”
“That youngest Larsen kid was skateboarding on the sidewalk downtown. I stopped him,” Heather said.
“My hero,” Vivien drawled with another laugh, lifting her other foot. “But I didn’t think that was illegal.”
“It’s not, but his kickflip without pads and a helmet should be. That kid has no balance. I’ve seen him trip over his own feet walking.”
“Wait, are you talking about Tommy Larsen? Oh, yeah, that kid should not be on wheels. Every time I talk to his mother in passing, I get the impression of minor emergency hospital visits. The first couple of times I thought it was a warning that I needed to do something, that someone was hurting her. But talking to Melissa at the ER, it turns out Mrs. Larsen has a boys-will-be-boys mentality when it comes to raising her five sons.”
Heather’s gaze dropped as she finished washing Vivien’s leg. Vivien felt a wave of sorrow climb up her body before Heather pulled her hand away. She was thinking of her own son.
Vivien reached for Heather’s head, touching it lightly. “I’m sorry. He was a great kid, and you were the best mom. I miss him too.”
Heather nodded. “Thank you.”
The water hit Heather’s face, but Vivien knew tears slid down her friend’s cheeks. Julia had said they were supposed to help each other heal. She wasn’t sure what Julia thought they could do to help ease Heather’s brand of pain, but whatever it was, Vivien would do it.
“It hits me at the oddest times like a sledgehammer.” Heather stood, stepped out of the shower, and grabbed a towel off the rack. She held it for Vivien.