Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

Tex jumped to his feet and ran outside. He pushed through the crowd until he saw what everyone was staring at.

Someone lay on the ground.

Not just someone. A teenage boy, probably sixteen or seventeen years old.

He clutched his heart before going deathly still.

Tex rushed toward him. Checked his pulse.

It was barely there.

Tex placed his hands on the boy’s chest and began CPR.

After several compressions, he checked his breathing.

Barely there.

He checked his pulse again.

Still barely there.

He continued with the compressions.

Thankfully, someone called 911, and the ambulance arrived and EMTs took over within minutes.

Tex stepped back with the rest of the crowd and let them have space to do their job.

But something was wrong here.

Teenage boys shouldn’t have sudden heart problems.

Chelsea wasn’t sure if it was her place, but she wanted to go to the hospital. She needed to know if Mikey was going to be okay.

She wanted to talk to his family. To see if anything seemed odd lately.

Tex had insisted on going with her. On driving his truck.

Which was fine with her, because her hands were trembling so badly that she wasn’t sure how focused she’d be on the road.

“Do you know him?” Tex asked quietly as they headed the short distance to the hospital.

“He’s one of my students. Super nice kid.”

“I know this can’t be easy on you,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

“Thank you. I tend to feel like each of the students I teach are my own. I only want the best for them.”

“Hopefully, the doctors will have some answers.”

But both of them knew what the most likely scenario was here.

This had to have something to do with what was going on with the football team.

They arrived at the hospital and hurried to the emergency room. Mikey was already in surgery.

Chelsea recognized one of the nurses behind the desk, and the woman ushered them over. “You’re here to see Lindsey?”

Chelsea nodded. “I am.”

“It’s usually only family in this waiting room, but she shouldn’t be alone right now.”

“No, she shouldn’t.”

“It’s the room on the left after you get past the doors.” She buzzed them through the locked doors.

Chelsea and Tex stepped into the dimly lit waiting room. Chelsea’s gaze went right away to Lindsey, Mikey’s mom.

The woman was a former classmate who’d gotten pregnant with Mikey at fifteen. She’d had to drop out of school and get her GED. She now worked at the hospital doing insurance claims, which was one of the reasons she’d been able to get here so quickly.

Though they were the same age, Lindsey had aged ten years in the past hour. Her eyes were red with purple circles beneath them. Her chin-length brown hair hung limply. Her skin was pale and blotchy.

“Chelsea . . .”

Without missing a beat, Chelsea pulled Lindsey into a long hug. “How’s Mikey doing?”

“I don’t know anything yet. I just know they’re doing surgery.” She sniffled. “I just don’t know what I’ll do if something happens to him. Christmas . . . it will never be the same.”

Another sob escaped, and Chelsea held Lindsey tighter.

When Lindsey pulled away, her gaze drifted behind Chelsea, and she blinked. “Tex?”

“It’s been a while.” He nodded stiffly. “I’m sorry about Mikey.”

Tex and Chelsea sat on either side of the devastated mom.

Lindsey wiped beneath her eyes with a crumpled tissue as she shook her head. “I knew something like this was going to happen.”

Chelsea stiffened. “What do you mean?”

“Something’s been going on with him. With that entire football team. Then I found some pills.”

Everything went still around her. “What kind of pills?”

“I’m not sure. Mikey said they weren’t his, but they were in a bag that had been stuffed between his mattress and box spring. He flushed them down the toilet before I could do more research and begged me to forget I’d seen them.”

“What else did he say?” Tex asked.

“Nothing. So I decided to question some other people at school. But whenever I speak up, I keep hitting roadblocks. I’m shushed. People treat me like I don’t know what I’m talking about, and I don’t appreciate it. I’ve stayed silent for far too long.”

“Who have you tried to talk to about it?” Tex asked. “Who are these people you mentioned?”

“Who haven’t I tried to talk to about it? I’ve talked to the coach. To Steve, the athletic director. To Markus, the principal. They all act like I’m out of my mind. Then they talk about how wonderful it is that the team won the state championship and how all the students will have a bright future because of it.” She frowned and shook her head. “It makes me sick to my stomach. I don’t even know who else I can talk to.”

Chelsea exchanged a look with Tex. “Maybe we can help you. But let me ask you something first. Has there been anything strange happening to you since you raised these questions?”

Her gaze widened. “Now that you mention it, I guess. I mean, I tried to dismiss it. To pretend like I was just reading too much into these things. But someone stole the catalytic converter from my car. Then a small fire started in my shed—thankfully it was quickly put out before more damage could be done. Then there’s been this feeling that I’m being watched.”

Chelsea had more questions she wanted to ask. More she wanted to know.

But just then, more people flooded into the room. Lindsey must have okayed it.

One of those people was Anna. A few other teachers were there also.

But the football players were the ones who caught Chelsea’s attention. Almost the entire team had shown up.

Chelsea’s lungs tightened. Any conversations they were about to have would have to wait.