Grave Shadows (19 page)

Chapter 77

I helped Bryce get Dylan ready for bed.
Dylan put his arms around Bryce’s neck. “I missed you,” he said, before sticking his thumb in his mouth.

We headed downstairs, but I stopped when I saw Mom and Sam waiting at the bottom.

“No,” I said.

We followed them into the living room, and they turned off the TV.

Leigh said, “Hey, I was watching that!” But she fell silent when she saw Mom’s and Sam’s faces.

“That was Jeff’s dad,” Mom said.

“Is he gone?” Bryce whispered.

Mom looked at the floor. “No. But his immune system is low. It doesn’t look good.” She put a hand over her mouth.

Sam took over, his growly voice even lower than usual. “The doctor couldn’t believe he’d made it the whole way. Said he had to have somebody really strong helping him.”

“It wasn’t me,” Bryce said. Then he whispered, “Todd.” Or maybe “God.” I’d have to ask him about that.

“I’m sorry,” Sam continued, “but you need to be prepared for the worst.”

“It’s not fair,” Leigh said. “That kid never did anything to anybody. Why can’t God do something for him?” She looked down, and her hair covered her face.

Bryce seemed in shock.

All I could do was pray silently for the doctors, the Alexanders, and Jeff. Then I thanked him that Jeff had Bryce, a friend who stuck close to him through all those miles. It struck me that I rarely prayed about Bryce.

In the Bible it says something about the prayer of a righteous person having great power and producing wonderful results. I didn’t feel much like a righteous person, and to be honest, I wasn’t asking for a miracle. I just wanted us to somehow get through this awful thing.

Chapter 78

I dropped into bed
and fell asleep fast. When I woke up I felt like I had been run over by a cement truck. I trudged downstairs and asked Mom if we could visit Jeff.

“He’s a little better this morning, Bryce. He might even get to come home soon.”

“Can I call him?”

“No, not yet. Let’s just see what the day holds.”

That made me want to find his missing stuff all the more, and I told Ashley we were going to do it before Jeff came back.

“Let’s go to the school and see if we can find that Jeppeson guy,” she said.

I still didn’t see the connection, but Jeff had said we should give DM the last box—that I could show it to them. And that we’d been there once together.

“If we find out what DM stands for,” she said, “we’ll solve this thing.”

The middle school still had a big tarp covering something. Ashley pointed. “That’s Jeppeson’s truck.”

We were heading across the parking lot toward it when my cell phone rang. It was Mom, and she seemed to be fighting to keep from crying. “I need you to come home,” she said.

“Why?” I said. “What’s wrong?”

Sam’s voice came on. “Bryce, just come home.”

Chapter 79

It was a long ride.
Bryce rode ahead of me, zigzagging on his ATV through the field near our house. I tried to think of anything it could be other than Jeff.

Minutes later we were in the living room. Mom and Sam sat next to each other on the couch. Sam rubbed his arms, not looking at either of us. Mom stared through cloudy eyes.

Bryce tossed his helmet on a chair.

“Sit,” Mom said, patting the couch.

I sat next to her, and she wrapped her arms around me.

Bryce just stood there looking like he wanted to run, to be anywhere but here. “Tell us,” he said.

Sam cleared his throat and looked at the floor. “The Alexanders thought Jeff was coming out of it, but he’s taken a turn.”

Bryce screwed up his face. “Just tell me!”

Mom sat forward. “They don’t think it will be much longer, hon.”

Leigh appeared at the top of the stairs with Dylan, tears in her eyes.

I buried my face in Mom’s arms.

“I want to go see him,” Bryce said.

Chapter 80

My legs felt as rubbery
walking into the hospital as they had at the end of the bike trip. The alcohol smells, the shiny hallways, families gathered in the waiting room, all of it got to me.

The nurses in the cancer ICU really looked stressed. It must be hard taking care of dying people, especially getting attached to kids and then seeing them only get worse, no matter how hard you work.

“He’s hanging on,” Mr. Alexander said. “They did a brain scan and found a big change since last week. The tumor is pressing against some vital areas.”

“Can they do another operation?” I said.

Mr. Alexander frowned. “I wish. The way it’s positioned, they really can’t.”

He said more stuff that I didn’t understand. I just wanted to see my friend. Finally he walked me to Jeff’s room. Mrs. Alexander forced a smile and took my hand.

Jeff’s cheeks were sunken, and there were tubes hooked to him and machines beeping and blipping.

I just stared, feeling helpless. This was way harder than I expected.

“I think he needs our permission,” Mrs. Alexander whispered.

“Our permission?”

She spoke so softly I was sure nobody else could hear. “The doctors say something happens near the end. The patient cares so much about those he’s leaving that it’s hard for him to let go.”

“You mean, we have to let him know it’s okay to . . . ?”

Mrs. Alexander nodded. “We’ve told him. Maybe he needs to hear it from you.” She stepped back.

I pulled a chair next to the bed and leaned toward Jeff. For the past few days I had heard Jeff’s breathing through the microphone in our helmets. I had no idea what he had been going through and what the headaches really meant.

“Hey, buddy,” I said softly. “That was some finish.”

His eyelids flickered and his hand twitched.

“You should have seen us on TV. You would have thought we’d won a gold medal.”

I told Jeff how much money had been raised, and I imagined I saw him smile. I was supposed to be letting him go, but part of me didn’t want to. I wanted to go to the eighth grade with Jeff.

But it wasn’t fair to make him hang on like this. He was headed to a lot better place, where no tumors grow and people don’t die in plane crashes.

“Remember what you said about seeing my dad?” I whispered. We had talked about it one night during the trip. Jeff said he wanted to find my dad and talk with him once he got to heaven. “Don’t forget to tell him I love him and miss him. Tell him about the bike ride and how we worked together. Tell him my mom’s a Christian now—that’ll make him really happy. And tell him Ashley and I are Christians too and that we’ll all be together one day.”

I paused, but I didn’t sense any response. “You can go now, Jeff. Your mom and dad know how much you love them, and the rest of us do too.” A tear rolled down his cheek, and I’m sure he was trying to smile. “And don’t forget to thank Todd for me.”