gentle voice hit more like a blow than yelling at him would have.
Finally, he looked up at Colton, pleading him. “There’s nothing you can do to help this, Colt. Please, just leave it alone. I don’t want to talk about it.”
Colton sighed deep. “You know we love you, right?”
He did know, and that just made this worse. He nodded mutely.
Colton gestured to the answering machine. “You need to call Cassie back. She’s worried sick.” Colton reached for it now. “I’m sure most of those messages on there are from her.” He turned up the volume and pushed play.
The message he’d begun to hear from Cassie the night before when he’d turned it down rang out over the kitchen.
The next message was also from her. “Pick up the damn phone, Chris. I know you’re there. I got your text, but I’m not buying it.”
Then another. “I’m sending Colton over. If you don’t want to have to deal with him all up in your ass, you better call me back.”
Colton snorted and Chris just felt worse for worrying both of them.
The next message was from Jake. “Come on, Chris. I don’t know what’s going on, but you’re scaring Cass. Please call us back.”
Then it was Cassie again and the nausea rolled through his stomach. “Colton called me, but I wish I could hear it from you that you’re really okay. Chris, call me tomorrow or else I’m gonna come home and beat your ass.”
There was one more message, but it wasn’t Cassie’s voice that came across the line. It began with ragged breathing and then a horrible cough. Chris’s eyes widened in alarm. He looked at Colton, who’d been listening to the messages, too. Finally, a voice that was barely there came across the line. “Chris…help.”
“That’s Julie.” He sprang up out of his chair and before he made it to the front door, he heard a crash over the answering machine that sounded like she’d fallen, and then the line went dead. Colton was right behind him as he ran across to her door. Chris knocked frantically, but no one came to the door. He tried the knob, but it was locked.
He glanced over at Colton. “Go check her driveway and make sure her car’s still here. I have a spare key in my kitchen. I’ll go get it.”
Colton gave a sharp nod and Chris sprinted back into his house. Yanking the drawer open, he frantically searched for her key. “Come on. Come on,” he muttered as he shoved things around in the drawer. He knew it was in here. Finally he spotted the pink edge of her key fob, wrenched it out of the drawer, and took off at a dead run toward her house.
When he got back, Colton was standing there knocking again. “Her car’s still here.”
Chris tried to get her key in the lock, but his hands were still too shaky from the night before. Colton took the key out of his hand. “I got it.” He quickly disengaged all the locks, but when he went to open the door, the chain was still holding the door closed.
“Julie,” Chris called through the gap, but she didn’t respond.
The brothers exchanged worried glances. “We have to get in there. She’s been really sick, Colton.”
Colton stepped back and examined the door. “Okay, I think I can kick it in. Let me get some shoes on first though.” He ran back into Chris’s house while Chris leaned his head against the door, trying to see anything inside her house. He couldn’t see her. Why wasn’t she answering the door? With the chain engaged, she had to be in there, but the idea that she was too sick to even get to the door sent a chill of fear down Chris’s spine. She had to be okay.
Suddenly, Colton tugged on his shoulder. “Stand back, so I can do this.” It took two kicks, but finally the wood on the door jamb splintered and Chris rushed into her house.
Swinging his head to spot her, he frantically searched through her rooms, heading toward her bedroom. His heart skipped a beat when he spotted her bare legs on the floor on the other side of her bed. She was crumpled on the floor like she’d simply collapsed. He slid to her side, feeling for a pulse. It was there, but so weak. Her skin was flaming hot, but dry to the touch. Without even checking he could hear her breath rattling in her lungs.