All the Ugly and Wonderful Things(45)

11

DEE

“Thank God we weren’t cooking tonight,” Dee said. The cops had been less than a mile from the barn. If Butch had been cooking, the cops would have smelled it, but they didn’t. And nobody got killed. The cops said getting thrown out of the car probably saved Donal’s life. All he ended up with was a concussion and a broken arm. If he’d had on his seatbelt, the engine would have crushed him.

The other good thing was that when the ambulance came, the only person the cops talked to was Kellen. He kept them away from the trailers.

Liam freaked out anyway. Of course, he loved Val—she was his wife—but listening to him cry and carry on pissed Dee off.

“She’ll be fine,” Dee said as they drove to the hospital in Garringer. She’d smoked too much crystal trying to get herself jump-started. So had Liam, because he couldn’t stop talking.

“This whole deal is my fault. If I were living at the farmhouse, taking care of her like I promised, this wouldn’t have happened. I’ve gotta fix this. I’ve gotta make this right.”

“It’s gonna be okay, baby.” Dee kept saying that, because if something got fixed, it might fix her out of the picture.

At the hospital, there wasn’t enough crank in the world to make Val look okay. They glimpsed her through a window, lying in a bed with tubes running in and out.

“I’m her husband,” Liam said, so they let him into the room for a minute.

Dee got in with a lie: “I’m her sister.”

Val was f*cked up. A Frankenstein monster with stitches running across her forehead.

Liam cried for a good ten minutes after he saw Val. Dee held him, relieved. Yes, he loved Val, and he had the hots for Sandy, but Dee was there for him when there was a problem. He needed her.

People came and went all day: Sandy, Scott, Vic, Butch, Lance, Ricki. In the evening, while Liam was in the bathroom topping himself up, Kellen showed up with Wavy. They looked rough around the edges, but at least they hadn’t been at the hospital all day, unlike Dee, who felt like someone had run a cheese grater over her nerves.

When Liam saw Kellen talking with Butch, he headed right for them and bailed into Kellen.

“What the hell happened?” Liam said.

“Like I was telling Butch, I was out in the meadow and heard the crash. I don’t know what happened, except Val went off the road and hit that cattle gate. I’m sorry the cops came out, but it looked really bad. That’s why I called 911. And the cops didn’t go near the ranch.”

“I mean, what happened? Why was Val out driving?”

“I don’t know,” Kellen said.

“How can you not know? You were at the house, weren’t you?”

“No. I was in the meadow.”

“Don’t lie to me, you son of a bitch.” Liam jabbed his finger into Kellen’s chest.

It scared Dee when Liam got wild-eyed like that. As big as Kellen was, Liam would take him on when he got in that state.

“I wasn’t at the house.” Kellen’s voice was too soft for Liam to hear when he got crazy. “I think Sean—”

“You think I don’t know how you’re always hanging around, trying to insinuate yourself into her bed?”

“It’s not like that. I never—”

“You think she’d ever have a use for some slob like you? What? You think she’s gonna divorce me and marry you?”

“What’re you talking about?” Kellen said.

“Liam, don’t.” Butch put a hand on his arm, but Liam shoved it away.

“I oughta f*cking kill you for coming around my wife even thinking that kinda shit.”

Dee held her breath, waiting for it to all blow up. Kellen took a step back and brought his hands up, ready to field a punch. The nurse at the night station stood up and reached for the phone. God, if she called security, they’d have a problem. Liam couldn’t back down from a fight when he was tweaking, especially if cops were involved.

“Look,” Butch said. “I don’t know what’s going on in your head, Liam, but you need to stop and look around. Kellen isn’t here for some—”

“You don’t know, man. This f*cking *’s been going around my house every goddamn day, acting like he lives there.”

“He brought Wavy to see her mother and her little brother. That’s why he’s here.” Butch put his hand on Liam’s arm again and turned him toward Wavy, who stood there watching in that eerie way she had. Like the little girls from The Shining.

“I just brought Wavy to visit. I didn’t mean to cause trouble,” Kellen said.

“You didn’t. You’re okay,” Butch said. “Right, Liam? He’s okay?”

“He’s okay. Yeah. I’m sorry, Kellen. I’m just all turned inside out.”

“It’s alright. I’m gonna take Wavy home now.”

“Dee, you better go spend the night with her,” Butch said.

Dee glared at him. Like hell she was spending the night in an empty house with that creepy little girl while Liam was with Val.

“Wavy doesn’t even talk to Dee. I’ll go and sleep on the couch,” Kellen said.

Butch seemed like he might keep arguing, but Kellen was already turning away. When he put his hand out to Wavy, she took it.