Lucy was at a full sprint with Iza just on her heels when they crested a dune to find Harper and Toni crouched over Robyn, who was lying crumpled in the sand.
She was so still. Was she dead?
“Clear out,” Skye urged Harper and Toni. “I learned CPR last summer.”
“Come on,” Lucy said, hurrying over to drag Toni and Harper away. “Let her in.”
Skye reached down and felt Robyn’s neck for a pulse.
“Her heart’s beating. But she’s barely breathing. Her pupils are fixed … Lucy —”
“I’m already dialing 999.”
“It’s 911,” Harper said. “911! We’re in America, remember?”
Lucy stopped dialing and started again, fingers shaking.
“Hello? Yes, I have an emergency. My friend has collapsed. Venice Beach. At the volleyball courts.”
It felt like hours before the blare of sirens burst through the chatter of the beachgoers who had clustered around them, offering advice and talking nervously among themselves.
“What did she take?” the taller of the two medics demanded.
“Take?” Rafe said, shooting Skye a warning look. “She hasn’t taken anything.”
He was lying, of course. Bastard. Lucy shook her head. “She’s taken something.”
“Lucy,” Rafe cut in.
“Shut up, Rafe,” Lucy snapped. Then she turned back to the paramedic. “We’re not sure what it is exactly, but she’s been taking something to lose weight. But she may not have taken it for the last day or two. The person who was giving her the pills was arrested recently.”
“Thank you for being honest,” said the shorter paramedic. “We can’t treat her if we don’t know what we’re facing.”
“Withdrawal,” the taller one said, slipping an oxygen mask over Robyn’s face. “Her pulse is racing.”
“I don’t think she’s eaten much either,” Iza said. “We’ve been trying to get her to eat but …”
“Anorexic?” the shorter medic asked.
“Bulimic,” Skye said.
“The perfect storm,” the taller one grumbled.
Robyn moaned on the stretcher.
“There she is,” the shorter one said. “Can you hear me, honey? I need you to nod if you can hear me.”
Robyn nodded blearily, squinting her eyes against the sun. Lucy sagged in relief.
“Okay,” the taller paramedic said. “We’re okay. We’re going to get her to UCLA Medical Center. Do you know how to get there?”
“I do,” Skye said.
“Good,” the medic said. “Go straight to the ER and ask for your friend. They’ll help you find her.”
Then they bundled Robyn away and were gone, sirens roaring up the beach road and out of sight.
The girls just stood there for a moment, stunned.
“I’ll drive,” Skye said. “It’ll be a squeeze but we can take the SUV and leave my car here.”
“I’ll take yours,” Rafe said. “That way there’ll be no need to come get it later.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Toni said. “You’ve been drinking, Rafe.”
“I’m fine,” Rafe insisted. “Skye, you take Iza, Toni and Lucy in the SUV. Harper, you come with me.”
“Whatever, Rafe,” Skye said. “We don’t have time to argue. We’ll see you there.”
Lucy’s eyes darted to Harper’s face. Please, Lucy prayed silently. Not now, Harper. Please tell him to stop being such an unbelievable ass and get in the SUV with the rest of us.
But the look of stunned joy on Harper’s face told Lucy all she needed to know. Harper wasn’t seeing Rafe as he was — belligerent and bleary with drink — she was seeing Rafe as she wanted him to be: the tall, handsome athlete who’d swept her off her feet two years before.
Lucy opened her mouth to protest when Skye tossed Rafe her keys and turned to Lucy. “Come on. Robyn needs us.”
Lucy watched Skye walk toward the SUV, completely abandoning her designer beach bag and the bundle of towels Lucy swore had Hermès logos on them. Just as she was abandoning her boyfriend. This was not the girl she thought Skye Owen was, Lucy considered, but perhaps she had been altogether wrong about Skye.
“Come on, Harp,” Rafe said, pulling Harper in the other direction.
“No,” Lucy replied, reaching out to grab Harper’s hand and holding on. “Harper should come with us.”
“It’s not your choice, is it?” Rafe shot back. “I need to talk to Harper about something privately. So you just run along and we’ll see you at the hospital.”
“Harper,” Lucy said, turning to her friend. “Come with us. Please. He’s had too much to drink.”
“It’ll be fine, Luce,” Harper said, squeezing Lucy’s hand without even bothering to turn away from Rafe and look at her. “I’ll see you at the hospital.”
“Harper —” Lucy began, but Rafe cut her off.
“She said she’d see you at the hospital, right? So leave her alone.”
“Harper,” Lucy insisted, ignoring him. “Please don’t go with him. Not now. I can’t handle this without you. Together we can do anything, remember? But we have to stay together.”
“You’re right, Luce,” Harper said. “And we’ll be together at the hospital in, like, thirty minutes. I’m just getting a lift with Rafe, that’s all.”
Then she let go of Lucy’s hand.