Taylor pressed his lips together, hesitant to tell the truth. “I don’t know. We never got a pulse. I think he was gone before he hit the floor.”

I covered my mouth and turned to Chuck, letting his large arms surround me. I felt other hands on me, but I wasn’t sure whose. My knees buckled, and my entire body went limp, but Chuck supported my weight without effort.

“Chuck,” Phaedra said, desperation in her voice.

“Go on upstairs, honey,” Chuck said into my ear.

“I’ll take care of your tables,” Phaedra said.

I shook my head and wiped my nose with the back of my wrist, but I was unable to answer.

Taylor tossed his truck keys to Dalton. “You guys go ahead. I’ll take mine to go, Phaedra.”

“I’ll bring it up to you when it’s ready,” she said.

Taylor peeled me from Chuck’s arms and escorted me to the back and up the stairs. Just as he realized neither of us had keys, Phaedra appeared with a plate in one hand and a to-go cup along with my keys in the other.

“You’re amazing,” Taylor said as Phaedra unlocked the door.

She pushed it open, and Taylor guided me inside, sitting with me on the couch. Phaedra set his plate and cup on the coffee table and then left my keys.

“You want a blanket, kiddo?” she asked, leaning over and touching my knee.

The sirens blared as the ambulance tore off for the nearest hospital, taking away my friend.

“I should have gone with him,” I said, looking up in horror. “Someone should be with him. He’s all alone. He doesn’t know those paramedics. Someone he knows should be with him.”

Phaedra reached out for me. “Chuck is calling Michelle. She’s going to meet them at the hospital. Let me get you a blanket.”

I shook my head, but she went to the closet anyway. She fetched a threadbare baby-blue blanket, bordered in equally worn satin. She shook it until it unfolded, and then she covered me up to my neck.

“I’m going to bring you some tea. You need anything, Taylor?”

Taylor shook his head, wrapping his arms around me. “I got her.”

Phaedra patted his shoulder. “I know.”

She left us alone in the silence-filled loft that hovered over the death below. My head and chest felt heavy, my mouth dry.

“You knew he wasn’t coming back,” I said. “But you kept going. Even though he didn’t make it … you’re good at your job.”

He looked down on me, his eyes turning soft. “It wasn’t about the job, Falyn.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, trying to find anywhere else to look but his eyes.

“He came in a lot, didn’t he?” Taylor asked.

“Yes,” I said, my voice sounding far away.