The Man I Love (The Fish Tales, #1)(41)

A Blind Leap


John Quillis was twenty but looked fourteen. He had copper red hair, a wholesome Boy Scout expression and to his everlasting torment, the conservatory had christened him “Opie.” To compound the pre-pubescent image, his voice was still making up its mind about changing. It cracked when he got excited or upset, or just decided not to show up at all.

He appeared in the doorway of the set shop in Mallory one afternoon, waving at Erik to come over. “Daisy’s hurt,” he said, his voice skittering.

“What happened?” Erik said. “Where is she?”

“In the training room. It’s her ankle.”

“Leo, I gotta go,” Erik called. Still wearing his work gloves and safety goggles, he headed out the shop door. “What happened?”

John was pale under his freckles as he trotted to keep up. “James dropped her.”

“On purpose?”

“I don’t know what the hell to think. She was jumping and turning into arabesque. It’s a blind leap and she has to trust he’ll be there to catch her. Dude, he wasn’t even looking. Two of us yelled his name and then Dais was on the floor.”

Erik stopped. “Hold up. Let me ask you something.”

“What?”

“Do you think he was high?”

John opened his mouth, then shut it and looked away. “I can’t go to court with anything but I know he’s been hanging with a crowd who does a lot of pills. Uppers. Ecstasy. That kind of thing.”

“Great,” Erik muttered. He started walking again. They reached the second floor and headed down the hall where the training room was. “Is Lucky working today?”

“Yeah. She’s got Dais’s foot in an ice bath. But she needs to get it x-rayed. Plus she took the weight of the fall with her hand. Her little finger might be broken.”

“I’ll f*cking kill James,” Erik said. It was out of his mouth before the thought was finished in his head.

“Well, take a number,” John said. “I wouldn’t want to be him walking home tonight.”

Daisy was sitting in a chair, her left foot in a deep basin filled with ice water. Her left hand was cradled in her lap, also wrapped in ice. Will was sitting next to her but he got up when he saw Erik. “Give me your stuff,” he said, holding out a hand. Erik pulled off his gloves and goggles, handed them over.

“Hey,” he said, sitting down and sliding his arm around Daisy’s back. She tilted her head against his kiss but didn’t look at him. She didn’t look at anyone or anything, just straight down at her foot. Her eyes were steel blue and her lips pressed into a tight line.

Lucky came over with Max Tremaine, who ran the athletic training department. “I want her in the ice another ten minutes,” he said. “Then let’s take her over to the health center and get it x-rayed. I don’t think it’s broken. Probably a bad sprain. Who’s got a car?”

“I do. I’ll take her,” Erik said.

“I’ll go with,” Lucky said.

“Does it hurt bad?” Erik asked Daisy.

“I’ll be all right,” she said dully. Her jaw twitched a little. Erik could see how hard she was thinking, calculating recovery time and contingency plans. He kept his palm flat between her shoulder blades, not patting or stroking her. Such caresses would only make her crazy. Everything and everybody just needed to be still so she could think.

He watched as Lucky unwrapped the ice pack from Daisy’s hand. Her little finger was red and swollen. A bit of bloodied gauze fell away and Erik winced when he saw the nail torn to the quick. Lucky whisked the gauze away and wrapped a fresh one around the fingertip. “Put the ice back on, honey,” she said.

Erik kissed Daisy’s head again. “I’ll get the car. Be right back.” He stood up, motioning to Will, who followed him out into the hall.

“Where is he?”

“I don’t know.”

“I’m gonna kill him.”

“I’ll handle it.” Will’s arms were crossed, the fingers of one hand drumming nervously on his bicep.

“I thought you were handling it.”

“Fish—”

“Don’t ‘Fish’ me, all right? I’ve stayed out it. I’ve been sympathetic. I’ve minded my business. But now he’s screwed up over you to the point of coming to rehearsal high and injuring my girlfriend. Now the sympathy ends and it starts being my business.”

“I’ll take care of this.”

“I don’t want him anywhere near her.”

“I don’t either but I can’t control this, Fish. Thinking he was high doesn’t prove he was. I don’t know what’s going to happen now. What he’s going to dance or who with.”

Erik looked at him a moment, at the crossed arms and twitching fingers, knowing Will didn’t fidget unless he was upset. “You gonna rough him up?”

Will didn’t look away. “I’ll do what I have to.”

“Jesus.” Erik exhaled, rolling his eyes. “I gotta get my car.”



*



The ankle wasn’t broken or sprained, just badly wrenched. Ice and a week’s rest were prescribed. A bone in her little finger had a hairline fracture. All they could do was tape it tight to the ring finger to stabilize it. The torn-off nail was more painful.