Page 132 of Stage Dive: Short Stories & Novellas
“I’m sorry, Ev,” said Jimmy.
“I know.”I nodded.“It’s probably best if you go for now.”
With a sad smile, he disappeared into the elevator and left.
“How badly is he hurt, Bon?”I asked.
“Nothing a pack of ice won’t fix.But I can get a doctor over if you’d like to be sure.”
“David?”
“I’m fine.”He didn’t look up.“Don’t need a doctor.”
“Are you drunk again?”I asked in my calmest possible voice.
“No,” he growled.
What the hell else was I supposed to think when he started brawling with his brother?Give me strength.
“I need you to calm down, please,” I said, face set.
My husband looked at me and sighed.Slowly but surely, his shoulders fell back to a more normal level.All of that rage was leaving his body.“Okay.”
“I think we’re okay now, Bon.Right, David?”
“Yeah,” said David, staring at the floor with his one good eye.
“Thank you, Bon.”
The bodyguard looked between us, then nodded and pushed the button for the elevator.
“Let’s go get that ice.”I headed back into the apartment, making for the kitchen.Heavy footsteps followed behind me.My hands shook, but I could ignore that.I grabbed a kitchen towel and filled it with the cold stuff before handing it to him.
“Got another lecture for me?”he asked sullenly.
“Nope.”
He scoffed.“That’d be a change.Jimmy’s been going off on me for the last fucking hour.”
I kept my mouth shut.
With half of his face covered, he looked at me.“Say something.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed.“You always know what to say.It’s like your specialty.”
“Okay,” I said.“How about, I don’t know what to say that won’t set you off again.And I see no point in having another argument or…I don’t know.Guess I already said everything I had to say this morning.Not that it helped.”
Hurt filled his gaze, but he said nothing.
From the monitor came a tiny wail.The baby was awake.
David flinched.
“I hate this.You and Jimmy fighting.You and me being all messed up.”A sob caught in my throat, and I wrapped my arms tight around myself.Tears streamed down my face.There was nothing I could do to stop them.I didn’t even try.
A stark expression crossed his face.“Ev.”
