Page 90 of Broken Breath
“On-hold pit medic, yeah,” she says, tossing the towel aside. “Not a real doctor-doctor, but for cuts, bruises, hydration, and panicked mechanics with finger sprains? I’m your girl. Why?”
I pull my hoodie down with a wince. “You know anything about sinus infections? Dane gets them sometimes, and I think the cold he has might be more than that now. The cough is gross, and he’s sleeping like crap, but he looks feverish like he did when he last had one, and I really can’t afford to get infected right now.”
“Oh, sinus infection?” She nods. “I’ve got some stuff. I’ll walk over with you. Consider it a house call.” She holds up a finger likeone sec, disappears behind a curtain, and returns a moment later with a small black bag slung over her shoulder.
We step out into the night together, and I catch the once-over she gives the school bus, probably taking in the faded paint, how one wheel is chocked with a rock, and the whiteCREWSdecal on the side that is peeling at the corners.
It looks like a rusted-out joke compared to the gleaming setup we just left.
Home sweet home.
The bus is quiet when we climb in, the air stale with hints of leftover soup, used tissues, and travel.
Piper glances around. “Where’s the patient?”
I usher her toward him, and Dane sits up from his bunk, wrapped in a blanket like a grumpy goblin. His eyes squint between us.
“What the fuck,” he rasps.
“She’s my physio,” I explain quickly, and Piper flashes a grin.
“Hey, I’m Piper. Nice to meet you, Dane.”
He looks at me with an expression that says, “Are you serious right now?”I just shrug back like,yep.
“Don’t worry, I’m just here to make you feel a little better,” Piper adds, settling her kit on the small table. “You know, you’re kind of the reason I got into downhill mountain biking.”
Dane blinks in confusion, as if he doesn’t even know who he is. “Me?”
“Yeah.” She cracks open a small container and starts mixing something. “When you were in your prime, I watched every single race while I was doing my training to become a physio.You wereit.You made it look like flying. So damn cool.”
Dane looks vaguely alarmed. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.” She nods. “You were the reason I wanted to work on the circuit.”
He coughs into his elbow. “Damn.”
“Yeah, so dumb, right? I had such a crush on you.”
That little tidbit shuts Dane right up and makes me grin wildly.
“Didn’t everyone?” She continues, “Funny, though, you were already gone when I started, and now I’m so over this anyway. It’s my last season here, but I guess it was fun. So…” She shrugs as if all of those words were no big deal. “Thanks for that.”
She hands him a nasal rinse and some pills with a practiced smile. “Take this. Steam, rest, and try not to infect your sister.” She stands and is already heading for the door. “Get well soon,” she calls over her shoulder, hopping down the steps like the fairy godmother she is.
Dane stares at the door long after it shuts behind Piper, his mouth agape.
I sigh and head for the front of the bus, toward my makeshift nest in the driver’s seat. “You’re welcome.”
“What thefuck, Alaina?”
Dane drags himself upright from the bunk, his blanket falling off one shoulder, eyes bloodshot, face flushed with fever. He’s leaning on the wall as if just standing is costing him everything, which means this conversation is that important to him.
“She knows?” he rasps, then folds forward with a violent cough.
“Yeah,” I say, arms crossing tight over my chest.
“Youtoldher?”
