Page 62 of Sliding Into Love
“Absolutely not. You will ride in the ambulance.”
“Isn't that kind of overkill?” Ethan snapped.
“You were almostoverkilled, Ethan.”
He rolled his eyes and scowled.
“Hanging out with Jimmy, too, I see. Sounds like one of his bad jokes.” Andhesounded like a surly teenager.
“You will adjust your tone, Ethan Fisher, or you might find yourself on the bench for another week.” Andshesounded like his mom.
Marshall had used those same words against him hundreds of times, but Harkness’s version lacked the venom Marshall’s had.
“Yes, Coach.” He was chastened by her threat, but more so by her tone. It sent him coasting on a ride through memories. Jimmy and Laura laughing together after wins, stone-faced after losses. Jimmy’s old teammates treating Ethan like their own. Laura, berating Ethan when he punched a bully at school or stayed out all night with his teammates. Moving in with Lawrence, the excitement of making varsity in high school. Laura, yelling at Ethan that he was better than this, than Marshall, and tostay.
Oh.
He’d forgotten she’d told him to stay.
We’re home now if you still want to talk.
Hey, I’m sorry, I can’t talk right now. I’m at the hospital. There was an incident at the stadium. I’ll call you later and tell you, okay? But I’ve got to leave my phone for a while because of the X-rays. But I need to talk to you. Please. Did I already say I’m sorry? Because I’m sorry.
“The hospital?” Ivy squawked, spraying fried rice.
Ethan wasn’t the only one who’d had a bad day; a packet of paperwork she’d mailed to Nayomi never arrived, and she’d had to scramble to get a copy together. It wasn’t even a big deal, but every time she made a misstep, chilling fear raked its claws down her back. Because no matter what she did, the thought that Jase and Janna would be taken away was paralyzing. And she wouldnotlet them be taken away, to lose their home because she’d fucked up. So, she’d panicked and spent the day going back and forth between the library and her apartment, printing documents in triplicate.
And then at lunchtime, she’d mindlessly scrolled for a few minutes only to find that J. Simpson had hired one of her former classmates. Her only consolation was that the new hire was to the English Department, so maybe there was some sort of hold-up with the Science Department funding.
Few things were better at the end of a long day than Crab Rangoon, so they’d taken a trip to her favorite Chinese buffet.
Jase’s face echoed Ivy’s worry after she read the texts aloud, no matter how mad she was at him or how idiotic their argument had been. Janna was oblivious, trying to maneuver her kiddie chopsticks.
“Ethan says he’s okay. So, he’s okay.” Let her pretend to be okay, too. “Can you hand me the sweet and sour sauce?”
“What do you think happened?” he asked. His knuckles turned white around the tiny ceramic bowl as he slid it to her.
“I don’t know.” Ivy sighed. “All he said was ‘there was an incident’.”
“What does that mean?” Jase morosely prodded a piece of sesame chicken with his chopsticks.
“I’m not sure, buddy. Maybe something else to do with his knee?”
“Maybe.” He scowled deeper while he methodically swirled the wooden spoon.
“Okay, after dinner, we’ll call him and see what we can find out. Deal?”
“Deal.” He nodded, tapping the spoon on the pot.
Never mind the fight with Ethan earlier. He’d said he wanted to talk, so they would talk. When, she didn’t know. But she’d try.
She had to, for both of their sakes.
Heaving a sigh, Ivy tried to carefully scoop up a dumpling from her soup, but it slid off her spoon, splattering the table and her phone with broth.
After wiping off the screen, she called him.
“Hey, Ivy.”
