Page 52 of Temptress

“They took her back for X-rays as soon as we got here so they could figure out the extent of the break and if it would need surgery to repair,” the coach continued.

“Jesus Christ,” Silas grunted, fisting his hair in a panic as he began to pace the waiting room. In that moment, he reminded me of a captive lion, pacing his cage, desperate for escape, and it broke my heart to see him like that.

I moved to him, the helplessness I was feeling sinking deeper and deeper into my skin, burning like acid.

“Silas, baby,” I said quietly, sliding my hands down his arms to his hands. I laced my fingers through his, trying not to think anything of the fact that he didn’t hold on to me like I was holding on to him. I told myself he was in shock, worried about his daughter’s wellbeing. So was I. Every second that passed was miserable. All I could think about was Darcy hurt and scared and alone. I just wanted to wrap her in a hug and hold her until I was certain she’d be okay.

“What can I do?” I asked, giving his hands a squeeze, hoping to infuse some of my own warmth into him. “How can I help you right now? Do you need anything? Coffee? Maybe something to eat? Just name it.”

He opened his mouth to reply, but before he could get a word out, a doctor entered the waiting room.

“Family of Darcy Bridger?”

Silas pulled his hands from mine and moved past me to get to the doctor. “I’m her father. Is she okay? Can I see her?”

“She’s fine,” the doctor assured him. “I’ve checked her scans, and it looks like a clean break, no surgery required. We’ve already cast the arm, but she sustained a concussion from the fall, so I’d like to keep her overnight for observation. I can take you back to see her right now.”

I let out a sigh of relief and reached for Silas again, but he was already on the move, following after the doctor toward Darcy’s hospital room without a backward glance.

I did my best to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach as I watched him disappear around a corner, telling myself this wasn’t about me. This was about Darcy, and worrying that he’d walked away from me without even noticing didn’t mean anything.

Instead of dwelling on it, I moved to the row of chairs beneath the window and sat down, my body starting to sag as the adrenaline dump from earlier left my bloodstream, leaving me feeling tired and rundown.

The television in the corner was airing an episode ofFamily Feudat a low volume, and as I stared at the screen, not really taking in what I was seeing, my eyelids started to grow heavy. I’d nearly dozed off when one of the girls who had come in with Darcy and the coaches wandered over and took the seat beside mine.

“You know Darcy?” she asked, eyeing me with curiosity.

“I do,” I said with a smile. “I’m Sloane. I live next door to her and her dad.”

The girl’s eyes flashed with recognition the moment I said my name. “She talks about you. I’m Karla, a friend from the squad.”

I smiled and offered the girl my hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Karla. You’re a good friend for coming with her to make sure she was okay.”

Karla fidgeted anxiously in the chair, her fingers tugging at a loose thread hanging from the hem of her shirt as her eyes darted around the waiting room almost as if she was looking to see if anyone was watching us.

“Um, about the accident...” She bit at the corner of her lip as she worked up the nerve to say whatever was on her mind. “It wasn’t actually an accident.”

I sat up straighter and twisted in my seat to face her better, my forehead creasing in puzzlement. “What do you mean?”

“Well, itlookedlike an accident, because that’s how they planned it, but I heard them talking in the locker room before practice started, and they did it on purpose.”

The tiny hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. “Sweetie, who arethey?” My eyes flared wide as realization dawned. “Are you talking about the older girls who are always mean and giving Darcy a hard time?”

Karla nodded nervously, but I had to hand it to her, she didn’t let that stop her from doing what needed to be done.

“Katie, Amy, and Morgan. That’s their names. They planned the whole thing so that they’d stumble after the toss, making it look like they tripped so they wouldn’t be there to catch Darcy. They’re—well, they’re really jealous of her because she’s a better flyer than they are, even though she’s only a freshman. And she’s so nice and everyone likes her. She’s got atonof friends, and they can’t stand that. They did this to get back at her, but I saw their faces after Darce fell. They looked scared. I don’t think they planned for it to go as bad as it did.”

I reached over and gave Karla’s hand a pat, forcing myself to smile at Darcy’s friend even though anger boiled deep inside of me, so bad I wanted to go hunt each of those girls down and make them pay for what they’d done.

“Thank you for telling me,” I offered sincerely. “I’ll make sure this is taken care of and the right people get what they deserve.”

She inhaled deeply through her nose and nodded, relief sparking in her eyes. “Okay, thanks.” She pushed to standing and hooked her backpack over her shoulder. “My mom’s on the way to get me, so I should head out.”

“Okay, sweetie. It was nice to meet you.”

“You too.” She started walking backward slowly, like she had more to say. “You should know, Darcy really loves you. She talks about you all the time. I think you’re her favorite person.”

My heart swelled so big, there was barely room for anything else in my chest. “Thank you,” I croaked, “for telling me that.”

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