Robbie arrived moments later, wearing sweatpants and a parka and looking wild-eyed. Clarisse followed close behind. They ran straight to Adonis, not stopping at the sight of the blood, and hugged him.
“Oh, my god,” Clarisse said. “What happened?”
Adonis gave a shaky summary of what he had seen, and his friends listened with wide-eyed shock.
“I can’t reach Bash,” Adonis said when he’d finished updating them. “It’s going straight to voicemail.”
Robbie frowned. “Didn’t he tell you? He’s flying back to Boston right now.”
“What?”
“Shit,” Robbie said. “I think that was supposed to be a surprise.”
Adonis almost rubbed his face, but stopped when he remembered his hands were covered in blood.
“You need a shower, and you need to change,” Clarisse said.
Robbie squeezed his shoulder. “I’ll wait for Cort. You go home. Clarisse can drive.”
Clarisse nodded and held out her hand for Robbie’s keys.
“If…if the police need me,” Adonis whispered, “you can give them my number.”
Robbie’s face was white. “I will.” He pulled Adonis into a bear hug. “Good god, I’m so glad you were there to find him.”
“I just hope I was there on time.”
——
They drove in silence back to campus. Clarisse gripped the wheel tightly.
“I want to go back to the Rink,” Adonis said. “I left my bag there.”
She nodded silently.
When they got back to the Rink, she waited in the car, and he walked slowly to the entrance, only to find it already blocked off with police tape. Adonis quickly retreated. He didn’t want to talk to the police yet. That would come later, he was sure. Right now, he just wanted to get back to his apartment, shower, and wait for Bash.
Chapter 29
Bash
Bash was restless the entire flight from Amsterdam to Boston. He had thought about calling Adonis before the flight, or even texting him, but there was so much he wanted to say, and he decided it would be better to say it all in person.
When the plane finally landed at Boston Logan International Airport, after midnight, Bash turned his phone back on. Immediately, it buzzed with a flood of notifications.
He frowned at his screen and then felt the blood drain from his face.
As a flight attendant passed, Bash jumped up, knocking his head on the bins above. “Please,” he said. “Can I get off? A friend of mine has been shot and is in the hospital.”
In a magnanimous display of universal selflessness, the other passengers stood aside to let Bash off first. He sprinted from the plane, through his gate, and out of the airport, dodging fellow travelers and ignoring the fact that his bag was at the baggage check. Fuck the clothes. He could get more later.
He called Adonis while he ran, shoving his earbuds into his ears.
“Bash!” Adonis yelped as soon as he answered.
“I’m here,” Bash said. “In Boston. I’m coming to Bellford. Are you okay?”
Adonis sounded very tired. “I’m okay. I wasn’t hurt.”
