Page 102 of Serenade Me

He leaps for the Maestro and I see the glint of the knife’s blade a split second too soon.

“Marius! He’s got a knife!” I yell as I run to them, ignoring the pain in my ankle. They fall to the ground as I reach them, rolling away as they wrestle. The Maestro pulls back for a moment and then his whole body thrusts forward. Marius grunts in pain, his body crumples, then lays still. The Maestro jumps back up to his feet and runs off into the night.

“Oh my god! Marius!” I yell, turning his body over, checking him for wounds. “Marius! Speak to me.”

“Uhhhhh.”

“Oh my god, where are you hurt?? TELL ME!”

“Fucker… fucker’s got a bony fucking knee.” He manages to say.

“Oh my god, are you okay?”

“No! I’m not okay, I’m going to have to cart my gonads around in a wheelbarrow for days, that’s how swollen they’re going to be,” he says, gaining his breath back.

“What? What about the knife? Did he get you?” My hands run all over him, but there’s no blood.

“You mean this knife?” Jez speaks up next to me, as he leans over and picks something up off the ground.

The knife is clean, blood free.

My head suddenly feels dizzy as I’m flooded with relief.

“Oh, she’s going down again.” I hear Marius say.

“I got you, sis. I got you.” I hear for the second time that night as I’m caught by someone who loves me. “You’ve had a rough night.”

Jez helps me sit on the ground, leaning back against him, as Marius slowly composes himself. “How-… how did you know I was here?”

I watch them give each other a look before Marius answers. “Where else would he bring you but the scene of your worst performance stage fright? Everyone likes to see the result of their work.”

“He’s not going to get far… you think your gonads are swollen.” I say, with no a small amount of glee.

“That’s my girl.” Marius grins weakly.