Fish Out of Water

by Alethea Kontis

  He noticed.

  And he stared back.

  It was almost…as if he was singing the song to her.

  Tetra was sure of only one thing in that moment: It was good that she didn’t really know Justin Zatarain at all. Because he would break her heart.

  Xander stepped up to the keyboard and grabbed the microphone again before the last note of Justin’s song had died away. Tetra realized that adults and children were dancing all around her—people who had been perfect strangers several hours ago, and whom she would never hear from again once they left Mimosa Key. She slunk back to the edge of the deck as Xander announced the end of the set, thanked everyone, and toasted the bride and groom once more.

  “So.” Lupe handed her a bottle of water. “How well do you know him?” She indicated the stage with a nod of her head.

  “Technically, I hadn’t met any of them before tonight,” Tetra answered. “But it feels like I’ve known Xander and Kara for ages.”

  Lupe raised an eyebrow. She was exceptionally good at that. “I meant the bass player. The one who sang you a diary entry after your precious Xander threw him to the wolves.”

  Tetra turned to her new friend, not even sure where to start. “He was singing to everyone.”

  “That’s not how it looked from where I was sitting.”

  “The whole stunt was probably planned. Xander’s not the kind of guy who would do something like that on purpose.”

  Lupe added a smirk to the still-raised eyebrow. “Technically you haven’t met any of them before tonight, so you technically can’t know that,” she said. “I dated a guy once who took a great deal of pleasure in doing horrible stuff like that. Speaking from experience, this ‘stunt’ felt very familiar.”

  “Xander is not horrible. And he’s not my Xander,” she said finally. But for the first time, when she thought about Xander, her stomach wasn’t full of butterflies. She didn’t want to believe Xander was capable of anything like Lupe suggested, but ignoring her new friend’s observation was proving difficult.

  “He’s totally your Xander. And you can have him.” Lupe sighed and looked toward the stage again. “I’ll take the bass player.”

  “Justin,” Tetra said with a smile. “Justin Zatarain.”

  “Ah. Related to the rock star, I guess?”

  “Yup.”

  “I see where he gets that voice then. When he’s mine, I will have him sing to me every night. And stare at me with those eyes. Do you think they’re green or gray?”

  Justin had sung to Tetra. He had stared at her with those eyes. “Gray,” she said. And suddenly the butterflies were back. “I should really pack up this merch table.”

  “I’ll ask around and see if anyone wants anything else before the bride and groom have their sendoff,” Lupe said brightly. “That way, I’m still working but I don’t have to clean up anything.”

  “Happy to be of service.”

  Lupe skipped back into the slowly dispersing crowd. The children had already cracked the seals on their vials of bubbles and were having what looked like a war sponsored by Glinda the Good Witch.

  Tetra was meticulously folding t-shirts and sorting them into their proper bins when Kara found her. “Tetra! Oh, hon, thank you so much. You and Lupe were both such a big help. I’m so glad you were here!”

  “Me too,” Tetra said honestly. “I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with how well you guys made out tonight. And the set turned out really well—Justin was quite a surprise in the end, wasn’t he?”

  “He was,” Kara said in a low tone, as if she was afraid her bandmates might hear. “I’m going to vote that Justin stays on for the rest of this tour.”

  “I think that’s a great idea,” said Tetra. “Are the dates and times up on your site already? If not, you’ll have to let me know what they are. I promise to make it to as many as I can. And I’m happy to help out wherever you need.”

  “You’re such a star. Thank you again.” Kara gave her a quick hug. “Hey, do you need to be home or anything? We can finish packing up if you need to go.”

  Tetra took a deep breath of the cool evening breeze. “I don’t have to go. I don’t ever want to go. This has been such a wonderful day.”

  “It has, hasn’t it?” Kara surveyed the rest of the merchandise still left on the table. “Well, if you want to stick around, you’re welcome to be the person in charge of making sure all this gets back to the trailer.”

  “Aye, aye, captain!” Tetra saluted Kara, and the keyboardist laughed. “But you should really take this and put it somewhere safe first.”

  Kara looked confused, until she realized that the box Tetra handed her was filled not with pre-packaged bubbles, but money. “You’re kidding.”

  “Told you. Pleasant surprise!”

  Kara hugged the box. “Make sure you get a t-shirt for yourself before you pack that all up. Lupe, too. And stickers. And CDs. And whatever else you want because you guys are amazing!”

  Tetra continued folding and sorting while Kara ran back to the stage to share the good news of their bounty. Liam gave her two thumbs up. Xander looked thrilled and blew her a kiss, which Tetra dutifully caught.

  Justin continued to pack up equipment without raising his head.

  Tetra pulled out the shirt she’d had her eye on, in the right color and size. She chose the same one for Lupe, adding a sticker and a copy of the new 10mm Conspiracy CD to her friend’s pile. Once she was finished, she snapped the lids closed on the containers.

  She lifted the one full of t-shirts. It wasn’t too heavy—she could manage it by herself well enough. Tetra had no idea where Lupe had stashed the bag with her shoes and the rest of her clothes. The staff locker room? Not that it mattered. The stairs to the back parking lot were just there. She didn’t have to go far.

  From the top of the steps, she could tell that the trailer was unlocked and opened and already more than half full. They sure did make quick work of their break down! Though as many live shows as 10mm Conspiracy performed, that wasn’t too surprising.

  She held tightly onto the bin of t-shirts as she descended the short flight. One, two, three…

  On the last step her ankle turned in, and she went down.

  10

  Justin had been forcing himself to stop watching the groupie ever since the set ended, and he’d been failing miserably. She’d suddenly become the elephant in the room: now that he’d seen her he couldn’t unsee her. There was a moment during his song when they’d recognized each other, two lost souls, lonely even when surrounded by a throng of people.

  Then again, it was possible he was making all that up. His mind had played such tricks on him before, imagining a connection, a feeling, a relationship, when it really wasn’t anything at all. Maybe the girl just liked the song. Maybe her eyes had teared up from the salt in the air. Maybe she’d been staring because there was something stuck in his teeth.

  Stupid, he knew.

  He ran his tongue across them anyway for good measure.

  After the song he saw her slip out of the crowd, away from the stage. He wished he could do the same. Her friend with the darker hair approached her. Gave her some water. Teased her about something. In the cooling night air, he heard her say Xander’s name.

  Scowling, Justin unplugged his bass and started winding the cords. He wasn’t part of this world. This torture was only temporary. In a few months he’d be hell and gone from Xander and his band and his worshippers, no matter how alluring.

  But gone where?

  Justin scowled again. He’d figure out that part after he survived this one.

  “I should go pack up the table,” Kara said when she’d disassembled her keyboard stand.

  “Looks like Tetra’s taking care of that,” said Liam.

  “She’s a sweetheart, isn’t she?” Kara said the comment to everyone but Xander. The judgment in her tone was less than subtle. “I’m going to make sure she doesn’t leave without saying goodbye.”

  “Give
her a t-shirt,” Xander called after her, but if Kara heard him, she ignored it.

  Justin smiled after her…then realized that smile was focused in Tetra’s general direction and lowered his head.

  No interest. He had no interest in that girl, this band, this island, this state…

  Justin looked up again just in time to see Tetra’s head quickly disappear as she went down the steps to the parking lot.

  Too quickly.

  Had she fallen? There had been no scream. He strained to see if he could hear a cry for help, but all he could make out was ocean waves and the rest of the crowd calling well-wishes after the departing bride and groom.

  He stood up quickly but casually, so as not to draw attention to himself. It could be nothing. It could be something horrible. He’d had enough experience with his mother to know that both scenarios were best approached swiftly and quietly.

  He found her there, sitting on the asphalt, clutching her knee. The plastic bin full of shirts was tipped over beside her, lid still intact. She stared at the swelling ankle attached to the bad knee, and then she looked up at him.

  Her face was pale.

  “Can you stand?” he asked calmly.

  “No.” Her voice was calm as well, but eerily so.

  “Is it broken?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve never broken anything before. It might be.”

  “I’ll get ice,” he said. On his way to the bar he passed the stage. “Tetra needs help,” he said to Kara. “She’s in the parking lot.”

  Kara, Liam and Xander all dropped what they were doing and rushed to the stairs. By the time Justin had returned with a cloth napkin full of ice, Xander was already helping Tetra to stand. Justin quickly stepped in and slid under her arm to take her other side.

  In all the jostling, there was not one wince, cry, or tear. Her pain must have been excruciating.

  “Let’s get you back up to the deck,” said Xander. “We’ll get you settled in a chair and then figure out what to do.”

  Tetra nodded and awkwardly tried to hop forward on her good foot.

  “Put your weight on me,” said Justin. “As much as you like. It’s okay.”

  There was far more pressure around his neck on the next try, and this step went much more smoothly. In short order they situated her on a lounge chair by the pool with her foot elevated. Justin remembered the ice he’d fetched, now dripping from the napkin in his hand.

  She took in a breath as he carefully laid it on her ankle. It began to shift to one side and fall open—she leaned forward to grab it, but he caught it first. “I’ll take care of it,” he said. “You just try to relax.” He sank to the tiles beside her chair and vigilantly kept the ice on the angriest parts of her swollen ankle.

  “Thank you.” She softly patted the hand that held the napkin, and leaned back into the chair.

  Around them, everyone seemed to be talking at once. Kara kept repeating how sorry she was, and how the whole thing was her fault. Liam kept asking Xander what to do. Tetra’s friend buzzed about asking how she could help, and then went to fetch her boss…who was apparently Donny’s daughter, because she returned with both of them in her wake. Which led to more discussion about how to handle the situation.

  None of them actually talked to Tetra.

  “Do your parents know you’re here?” Justin whispered to her.

  “My dad,” she said. “And no, he doesn’t. I’ll call him in a minute. I just need a minute.”

  “She lives here on the island,” Xander was saying. “We could take her home in our van.”

  “She’s hurt herself on this property, on my watch,” said the cousin Justin had yet to meet. “She’s not going anywhere but a doctor.”

  “I imagine all the Urgent Cares are closed by this time,” said Kara.

  “Then we’ll take her to the ER in Naples,” said Donny’s daughter. “It’s just across the bridge.”

  “We’re not taking anyone anywhere,” said Donny. “None of us planned on driving tonight. We’ve all toasted enough to be toasted ourselves.” Even tipsy, Donny was still poetic.

  “I can get a car.” Donny’s daughter lifted her phone to her ear. “Give me just a—”

  Finally, Xander stepped up. “I’ll take her. She’s my responsibility and I mean to take care of her.”

  Tetra smiled up at Xander’s proclamation. Justin could tell that the adoration in her eyes was dulled by the pain of her current predicament.

  Kara put her hand on Tetra’s shoulder. “We’ll all go.”

  “And we’ll make sure she gets home safely,” said Liam.

  “No,” said Donny. “I don’t like that idea either. Didn’t someone say her father was out of town?”

  They all looked to Tetra, who nodded.

  “When you’re done at the ER, bring her back here,” said Donny. “The bungalow where Ona and I are staying is big enough. There’s an extra bedroom off the pool she can have. That way we can make sure she’s looked after until her father gets home. Is that all right with you, my dear?”

  Tetra nodded again. “I need to call my dad.”

  “Your shoes and everything else is in the locker room,” said her dark-haired friend. “I’ll get them.”

  “Thanks, Lupe.” The words were barely more than a whisper. Justin lifted the ice to look at Tetra’s ankle. It wasn’t the swelling that alarmed him so much now as the bruising beginning to line the side of her foot. He carefully shifted the napkin to cover the whole area.

  “Let’s get you to the van,” said Xander. “Do you think you can stand again?”

  “Sure,” she said, with far more cheerfulness than Justin would have been capable. He put the napkin in his pocket and resumed his place under her shoulder. Together they supported her, limping, to the van. Justin suspected that he could have carried Tetra all on his own, but Xander never would have survived such a blow to his ego.

  After they got Tetra settled in on the front row of the back seat, Xander turned to Justin. “You don’t have to—” he started, no doubt suggesting that Justin stay behind. Without answering, Justin simply slid onto the seat behind Tetra. He still had the napkin—no longer full of ice but still ice cold—and he gently wrapped it around her ankle.

  Xander hopped into the driver’s seat as if they had just robbed a bank. Liam took shotgun.

  “I’ve got the hospital address on the GPS,” said Kara, forcing Justin to scoot over as she slid the door shut. “When you get out of the parking lot, take a right.”

  “My phone,” Tetra said hesitantly.

  “I’ve got the bag right here, sweetie,” said Kara. “There will be plenty of time to get everything sorted out and update your dad after we get you checked in.”

  “Been to many ERs, have you?” Justin asked.

  “More than I’d like,” said Kara.

  “We warn her about stage diving every time,” Liam said from the front seat. “She just won’t listen.”

  Tetra laughed at that, and the sound was good to hear.

  Kara guided Xander through the empty streets of the island, across the bridge, and to the entrance bay of a hospital that looked more like a hotel than a medical facility. Justin envisioned them having to ring the bell for a reluctant receptionist while Tetra signed a dusty guest ledger.

  Liam sprang out of the van almost before it had stopped moving and sprinted over to where a small fleet of empty wheelchairs were parked.

  “Oh, thank goodness,” said Tetra, and then she laughed a little at herself. “I never thought I would be so relieved to see a wheelchair.”

  Kara and Liam guided Tetra out of the van and into the chair. Before Justin could get down after them, Xander stepped in front of him, blocking his path. He tossed the keys to Justin.

  “Watch the van,” was all he said before following Tetra and the rest of his band through the sliding glass doors.

  11

  Tetra sat in the eye of a tornado while the winds whipped all around her. Time had stood still
when she took that last step and fallen to her knees on the pavement. Her first concern had been for the bin of t-shirts she’d lost control of, but it seemed intact. Her second thought had been for the overwhelming pain shooting up her right leg from ankle to kneecap in alternating bolts of agony and tingling numbness.

  She’d barely had time to process what had happened before Justin was standing over her like a dark angel, haloed by the lights on the deck behind him.

  She should have put her boots back on. She should have been paying better attention. She should have remembered how to walk down stairs. It was only three steps? What was wrong with her? Exactly how stupid was she? At least as stupid as she looked, certainly, sprawled on the ground like an idiot who’d forgotten how to properly put one foot in front of the other.

  Justin disappeared the minute she answered him. What must he think of her glaringly fantastic display of stupidity.

  Oh god, what was she going to tell Dad?

  Please don’t let him freak. Please don’t let him freak. But if I’m freaking out he’s definitely going to freak. Tetra, stop freaking out NOW.

  She needed her phone. She needed her shoes. She needed to walk. She needed to be able to get up and go home and pretend that she wasn’t as stupid as she felt right now.

  As soon as she tried to flex her foot she realized that none of those things would be happening in the near future.

  Xander came to help her up—oh, why did Xander have to see her like this?—and the tornado continued to rail around her. Donny Z was there now, as well as the woman Tetra assumed was Lupe’s boss—Tetra would never forgive herself if this stupid thing that she’d done got Lupe in trouble—and everyone was talking over everyone else. She needed to tell her dad. The later it got, the more freaked out he would be to get her call.

  And then Justin put ice on her ankle and it felt as blissful as it did horrible and she looked into his brilliant gray eyes and remembered to breathe. He told her everything was going to be okay…or maybe his eyes had just said that, but she would have sworn she heard it anyway.