Part 8 (1/2)

”Stay where you are. I'll be by as soon as I can.”

”You don't have to-”

”I'll be right there, don't worry.” He paused, as though about to say something else, but then changed his mind. ”See you soon.”

”See you,” I said. The phone went dark in my hand.

I patted Lucky on the head.

”Don't worry,” I said. ”We'll be okay.”

Lucky purred contentedly.

CHAPTER EIGHT.

Eliot threw down his napkin on the table.

”I have to be off,” he said.

”So soon? The party isn't even started yet!” His brother clapped him on the back. ”Eliot, I'm throwing this for your honor. The guest of honor can't leave halfway through the party!”

”You will have to do without me,” Eliot said. ”This is urgent.”

”Urgent?” His brother leaned close. ”Anything I can help with?”

”No, nothing like that,” Eliot said. ”Just a mix-up with the academy apartments for the interns.” He pulled his arms hastily through his coat and shrugged it over his shoulders.

”The one arriving today?” his brother asked.

”Yes.”

”The girl?”

Eliot looked up at his brother in exasperation. ”I've told you-”

”And I saw that special look in your eye when you were talking about her.”

”No special look.”

”Eliot, why not?”

He shook his head.

”Eliot, you deserve to be happy.”

”She's a student.”

Otto stood up and pulled his brother into a warm embrace. ”Forget everything else. Really. You deserve to be happy. Eliot-”

”Yes?”

”Don't let your head get in the way of your heart,” Otto said. He smiled and turned away, back to the other party guests.

Eliot couldn't get his brother's words out of his head, but there was nothing for it. He had promised not to get too close-he didn't want to interfere with the interns.h.i.+p and all that went with it. Brynn seemed fragile, and he s.h.i.+ed away from reaching out to her. He didn't want to break another fragile thing. He pushed his way across the room, past the guests who were chattering happily and dancing to the music.

Eliot froze as he looked across the room. One of the women was dancing; he could not see her face, but he knew by the way the limbs moved that it was Clare, her red hair flas.h.i.+ng as she spun in place. His heart ached as he watched her white skin, her slender arms twirling.

”Clare,” he whispered.

”Whoops, sorry!” Another guest b.u.mped into Eliot, almost spilling a drink on him. Eliot helped the man find his balance, and then turned back to the dance floor. The woman dancing in the middle of the crowd was not Clare, she was older, she did not look anything like Clare.

”Sorry about that,” the man said. ”Say, are you alright? You're Otto's brother, yes?”

”I have to go,” Eliot said, and turned to leave. He looked back once more from the entryway, but he could not find the ghost he had seen dancing. Stop it, Eliot, he thought. Stop it. She is gone.

Eliot jumped into his car and drove as quickly as he could stand to until he reached the apartments. Parking in an empty s.p.a.ce on the street, he hopped out of the car and locked it. The building looked smaller than he remembered it, less well-kept. He took the stairs two at a time and rapped his knuckles on the door.

She opened the door in front of him, and it was all he could do not to sweep her into his arms. She looked miserable, her nose red and runny, her eyes bleary with sleep. There was a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and she seemed to be bundled up in all manner of odd clothing. With all this, though, she still beamed when she saw him, and he felt his heart lunge forward, wanting to take her into his embrace.

”El-Dr. Herceg,” she said. ”You didn't have to come, really.”

”Of course I did,” he said, walking past her into the building and taking in the rooms with astonishment. This was where his interns were expected to live? They had added in so many beds. The rooms were cramped with furniture.

”This is absurd,” he said. ”I don't-” He stopped when he saw Brynn s.h.i.+vering under the blanket and realized that the room was freezing. He hadn't noticed with the rush of adrenaline pumping through him, but now that he paused he saw his breath come out white and steamy in the air. ”Brynn, you're freezing!” He tore off his coat and pulled it around her, forgetting his promise to himself not to get too close. He simply couldn't help it. Brynn let her blanket fall to the ground and put her arms through his coat, wrapping it around her. A fury ran through him as he rubbed her arms briskly to warm them.

”B-but,” she said, her teeth still chattering. ”You'll freeze without it.”

”Never mind me,” he said. ”That d.a.m.ned landlady. The heat should have been on, I told her that you were coming...”

”It's okay,” she said. ”Really, it's okay.”

She waited patiently as he dialed the landlady and paced across the floor. He heard the phone ring on the other end four, then five times before going to the answering machine. He swore and hung up. He had no way to get to the heater, no way to make things right...

”Really, Dr. Herceg,” Brynn said in a small voice. ”I'll be fine. If I can just borrow your coat, maybe, for the night.”

Eliot's heart strained when he looked at her, so quiet and una.s.suming, so ready to accept whatever came her way. Something inside of him turned, decided for him.

”Come,” he said, picking up her bag. ”You'll stay with me tonight. I have an extra room.”

He expected her to protest, but she just yawned, her pink lips opening wide behind her hand.

”Okay,” she said. ”Oh, wait!” She turned and fled into the other room, his large coat flapping at her knees behind her. When she came back she had something in her arms. Eliot's eyes widened when he saw what she was carrying.

”This is Lucky,” she said, holding the kitten tightly to her heart. ”Can he come along?”