Amy

Chapter 7

 Chapter 7

“Amy?”

“Hey.”

“Hey, you haven’t called in a while.”

“Sorry.”

“That’s ok. Did something happen?”

“No…”

“What happened?”

“Nothing.”

“No, seriously, you can tell me. What’s wrong?”

He went on like this until I broke down and told him everything. By the end, tears were in my eyes and instead of the heavy, depressed feeling I had before, I now had a strong sense of panic. It was much worse.

“Amy!” I was surprised to hear a flash of anger in his voice. “Why the heck did you do it?! What if you broke a bone? You’re smart enough to know what happens to alcoholics without health insurance!”

“I know, I know-“

“Amy, promise me you won’t do something as stupid as that again. God, don’t ever put yourself in danger like that.”

“Wha… why the hell not? It’s not like it makes any difference to anyone if I live or not-“

“It makes a difference to me!”

“Why?!”

“Because I love you!”

I nearly dropped the phone in shock. No one had ever said that to me before.

“Look…” He continued. “Just promise me you won’t go back to those guys, ok? Please?”

“…yeah, I promise.” I hung up the phone and, rather slowly, headed back to my shop, for my ankle still throbbed horribly every time I put weight on it.

It wasn’t necessary for him to make me promise him that. I had already known that I would never drink again. It had been a week since then, which meant the last day of the festival, and I still had not spoken to anyone from the Quartet, not even Jack. From what I’d heard, there were no life-threatening injuries, so I felt no need to speak to any of them. But whether I wanted to or not, I had no choice to face what happened when I got back to my booth.

“Amy.” Jack was sitting on my workbench, looking awkward. “I was just guarding your money-box for you.”

I didn’t say anything. I had long-since realized that the only reason I was drawn to him was because he reminded me of Oliver. Like him, he was bright and charming, but I could not ignore how dangerous he was. It was like trying to substitute the sun with an open flame. I should have known I would get burned.

“Look…” He began, his tone not unlike Oliver’s moments before. “I’m really sorry about what happened. And so are the guys. We just wanted to let you know before we leave.”

“I’m just glad nothing serious happened.”

“Right. And, if it means anything to you, I really did like you. Though you probably don’t want anything to do with me now that… Amy?“

My attention had shifted over his shoulder to a nearby conversation. What did that woman just say?

“Someone’s hurt?”

“Yeah, you remember that little girl from the jousting show? Mary just posted on Facebook that she fell!”

“Shit!” I bolted out of the shop.

“Amy?” Jack called.

Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God… I ran as fast as I could in a state of panic. Was she really hurt?

The forest thinned and I continued to sprint down the field. Sapph’s blonde hair was pouring down one of the bleachers. As I neared, she sat up, but I did not stop until I clambered on the bench next to her. Her tights were torn at the knee, and she was bleeding slightly, but she looked fine, if a bit shaken. I exhaled, and inhaled sharply when I felt an excrutiating stab in my ankle.

“It’s alright!” The ringmaster bellowed into the microphone. “Young Sapphire is just fine! Barely a scratch upon her! Just a minor fall!” He switched off the microphone and turned to his daughter. “Alright Sapphire, you can get back up there, now.”

“Um, I feel kind of sick…” She murmured.

“Nonsense, you were doing just fine! Now scurry back out there, darling.”

“But…”

“Jim, Sweetie, don’t you think we should give her a break?” I blinked in shock as Diamonds moved defensively in front of her daughter.

“But this is the last show of the year! Surely she can make it through one more tournament!”

“Get someone else to do it, Jim. She’s had enough for today.”

It was the first time I had seen my mother stand up to the ringmaster. After an increasingly heated argument under their breaths, he finally switched the microphone back on. “Alright, folks, let’s begin with the official tournament! Dupont, Fitzpatrick, Mount you horses!”

The crowd began to cheer again like nothing had happened. I glanced at Sapph. She seemed relieved, and was affectionately leaning against Diamonds. The ringmaster returned and shot me an icy glare, the terrifying fake smile again pressed to his lips. I bowed my head and retreated, chills running down my spine.