Chapter 2
He didn't move at first. Daniel just stood there with his back to me, his shoulders broad enough that I couldn't see Evelyn anymore, only the edge of her red dress at the far right of my vision. I could hear him breathing. I could hear the wood floor creaking under his shoes when he shifted his weight.
Then I heard Evelyn say it again, quieter this time. "You're protecting her?"
Daniel didn't answer her. He turned halfway, just enough that I saw the line of his jaw and the dark ink at the back of his neck disappearing under his white collar. He looked down at me.
"Claire," he said. "Can I help you up?"
I was still on the floor against the white wall. My left hand had slipped from my forehead and my palm was damp. The bruise on my forehead throbbed when I blinked. My right hand was still pressed to my stomach, not because it hurt there, but because I didn't know where else to put it.
I nodded before I could think about it.
He crouched, but he didn't grab me. He held his hand out, palm up, about six inches from my arm and waited. That pause mattered. I stared at his hand and then put mine in it. His fingers closed careful and warm around mine. He pulled just enough to take my weight while I got my knees under me. The light blue dress bunched at my thighs and I had to tug it down. The white cuffs were creased and dirty at the edge where I'd been leaning on the floor.
"You okay to stand?" he asked.
I nodded again. He kept his other hand hovering near my back, not touching, until I was on my feet. My head swam for a second and I swayed. He steadied my elbow.
"Let me see," he said softly.
He didn't push my hair back. He just looked. His eyes went to the reddish mark on my forehead and then away, like he didn't want to stare. I felt my cheek get hot anyway. I could taste salt from where I'd been crying.
Behind him, Evelyn made a small sound. A click of her tongue, or her necklace.
I looked past Daniel's shoulder. She had recovered. Her mouth was closed now, her shoulders back. She lifted both hands to the large diamond chain at her throat and adjusted it, centering the pendant with her fingertips. The stones caught the light from the chandelier overhead and threw a sharp glint across the white wall. For a second the whole hallway was luxury — wood floor polished to a shine, bright daylight through the big windows, that chandelier glittering — and then my eyes dropped back to my dress and my bare knees and the ache in my forehead. The contrast hit me so hard I had to look down.
"She fell," Evelyn said. Her voice was flat now, controlled. "Claire is exaggerating. You know how she is. She bumped the doorframe when she was cleaning. I told her to be careful."
Daniel didn't turn around. "Mom."
"Don't Mom me," she said, but she was already stepping back toward the doorway that led to the sitting room. Her red dress moved smooth around her legs. Her drop diamond earrings swung when she moved her head. "If she wants to sit on the floor and make a scene, let her. I'm not having this drama in my house. I have the caterer coming at four."
She kept her hand on that necklace the whole time she talked. Smoothing it, holding it. Like it was armor.
She disappeared around the corner. I heard her heels on the wood, then a door click, not slammed, just firm.
The hallway felt too quiet after that. The chandelier hummed faintly. I could see dust motes in the light falling from it.
Daniel let go of my elbow. "You want ice? I can call someone. Urgent care on Route 9 takes walk-ins. Or I can just get you ice from the kitchen."
I stared at him. The offer was simple and it terrified me. If he called someone, there would be a record. If there was a record, Evelyn would say I was lying to get money. If Evelyn said that, I would lose the room upstairs and the paycheck that paid for my car insurance and my phone. I lived here. That was the problem. My apartment was this house.
"I don't know," I said. My voice came out hoarse. "I don't want to make it bigger than it is."
"It's already big," he said. He kept his voice low. He glanced toward the sitting room door where Evelyn had gone. "You don't have to decide right now about calling anyone. But can I get you ice at least? For the swelling."
I hesitated. My forehead was starting to pulse in time with my heartbeat. The floor had been cold and now standing made my legs feel shaky.
"Okay," I said finally. "Ice. Just ice."
He nodded, like that was enough. He didn't try to lead me toward the kitchen. He just walked beside me, close enough that I could catch myself on his arm if I needed to, but not holding me. We moved a few steps to the hallway where the chandelier light was strongest. He stopped and looked back at the sitting room door. It stayed closed.
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"Stay here a sec," he said. "I'll be right back."
I stood there in the hallway in my light blue dress with the white collar, one hand lightly touching my forehead again, listening to Evelyn moving around in the other room, already on the phone, already telling someone her version. And I understood that Daniel getting me ice wasn't the end of anything. It was the first time someone had chosen not to look away.
