A Shattered Moment (Fractured Lives 1)

We found our seats, which were a pain to get to since they were in the middle o

f the row, which was hard for Mac because of her cane. I probably couldn’t have picked worse seats if I had tried.

“At least we’re in the middle,” she rationalized once we managed to get seated.

I raised my eyebrows in confusion. As dates went, this would go down in history as the worst ever.

“No matter what, I won’t have to stand up again. Anyone who has to go to the bathroom can go that way or that way,” she said, using her thumbs to point in both directions.

“How about some grub?” I asked, smiling at her reasoning.

“Sure, you want me to get it?”

“That would be great. I’ll take a couple dogs and some nachos.”

“You’re funny,” she said, flipping open her program.

“What would you like?” I laughed, standing up.

“Couple dogs and nachos.”

“Done.” I started down our aisle.

“I’m kidding,” she called after me. “I’ll take one hot dog and a Coke,” she added, holding up one finger.

The concession stand was pregame busy, causing me to miss tip-off by the time I made it back to our seats juggling the food. I handed Mac’s hot dog to her and set her drink on the floor at our feet. Squeezing her knee reassuringly, I unwrapped my first dog while balancing a second on my lap, along with nachos and extra cheese.

“You sure that’s enough?”

“At least till halftime.” I downed half the first hot dog in one bite.

“I assume you know what to do if you start choking?”

“Sure. That’s what the extra cheese is for. Just force it down my throat.”

“That’s gross,” she said, wrinkling her nose.

By the fourth quarter it was clear she was having fun by the way she cheered and shouted at the refs when a call didn’t go the Knights’ way. She remained seated, of course, but that didn’t stop her from being as loud as anyone else. It surprised me. It was the first time I’d seen her so animated.

“That was fun,” Mac proclaimed when the game ended.

“I’m glad you liked it. I’m surprised we didn’t get thrown out with all your colorful criticism of the refs.” I nudged her as we waited for the crowd to thin before we attempted to leave.

“At least the Knights won, right? Besides, they’d look like total douches throwing a cripple out of a game.”

“And you figure you had something to do with the outcome?”

“You can’t prove I didn’t.”

“With that logic, how can I even think of arguing?” I said, shaking my head.

Our row was littered with discarded trash, so I used my foot to clear a path as Mac followed behind. Going down the stairs proved to be no less difficult, but she took more care by using me to balance herself. By the time we made our way outside, the charged-up crowd had clogged the entire surrounding area.

I held Mac’s hand, pulling her as close to me as possible to avoid the crush of bodies. She took it all in stride, but I was beginning to fume again. It was like people lived in their own worlds, not noticing that maybe some of us needed the sidewalk for what it was actually intended for. I tried to remain calm, asking as nicely as possible to pass through, but a couple assholes had the nerve to look annoyed, like asking them to stop their conversation and take a step to the side was somehow an inconvenience. Mac could see that I was heating up because she placed her hand on my arm, telling me it was fine. I smiled at her, taking a deep breath. We were almost through the bulk of the crowd anyway.

Out of nowhere, a body slammed into Mac at full speed. Neither of us saw it coming and there was nothing I could do as the force of the collision sent Mac sprawling toward the ground.

Rage colored my vision red as I looked down at Mac, who had rolled over to find her jeans torn at the knees with blood already seeping through. Her hands were badly scraped from where she had hit the concrete. Some of the surrounding crowd rushed to Mac’s side to make sure she was okay. As for the piece of shit who had knocked her down, whether or not he was attempting to apologize didn’t matter to me at that moment.