“Where’s your car?”
I point across the lot. He nods, and then, without warning, scoops Cosette up and puts her over his shoulder. She fights him the whole time, but she doesn’t land any kicks. I know just how strong those arms are, and there’s no escaping that grip. He can take the punches she’s throwing at his back. I unlock the car for him, and he lays Cosette across the back seat, and she stops fighting, at least a little bit. She’s still crying and mumbling.
A screech of tires sounds behind us, and I turn to watch as Randall’s car peals out of the parking lot way too fast. I look at Julian, and his face is hard. “He made his choice,” he says, though I can see the concern on his face. Randall may be a complete dick, but I wouldn’t wish him dead. I sigh, ducking into the driver’s seat, mentally preparing to get Cosette into the house and into bed, just like I have dozens of times before. I startle as the passenger door opens and Julian gets in, and he grins while I stare at him.
“What?” he asks. “You didn’t think I would just leave you alone after that, did you?”
There’s a warm glow in my chest, spreading from his words. I shake my head. No, that’s not like Julian. It will be much easier to deal with this if I’m not alone. I take a deep breath and start the car, pulling out of the parking lot and toward home.
8
It’s not an easy task getting Cosette into the house and into bed. Julian helps with the first part, and I do the second. It’s a familiar routine of undressing and tucking in and turning off the lights. I leave a glass of water by her bed, and the four pain relief pills she’s going to need for the hangover in the morning. I’d bet money that she doesn’t make it to work tomorrow. I can’t imagine recovering from a binge like this and going in for a full shift of dancing. That combination only ends in one way: vomit.
I shut the door quietly, and go back into the kitchen where Julian is waiting, arms crossed. “You can bet every member of the staff is going to get an explanation about the purpose of the dancers in the club, and what they’re not there for.” I’ve never seen him look angry like this.
“Randall is a dick, but I can’t imagine anyone else at the club doing what he did?”
“Well I’m going to make sure of it.”
I nod. “Good.” I step into the circle of his arms, and they’re comforting. I like the way I fit against his chest.
“Is she going to be all right?” he asks.
“Yeah,” I say. “She does this sometimes.”
“Just does this?”
I get myself a glass of water too. “Yeah. If she’s upset or sad about something she’ll get really drunk and make bad decisions. I usually end up getting a phone call at four in the morning, so it’s nice that I was able to stop this.”
Julian gives me a hard look. “You’ve done this how many times?”
I laugh. “Too many to count. You get used to it. I knew something was wrong. It’s been wrong for weeks, but she won’t talk to me, has been avoiding me. I don’t know what to do or how to make it better.”
“How long have you been friends?”
I go into the living room and flop down on the couch. Julian sits beside me. “Forever,” I say. “We met in dance class when we were like five. Both a little weird and on the outside. We were just…friends after that. We never stopped.”
Julian frowns a little. “I just ask, because you’ve told me so much about your life, but never about Cosette.”
“Yeah…” With the state of our relationship so weird, Cosette has been hard to think about. I think back for something to tell him. “She’s my family. After my parents died, she was there for me the whole time. I don’t know where I would be without her. She’s gorgeous and unpredictable. You never know what she’s going to do, and that’s kind of great. Like when we were young and I was the lead flower in our ballet recital, she stole my costume. We didn’t find it until minutes before show time. I had so much adrenaline that it was the best I’d ever danced up until that point. She told me later that she did it on purpose, and now we laugh whenever it comes up.”