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Mordant couldn’t lose himself in the show like he usually did. He was too worried about Pink. It was definitely not his best performance.
He’d got back to the Arena just in time to go on. Pete and the guys were waiting back stage.
“How is he?” was the first question out of Pete’s mouth.
“He’s got a broken wrist and a concussion,” Mordant said. “Where’s Ant? I’ve got a thing or two to say to him.”
“Not here.” Pete’s face was grim. “I tracked him down in the car park in the end. I called the cops.”
“Bloody hell, Pete. You should have waited for Pink to decide what to do.”
“Nope.” Pete ended the word with a definitive pop. “If he pushed one person like that...at work...he could do it again. Maybe has done. I’m not having someone like that working with us. Marty and the Lizards agreed.”
Heggarty’s Bow were the warm-up for mega-band The Purple Lizards on this tour. Mordant was surprised how down to earth the Lizards all were, given their superstar status.
“Anyway,” Pete went on, “there were a couple of people who saw what happened...they’ve given statements.”
“No time to talk about it now, anyway,” Spicer, the bass guitarist, chimed in. “Show time, folks.”
****
As usual, Mordant was drenched with sweat by the time the set finished. He took a perfunctory shower and was pulling his socks on in the Green Room when Pete slid in from the bathroom, towelling his hair dry. The roar of the Lizard’s latest single seemed to be making the walls vibrate slightly as he shut the door behind him.
“Are you going back to the hospital?” he asked Mordant. “Do you want me to come? Or go instead?”
Mordant shook his head. “No,” he said. “I’ll go, don’t worry. They were talking about keeping him in because they were worried about the head injury. He was pushing to be let out, though. I’ll take him back to the hotel if I can’t persuade him to stay there.”
Pete looked at him shrewdly, chucking the towel on a chair and rummaging in his bag for a brush. “Are you sure?” he asked drily, eyebrows raised. “You’ve been avoiding him like he’s contagious since the beginning of the tour. You don’t like him.”
Mordant shook his head. “It’s not that...” He trailed off. Then he caught the glint in Pete’s eye. “Oh shut up,” he told him. “And fuck off, while you’re doing it.”
Pete grinned at him through his hair. They’d been friends since before they started the band back in college. “Pink’s all right,” he told Mordant.
“Yeah, he is,” Mordant said. “But he’s not boyfriend material and I don’t do casual.”
Pete looked at him, expression serious for a moment. “He protects himself,” he said. “That’s all.”
Mordant shook his head, not wanting to get into it. “I’m off,” he said, shrugging on his jacket. “I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”
They had a couple of rest days in the city before they flew out to Germany for the next leg of the tour. Neither of them was bothering to go home for only forty-eight hours.
“Sometime, I expect,” Pete said. “I’m planning to sleep ‘til midday at least. I’ll text you when I wake up.”
Mordant nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “Sounds tempting. I’ll message you. We can go and get some food, yeah?”
Pete nodded. “See you later,” he said as Mordant pulled the door closed behind him.
****
Pink wasn’t any happier when Mordant got back to the Emergency Department. He hadn’t been moved to a ward, though, which implied they weren’t really keen on keeping him.
“They say I can leave if I’ve got someone to wake me up every two hours and check my brain isn’t melting,” Pink told him tiredly, struggling to sit up as Mordant entered the cubicle. “You’ve got to sign for me. Then I can go.”
“Hang on,” Mordant said, putting a hand on his shoulder to prevent him staggering to his feet. “Let’s speak to that nurse first. Or someone.”
Pink subsided slightly under the pressure of his palm. “Gus. He’ll be back in a minute; he went to get the doctor to do the discharge papers.”
“Have they set your arm?”
It was in a pink elastic sling-support, but his shirt sleeve was pulled down and Mordant couldn’t see what was underneath.
“No. They did an x-ray and then gave me a brace. I’ve got to not use it for six weeks.” He looked miserable as hell.
“Fuck,” Mordant said.
“Yeah. You’ll need to find another sound guy.” He sounded devastated. “I’m really sorry.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Mordant said. “What will you do?”
“Don’t know.” Pink was tiredly attempting to toe his shoes on. “I gave up my house because I was going to be travelling so much with the tour. I’ve been dipping back to stay with my mum and mates in the breaks. I supposed I’ll end up back at Mum’s.”
Mordant crouched on the floor to help him with his laces. “Let me do that,” he said. “You’ve got them in a right knot.”
“Shit,” Pink said. “I can’t even do that myself.” He brushed his good hand over his eyes. “Fuck.” He sounded on the verge of tears.
Mordant concentrated on easing the steel toe-capped boot onto his foot and pulling the laces tight, not wanting to embarrass him by watching him lose it. “It’s okay,” he said, not really knowing what to say. It clearly wasn’t okay at all. “It’ll work itself out. It’s been a crappy day.”
He pulled the other boot into place, listening to Pink breathing hard above his head. He risked an upward glance as he threaded the laces. Pink’s expression lacked the cheerful, guarded mask he usually wore. He looked crushed.
Mordant looked down to tuck the laces in and by the time he stood, Pink had his features arranged in their usual bland expression again.
“Let’s get you out of here,” Mordant said gently. “I’ll go and see where Gus has got to, shall I?”
“He’ll be back,” Pink said, shaking his head. “No point chasing him. They’re snowed under out there, there was some sort of fight outside one of the pubs and they’ve got a load of drunk lads with cuts and bruises he keeps needing to wrangle.”
He winced as he moved his head. Mordant felt for him. “Why don’t you lie back down until he comes, then?” he suggested. “Rest your eyes. The lights are really bright in here if you’ve still got a headache.”
“I’ve still got a headache,” Pink confirmed. “But I’m okay, now I’m sitting up. It’s too much effort to lie back down, honestly.”
Mordant looked at him for a moment. Stubborn idiot, he thought. He sighed and moved to sit next to him on the bed. “Lean on me, then,” he said quietly, giving him plenty of time to move, or push him away.
Pink sighed and slumped a little, leaning sideways against him. Mordant put his arm around his shoulders and drew him a bit closer. “Shut your eyes,” he said quietly. He couldn’t see whether Pink did, but he turned his cheek to Mordant’s shoulder and exhaled, relaxing against him. Mordant was careful not to put any pressure on any of the hurt parts of him, staying clear of his wrist and the gash under his hair. He rested his cheek carefully on the top of Pink’s head and said, “Better?”
“Yeah,” Pink said softly. “Thanks.”
“It’ll all work out,” Mordant repeated.
“Yeah,” Pink said, again. “I know. I just... You know.”
“I do,” Mordant said. “Shh. Rest, Pink.”
