Mila is shaking and crying, and blood is coming out of her nose. I try to inspect the damage as Chase paces back and forth, knotting his arms together and muttering an incoherent stream of apologies.
“What happened?” Chelsea throws her towel around Mila’s shoulders.
Mila presses her hand to her nose, her eyes squeezed shut in pain. “Someone’s elbow went into my face.”
“Who?” Chelsea’s eyes go to Ryan.
Mila shrugs helplessly. “I don’t know. It doesn’t matter.”
Ryan retreats to his towel, and Emily lays a hand on his arm. A weird look passes between them, and I swear just the ghost of a smile passes over her lips. Then in a blur of a moment, he yanks his arm away and marches up to where Chelsea and I are trying to convince Mila to let us look at her nose.
“Give her some space, man.” Chase shoves him backward.
“Don’t touch me!” Ryan throws the entire weight of his body against him, his face red with fury.
I have to underscore this.
There’s been unsettled blood between members of our group before. Not bad. Just turbulent. When Chelsea and Ryan had their little secret. When Emily royally screwed up theno more lake housemessage to Chelsea and started our own little New World War I. But no one ever. EVER. Threw a punch. Or in this case, a shove.
Mila stops crying and wipes her nose on the back of her hand, smearing blood on her skin and wiping it on her pale pink swimsuit. It hasn’t stopped bleeding, and I want to tell her to pinch it, but I don’t want to be rude. I want to hand her a cloth, but I don’t want to stain any of the linens. I want to run to the house for a first aid kit, but I don’t want to miss what comes next.
Most of all, I want to tell them what really just happened. And that it could happen again.
Instead, it’s Mila who speaks. “Chase, don’t.”
But I don’t think he hears her. I don’t even think it’s about her. And I barely see the shock register when Ryan slaps him across the face and storms back toward the house, ending the fight almost as quickly as it started. Because my eyes are on Emily. And she’s definitely smiling now.