Chapter 12
Nick was already in the bagroom when Tab arrived from college, and Tab hovered in the doorway for a few minutes to watch before the rhythm slowed and he knew Nick had noticed.
“Hi,” he said.
“You coming in or not, then?”
“Um, if it’s okay,” Tab said slowly. “I mean, if you don’t want to today…”
Nick shrugged, and Tab inched into the room with his pad and stool. He hadn’t seen Nick in a few days, and he stopped to gape halfway across the room. “I know,” Nick said and grimaced.
His left eye, from that prominent cheekbone right up to the eyebrow, was solid black. The eye itself looked to be swollen shut, and Tab cringed at the sight of it. “Jesus,” he said. “What happened?”
“I got punched in the face,” Nick said. “Might look right authentic on your porter-thing, though, righ
