Peter and Mike both jumped up when they heard someone talking in Davy's room. They hoped it was Davy finally telling Micky what had happened. When they were able to hear that it was indeed Davy, the two quietly opened the door. All three men listened to Davy's tale wordlessly, completely taken aback by Cherrie's deception.
When Davy was finished, Mike and Peter came into the room. Mike broke the uneasy stillness first. "I'm so sorry, good buddy. She had us all fooled. I'm just glad that you're finally talking and not holding it all inside. Take it from me. That's a sure way to make things worse in the long run." Mike went over to Davy and put his hand on his shoulder. "We're here for you, shotgun."
"Where did you go after you left her place? Peter discovered you hadn't been to bed at all last night." Micky sent a silent thank you to God for answering his prayer. Now he just hoped that he could think of something that would make Davy feel better.
Davy replied, "I just drove around. I couldn't tell you where. I wasn't exactly paying attention. Then all I wanted to do was get on Pearl Locker and get as far away from here as I could. I could've killed the poor horse. I rode him like somebody gone completely mad. Maybe I have. I can't believe this is happening." Davy looked from one face to another for clues to help him make sense of what Cherrie had done. Seeing none, he closed his bloodshot eyes and rubbed his temples.
As Mike turned to leave, Micky caught the look on his face. He didn't like what he saw and followed Mike from the room.
Peter sat down on his bed where Micky had been and took a deep breath. "I don't know what to say to help you. I wish I did. You don't deserve this. It's going to take-"
"Peter, don't say anything else," Davy interrupted as his eyes snapped open. "I listened to your song and got carried away by all your hippie stuff. I decided that your Karma was telling me that it was okay to fall in love and to let my feelings for Cherrie to show." Davy was shaking now. Peter couldn't tell if it was from grief or fury. "What a load of rubbish! Here's what I think of your Karma and your song." Davy bolted off the bed and put his fist through the wall by the door. Immediately the pain shot through his hand, and Davy suddenly looked very much like a small, lost child.
"Peter, I-"
"I know, David, I know. Let's get you to the hospital."
"What happened?" Micky was coming back into the room as Peter and Davy came out.
"Just a little accident between the wall and Davy's hand. We're going to the hospital." Peter looked from Micky to Mike. "What's up with you two?"
Micky let out a snort. "Mike wants to go have a "talk" with Sky Saxon. He thinks that's going to help straighten everything out."
Mike's eyes flashed with anger. "The guy needs to learn to stay away from another guy's girlfriend. Somebody needs to teach him a lesson."
Micky tried to reason with Mike. "That's not going to solve anything! Saxon probably didn't know that Cherrie was also seeing Davy. I doubt that he would care anyway. It doesn't sound like he's looking for a wife."
"Mike, violence is never the answer." Peter gave Mike a stern look.
"Peter, don't start with me. I'm not in the mood to pick daisies with you. You can't always give people flowers and hugs. Sometimes you gotta let them know they can't walk all over you." It looked like an argument was brewing. Everyone was tired and upset from the ordeal of the past 24 hours.
"Guys!"
Everybody stopped talking and turned to stare at Davy. "As much as I'd like to blame Saxon, or Peter, or Karma, the only one at fault here is Cherrie. She's not who she pretended to be, and I got suckered by her face and her act. I appreciate that you all are on my side, and I'm sorry for what I said to you, Peter, but right now the thing I want the most is to get to the hospital. Could somebody please drive?" Davy managed a small, tight smile.
"Sure thing." The four friends headed out to the local emergency room.
Chapter 16
Chapter 18
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