But the idea of sirens, EMTs flooding the halls, me being wheeled out on a stretcher… The whispering and gossip, the negative press, thespectacleof it all. And for what? A bad reaction. Mum and Father would hate that. Embarrassment to the family. So much boat rocking…
I breathed, lay still, sipped water, though each minor movement sent my pulse skyrocketing. Around nine thirty p.m., just when I considered reaching for my phone, the reaction began to subside. Incrementally. I took my pulse and found it to be a cool 170.
“Progress,” I croaked.
Ten more hours flat on my back and I’d be right as rain.
A knock came at the door.
Shit.
“Orion?”
Harper.
My eyes fell shut with surprising gladness. Happiness. I didn’t want anyone to see me like this. Didn’t want to worry her, especially, and Harper Bennett was going to insist I get help. But a small voice from way down in the deeps was calling. Begging for help. To be heard and seen, and this girl…
“It’s open,” I called, trying to sound normal. Cheerful, even. My voice betrayed me; I sounded like I’d been gargling rocks and washing them down with battery acid.
Harper came in, an expression of concern already on her face that morphed into alarm when she saw me.
“That good, eh?”
She rushed to kneel beside me. “What happened?”
I nodded at the pill bottle on the coffee table. “I tried…” But my throat went dry before I could finish my sentence, and Harper’s eyes filled with the worst thoughts.
She grabbed the bottle. “How many did you take?”
I shook my head weakly. “No, no. Just one. Bad reaction. I’m okay.”
Harper ignored that and put two fingers to my neck.
“Your pulse is racing. I’m calling an ambulance.”
“Please, don’t,” I said, as she fished around in her bag for her phone. “Really.”
“I have to. You need help.”
“No…I’m fine.”
“You’re notfine,” she cried. “You’re having a heart attack. Where the fuck is my phone?”
I gripped her wrist. Not hard, but enough to make her stop. “I’m fine. I’ve had this before.” I took her hand and rested it over my chest. Over my heart. “Feel. See? It’s slowing.”
She held still, feeling my pulse that was calming down. My breaths were coming easier—thank God, or this girl was going to throw me over her shoulder and walk all the way to Newport Medical.
Harper shook her head. “I don’t know…”
“I do,” I said. “This always happens when I take these fucking meds. They don’t work on this bloody broken brain of mine. I should’ve known better than to try.”
“I still think I should call someone. What if…?”
I shook my head from side to side, smiling. “The EMTs will arrive for nothing. They’ll say they’ve never seen anyone in better health than me. I’d both ruinandmake their night.”
Harper sat back on her heels, her eyes falling shut. Tears escaped, rolling down her cheeks.
“Aw, love.” I touched a fingertip to her cheek. “Are these for me?”
