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Sebastian brushes me off. “I’m fine.”
Just like that, he’s back to being cold with me except when we are being intimate.
“Ouch,” I wack my neck after something sharp hits me.
I don’t think twice about it. I’m too busy thinking about Sebastian and how to get him to stop being so hot and cold. I know I wanted him to be a jerk to me to protect my heart, but…
“Millie.” Sebastian’s voice drops, and the twinkle in his eyes is now replaced with absolute fear.
I don’t know what he’s so afraid of.
Then the burning on my neck hits me. Already, I can feel my tongue swelling, my throat closing. I know better than to travel without my epi-pen. But when I’m around Sebastian, I forget everything but him.
“Fuck,” I say, knowing that might be the last word I ever say. We are thirty minutes from a road. Thirty minutes from cell phone service. I’m about to swell up bigger than Sebastian’s ankle.
I take a shaky breath. At least I’ll die having had the perfect first kiss, and the dirtiest second kiss. I’ll die without having my heart broken again.
19
Sebastian
My nightmare happened. The thing we were trying to prevent—Millie got stung.
I realized it before she did. I tried not to react, hoping that if I kept her calm, then she wouldn’t actually feel sick. But I’m not a good enough actor to hide my fear.
Now Millie is standing in front of me, gripping her neck. I know how bad her neck stings. I have small bites all over my body that all burn. But unlike her, my entire body isn’t swelling up.
“What do I do?” I ask, knowing that time isn’t our friend. I have to get her help.
“Get us somewhere where we can call 911,” Millie says so calmly like she’s just telling me directions to drive to her favorite diner—not giving me instructions that can save her life.
I nod. “The road is close from this direction.” I pull out my cell. I don’t have any service, but I should once we get a bit closer to the road.
Millie takes a breath, and it’s already garbled. I can hear the wheezing, the struggle to breathe.
“What else?”
She shakes her head gently, giving me a fake smile that’s meant to reassure me. but I see right through it. “We take our time walking toward the road together. There is nothing else we can do.”
“How long do we have?”
“We’ll make it,” she gives me a wink.
“Yea, we will.” I grab her hand and drape it over my back. “Climb on.”
r /> “Sebastian, your ankle. You can’t carry me.”
“Millie, climb on my back right the hell now.”
She does. She may be wild, but my voice can tame her. Good to know.
And then I start running.
“Sebastian, slow—“ Her voice catches, and she struggles to get any more words out.
“Do not tell me to slow down because I won’t.”
She doesn’t ask me again. I run down the mountain through the trees and branches that have fallen on the path. I don’t feel my ankle as I run. All I focus on is Millie, listening to her breath and hoping that I can run fast enough to save her.
