He was going to kill me. I was dead. My body tingled. My hands fell away from his arm. My eyelids fluttered as the last bit of oxygen I had in my lungs dissipated.
“You’re fucking killing her.” Levin shoved Dom hard, knocking him aside. He released his hold on me, and I fell to the floor, my head smacking off the hardwood. Vincent immediately lifted me into his arms. I wasn’t sure how he even managed to get the door open, but he did.
“You’re OK, B. I’ve got you,” he said, rushing down the hall with me in his arms. “It’s OK. It’s OK.”
I could hear Levin and Dom fighting in the room before we were inside Vincent’s room, and all went silent.
He placed me on the bed and went to his fridge and grabbed a bottle of water and came back to me.
“Drink. It’s cold. It’ll help,” he said gently, helping to sit me up. He pressed the bottle of water to my lips as I continued to rake in sharp gasps of air. I swallowed down a mouthful, the pain searing through my throat.
“It hurts.” My voice was barely an audible rasp.
“Fuck, B,” Vincent said, pain flickering in his dark eyes. “Your eyes. Your neck… fuck!”
He got up and paced, tugging at his hair. “Why did you lie to him, baby? You could have just… fuck, I don’t know. I don’t know.” He sat beside me again as I wept painfully, my throat aching in the worst way.
“Breathe. Slowly. Calm it down, B. I’m here. I have you. I’m not leaving. Breathe. Match me.” He breathed in and out, his hand pressed to my chest. “Easy, pretty girl. It’s OK. You’re OK. You’re safe now. You’re safe. Your Vinny has you, baby. My baby girl. I swear you’re OK. There you go. Just like that. Good girl. You’re doing great. Just keep going. Breathe in. Breathe out. Everything is OK.”
My breathing slowed, but the pain in my throat remained.
“OK. Good. Good. I’m going to get some ice, OK? You have a bump on your head from hitting it on the floor.” He got up and quickly grabbed an ice pack from his freezer and wrapped it in a pillowcase before returning to me to press it against the side of my head.
“There. That’s better. Everything is better now,” he said in a soft voice.
I continued to silently cry. I knew I’d messed up. The emotions just poured out of me when I realized Fallon would be doing things that could break my heart. I hated this world. I fucking hated it. I wanted out.
“S-should ha-have l-let him-him k-kill me.”
“Fuck, baby B. No. No, pretty girl.” He reached out and held me tightly. “No. Never.”
“I-I c-can’t b-b-breathe,” I managed to rasp.
He pulled away and grabbed the ice pack and pressed it against my throat instead.
“You’re a little swollen. It’ll be OK. I promise. Take a deep breath for me. Try to calm down.”
I took a deep breath that filled my lungs.
“There you go. Perfect. See? You’re OK. I’m going to get you some medicine. Just sit right there. Don’t move.” He was on his feet and in his bathroom and back in seconds.
“Open,” he commanded softly.
I parted my lips for him, and he placed a pill inside and pressed the bottled water to my lips again. I winced as I struggled to swallow the water and pill, but I finally got it down.
“There. Good job, baby. That’s going to take it all away.” He thumbed my tears away.
“L-Levin—”
“He’ll be OK. He can handle himself.” He got up and went to his closet and returned a moment later with a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. He said nothing as he undressed me and put his clothes on me. I could feel my body growing heavier with each passing moment. The pill he’d given me was starting to work. The pain in my throat dulled as a strange warm sensation blanketed me.
I felt like I didn’t have any control over my body.
“Don’t be afraid. It’ll be OK. I won’t leave your side.” He shifted me and laid me on my back and tucked me beneath his blanket before he move to lay beside me.
“V-Vinny.”
“Yeah, baby?”