“Fuck!” I scream. It doesn’t hurt so much. I just know what’s coming next.
“Kelsey?” Emmett asks.
“God dammit, my purse is in Dom’s car.” I panic, my breathing is erratic, and I can’t think straight. The stinging in my arm is really hurting and I wonder when my lungs are going to feel like they are begging for air and my throat closes up.
Dom and Cameron rush up to me. “Baby, it’s going to be okay. Shyla is fine. We won’t let Meera near you.”
I look at Dom because he knows all about my allergy. “Stung,” I say, holding up my arm and showing him the swelling blotchy part of my upper arm.
“Fuck, where’s your EpiPen?” he asks.
“She said it’s in your car,” Emmett says, his face paling. Cameron looks freaked out, too. I wonder if my neck and cheeks are red and splotchy.
A raspy breath leaves my throat as Dom unceremoniously tosses me over his shoulder and starts running. He nearly eats shit on multiple tree roots, but somehow doesn’t trip. I wonder where he’s taking me. I feel dizzy and disoriented. I’ll be lucky if my boobs don’t pop out of this bodice, but right now I’m more concerned about living.
It doesn’t seem like he runs long enough to get to the car. “Do you have EpiPens?” He says it in such a loud voice. Why is he being so loud?
I’m thrown off Dom’s shoulder and laid on a cot. I look around and see witches standing around me.
“No, no. Don’t let them use their medieval magic on me,” I beg, looking for Dom. Did he leave me here? “Please, I don’t want to die in this shithole.” I nearly scream.
“Jesus fucking Christ.” I hear someone mumble. “Hurry up!” he barks. My breathing is uneven and I feel so fucking hot. I tug at the dress, trying to release the tension from my chest and rib cage. Am I groaning?
“Baby, stop.” A voice says. It’s a pleasant voice. I squeeze my eyes shut. Just focus on breathing, not on the fucking witch doctors trying to heal me.
“Take..” I don’t even recognize my voice as I’m begging for someone to take this tight dress off. I think someone understands as the bottom of my dress is flipped up to my stomach. No, that’s not what I meant. Stupid, they don’t have modern medicine here. I’m going to die.
I’m wondering about my life choices and how something as small as a bee is going to take me out when there is a sharp sting to my upper thigh.
“Fuck! Another bee!” I say.
“Shhh, you’ll be good now,” Dom says. His voice is clearer now that I’m not in the middle of a complete meltdown.
The effect is nearly immediate. My heart races, but at least it doesn’t feel like I’m about to stop breathing or swell up to a balloon. I clutch my fists against my chest. I want to curl up into a ball and pretend today didn’t happen.
Everything was going so well. Dom and Shyla were getting along. We were having the best date ever. Now everyone knows Shyla is Meera’s sister and I almost got taken out by a pollinator.
The tears flow freely, and I don’t even care. A big, large body picks me up and clutches me to his chest. “Let’s get you home,” he says, petting down my hair and carrying me out of the Renaissance fair. “It’s okay. We’re going to take care of you. You’re going to be okay,” he tells me as he carries me to the exit, like I weigh nothing. I’m completely dead weight in his arms, not even attempting to help.
Emmett and Cameron fortunately pulled the car to the entrance of the fair so he didn’t even have to walk further. I don’t dare look at anyone; I shut my eyes. I’m embarrassed, hurt, and heartbroken. Where is Shyla?
“You’re safe,” Dom says before the car door is opened. I’m pressed into another warm body that smells like brown sugar and vanilla, and I cry myself to sleep.
Chapter 27
“Shestillasleep?”Emmettasks from the front seat.
“Yeah.” I stroke her hair and take in her gentle scent. What the actual fuck just happened? It was turning out to be the best day and then—bam. Ex-girlfriend drama, she’s Shyla’s sister and then poor Kelsey gets stung by a fucking bee. I’m really not sure if things could get any worse.
Emmett bangs his head on the headrest in the passenger’s seat. “Shyla isn’t answering my calls,” Emmett says.
“Do you want us to drop you off at home? Or do you want to come with us to Kelsey’s?” Dom asks. Emmett looks in the backseat.
“If Shyla wanted to talk, she would. I think she just needs time to calm down. It’s all a lot more complicated than it seems.”
Dom clears his throat. “Shyla has never laid a hand on you?”
Emmett gasps and scoffs. “No, never. Not like that, ever. Like I said, she’s got a lot of family drama. She hasn’t even really told me much. She just needs some time to calm down. I’ll come home with you all. I think Kelsey would want us all there.”