Chapter Twenty-Six
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
MCKINSEY
T he high I’ve been riding since Draven told me he loved me has come to an end.
For the past couple days, I’ve been holding on to the beautiful moment we shared by the river. Clinging to it, especially when my migraine got so bad I considered bashing my head into the wall to make it stop.
To make everything stop.
All of it.
I’ve been popping the pills Dr. Bennett prescribed me, hoping that they would make the pain fuck off. Thinking the fearful, little voice in the back of my mind was making the pain worse, I’ve tried to ignore it. But even with the decent job I was doing, it’s impossible to ignore Draven.
Who is standing in front of me in my bedroom, his eyes imploring me to see reason as he tightens his grip around my upper arms in frustration.
“McKinsey, I’m not joking. I’m not overreacting, and I’m not asking. You need to let me take you back to the ER to get the scan they should have fucking given you last week.”
He’s not asking.
The problem isn’t that I don’t want to go. It’s that I’m so terrified of what they might find if they look hard enough, I can barely move. I know something is wrong. I can feel it in my bones. It’s more than the migraines I’ve had throughout my life. It feels like something has invaded my body.
“Jesus, you’re worse than my mother.”
That pisses him off, and he breaks out the big guns.
“If you don’t get your sexy ass outside and in my car now , I’ll call your mother and tell her everything.”
Narrowing his eyes at me, he hits me with the one threat that he knows will make me fold. When I spoke to my mother earlier this week, I told her I’d had a migraine and gotten medicine from the doctor. It wasn’t a lie, and it was as close to the full truth as she was going to get.
Before I’m able to properly yell at him for fighting dirty, even at the risk of making my pain worse, a reprieve in the form of my best friend comes waltzing into my house.
“Hello? McK?”
Draven’s shoulders drop, sighing heavily at the sound of Olivia’s voice coming from downstairs.
“Hey, Liv! Come on up!”
Draven mutters something under his breath, but I can’t make out what it is.
“What’s going on? Oh. Hi, Draven.” Lips pursed like she just sucked on a lemon, she does nothing to hide her irritation upon seeing him. He crinkles his nose at her surprise, as if she wouldn’t have seen his car outside.
“Nothing. What are you doing here?” I can feel the anger floating off Draven and in my direction the longer I ignore him.
“I was passing through and thought I’d surprise you. See how you were doing this morning.”
Olivia is not the type to pop in unexpectedly. Between her demanding job and the fact that she knows how much I hate unscheduled visits, I’d bet any amount of money she came by to check on me. Despite my countless all good texts I’ve been sending her.
“She’s not good.” Olivia’s eyes cut to Draven as he throws me under the bus. “Maybe you can talk some fucking sense into her.”
“What do you mean?” She questions Draven before turning her attention back to me. “What is he talking about?”
Before I can answer, my vision blurs. It only lasts for a second before clearing again. I blink a few times to make sure it’s truly gone before I answer her.
“Well, I was feeling a little better…” I look away from her before I finish. “But not anymore.”
“Yeah, and she refuses to fucking listen to me and let me take her back to the ER.” Draven meets Olivia’s gaze, trying to lure her onto his side.
“Well, what do you expect when that’s how you talk to her?”
My eyes dart between the two of them, knowing this is about to erupt into something more. Whatever, they can go at one another. Anything to take the spotlight off of me.
“What the hell does that mean?” Draven rounds on Olivia, one hand flying to his hip, holding the other up in question.
“First of all, you can’t just order her to do anything . That’s something you’d realize if you’d known her for more than five god damn minutes.”
“I’ll order her to do anything that’s necessary for her health!”
“You guys, stop arguing. Please. ” Neither of them hear me, my words coming out as weak as my body is beginning to feel.
Something isn’t right.
“That’s something you could stand to learn about me. ” Draven huffs then grows quiet.
Olivia, on the other hand, isn’t finished with her tirade.
“Second of all, you need to learn how to talk to people, not at them.”
“I tried talking to her.” Draven points an angry finger at me. “I’ve been talking to her for three days, trying to convince her?—”
“Stop…” I try to cut him off with no success. My voice leaves me in a whisper, but I think even if I were able to scream, they still wouldn’t acknowledge me.
“—to go back to the ER because I care about her, and I don’t want to see her in pain. And if something serious is going on, she needs to get in there as soon as possible so they can figure out what it is and fix her before…”
Although Draven doesn’t finish the sentence, his meaning rings loudly against the walls of my room. He almost blurted out the fear that has been lingering in the darkest recesses of my mind for the past week. A fear which is now front and center, and I’ve never been more scared of anything in my entire life.
That there is something seriously, and terminally, wrong with me.
The three of us are quiet for a moment until I break the silence, clearing my throat.
“I have to use the bathroom. When I’m done, we can go. Okay? Happy?”
I glare at both of them before Draven gives me a small nod. Then, on shaky feet, I walk into my bathroom. A wave of dizziness hits me, and I am thankful I’m able to lock the door behind me before either of them notice.
I grip the edge of my sink and look at my reflection in the mirror.
Jesus .
No wonder Draven has been on my ass today. I’m pale but blotchy with a sheen of sweat across my forehead.
I look like death.
As a wave of nausea hits me, my dizziness gives way to the unnerving feeling of déjà vu. I’ve had déjà vu plenty of times, but this… This is something more.
Olivia’s and Draven’s raised voices start up again, reaching my ears through the bathroom door. When my heart begins to beat faster, I assume it’s anxiety over the two of them fighting.
But then my entire body breaks out into a sweat.
Terrifying palpitations rattle through my heart.
Calm down, McK.
My mind is racing, panicking, unable to calm itself down enough to make sense of what’s happening to me.
I try for the faucet so I can splash water on my face, but my hand won’t move. I no longer feel the countertop beneath my fingers or the chilled tile beneath my feet. It feels like I’m falling, yet I’m standing still.
I think I turn for the door, to try to get help, but I can’t be sure.
Almost in slow motion, the entire room is flipped on its side.
And then I’m floating away.
Into darkness.