Chapter 32
LEVI
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
If anyone asked, I would deny exactly how long I’d been staring at my fucking phone, watching Harper’s text bubbles appear and disappear over and over again. Frustrated, I shoved a hand through my hair, willing a text to pop up. Had I gone too far? Maybe. Probably.
But fuck, it was like all my reason ceased to exist when it came to her. She turned me into an idiot where she was concerned, and I didn’t know how to stop it.
Didn’t know how to stop this pull demanding I find her, either.
I had no idea where she was right now, but she usually spent her days at the Gazette, so that was as good a guess as any. Tired of waiting on her reply, I was grateful my workshop was half a block from the building and that I could dip out of work whenever I wanted.
A few minutes later, I popped into the office, scanning the space but finding it empty. Harper’s laptop was open on her desk, her screen still lit up, so she couldn’t have gone too far. Figuring she might’ve run up to the apartment for something, I headed that way, fully prepared to hunt her down if I had to.
When I got to the landing at the top of the stairs, I found our apartment door wide open. My brows pinched as I glanced around, looking for…what, I had no idea, but something felt off.
“Harper?” I called, stepping into the space and hoping for a clue to what was going on.
I heard her before I saw her, tearing through her room as if she were hunting for buried treasure. The sound was so reminiscent of the night that had started it all—that first domino crashing into the rest—that it gave me a moment’s pause. At least until I stepped into her doorway and saw the panic on her face, the fear in her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, darting my gaze around as if I’d be able to find the culprit for her fear.
“Walnuts,” she managed to croak, her breaths little more than wheezes.
The single word shot a jolt of panic through me, recalling the one and only other time she’d had an allergic reaction around me. We’d been fifteen, wandering through the Fourth of July festival with a bag of caramel corn. Little had we known, a couple of the vendor’s candied walnuts had snuck into the bag, and Harper had eaten one by the time we’d realized. I’d never been as scared as I had been then, watching the panic sweep over her eyes as her throat closed up. The same panic I saw reflected there now.
“How long?” I asked, already tearing through her things, knowing what we were looking for. I opened drawers, rummaged through them without delicacy or care, looking for her life-saving device. I didn’t know if I was asking how long it had been since she ingested them, how long since her throat had started closing up, or how much longer she thought she had before she couldn’t breathe at all.
In the end, it didn’t matter because all she responded with was a slight shake of her head, her movements turning clumsy as she continued her search. My heart thundered in my ears, my hands frantic as I tore apart her room, searching everywhere. The space looked like a tornado had decimated it, exactly how I’d expected it to look when I’d come upon her the other night—when our tit for tat had all started.
Something clicked in my mind at the memory. The EpiPen could have fallen out of her bag that night, maybe rolled under something so she hadn’t even realized it was out of place. The dresser, the nightstands, the bed…
Dropping to my knees, I peered under the dresser, shining my phone flashlight into the small sliver of space between it and the floor, but coming up empty. I did the same to both nightstands, shooting a glance toward Harper when my search was fruitless. Her wild eyes were locked on me, fear and panic written across every inch of her.
As soon as I had that fucking pen in my hands, I knew what to do—after that first time, I’d practiced over and over in case it ever happened again. But I truly didn’t know if I was going to find it in time.
Not giving up but not willing to risk her life, I pulled out my phone and dialed 9-1-1. As soon as the operator picked up, I barked the necessary information at Delores, who confirmed a unit—my brother included—was on the way.
I glanced at Harper again, doing a quick sweep over her, noticing the rapid decline. “Two minutes, sparrow. Ford’ll be here in two minutes. Just stay with me.”
With a nod, she braced herself against the wall and slid to the floor, gripping the front of her shirt. The sound of her labored breathing echoed in the space as panic clawed at my throat, the thought of losing her front and center—another death on my conscience.
I couldn’t—wouldn’t—allow that to happen. Never again, and definitely not to her.
“Motherfucker!” I yelled, unable to keep my emotions in check. “Where is it?”
As a last hope, I dove to the floor and rummaged around under her bed, desperately hoping I’d find what I was looking for. The sound of sirens broke through at the same moment my fingers brushed over something cool and cylindrical. I grabbed it, yanking the EpiPen out from under her bed, and rushed to her. I didn’t even have time for relief to slam into me. Not when she was still gasping for every single breath.
All the steps I’d learned so many years ago came back to me all at once, just like riding a bike. Crouching at her side, I pulled off the safety cap, shoving her skirt up while I did so. No time for delicacy because every second counted. Time slowed, centered on this moment as she stared up at me, her eyes wide with panic. Without hesitation and with as much force as needed, I jabbed the pen into her thigh muscle and injected the medicine into her body.
Once the pen was depleted, I carefully pulled it out before tossing it aside. The next ten seconds were the longest of my life as I massaged her thigh to help the absorption of medicine into her body, all the while studying her face and hoping like hell she felt the relief she urgently needed.
I gripped Harper’s face, brushing my thumbs along her cheeks. “Come on, sparrow. Eyes on me.”
She did as I demanded, lifting her gaze to mine, pure terror written in her eyes. Gripping her hand, I placed it on my chest, putting my other on hers. I took an exaggerated breath in through my nose before blowing it out in a slow, controlled exhale.
“Breathe with me, baby. Just breathe.” I stared, helpless, as she struggled for breath, feeling like my heart was being torn straight out of my chest with each gasp from her throat. “Don’t you dare fucking leave me. Not now. Not when I finally got you back.”