Chapter 2
two
. . .
Unexpected
Present Day
desiree
Friday, 7:22pm
I wake up on the sandy ground and in Taven’s arms, the cool fabric of his jacket on my cheek. It feels good. I like being held by Taven.
There’s a continuous ringing in my ears. I can vaguely hear him calling to me, but it sounds like an echo. “Desiree? Desiree?! For God sakes, Dazzle, answer me!”
Then another voice. Female. “ Taven? Holy shit, is that you? I go to get drinks and a blast from the past happens, what in the hell! It’s so good to see you. Why is she lying like—wait, what the fuck?! Desiree? What did you do to her?!”
“Fuck, call help!”
“What happened?”
“Lightning, that’s what fucking happened! Call 9-1-1!”
I try and croak out a word. “No.” I lift my head to get up, but I’m dizzy. And Taven smells like rain and pine and heaven.
Melissa’s voice. “Lightning, what? When?”
“Just now, how could you miss it?”
“You’re fucking kidding me, are we in danger?!”
“I’m here, I’m fine,” I say louder. I blink open my eyes to a crowd of people surrounding me, with Taven’s face upside down above me.
His voice starts coming in clearer, the ringing subsiding ever so slightly. “Jesus Christ, I thought you were dead. Fuck!” I think I see wetness in his eyes. And raw fear. It makes me smile. But wait, I shouldn’t be smiling, I just got struck by lightning. I should play the lottery. My thoughts aren’t making sense.
“My leg,” I push out. “My leg hurts.” I look up and see a woman with a signature red medical bag rushing toward me. She drops to her knees next to me, making a heavy thud in the wet sand. She flashes a light in my eyes and I blink.
“Good,” she says. “Okay, what’s your name?” Then she yells at everyone around us. “Clear the space, please! You all need to get inside to shelter! Now!” She looks back down at me. “Can you hear me, honey?”
I nod, reluctantly rising out of the wonderful warmth of Taven’s lap. I know this is not the thing to be thinking about right now. My head is fuzzy and I can’t think straight. But I’m okay. Unless I died and this is heaven, I think I’m okay. “I can hear,” I answer her. “My name is Desiree Hope Hatson.” I go to stand, Taven rising with me, his arm snaking around my waist to assist. My poncho crinkles within his hold and I think about how ridiculous I must look in front of all these people.
The next several minutes are a blur. I’m taken to the medical area, a tent I never thought I’d need to visit. The medical team guides me from his arms and I’m laid down on a vinyl exam table. Melissa’s hands push my soggy, sandy hair away from my face. I see Taven pacing back and forth. His friends are standing to the side, reassuring him that I’m fine and they should get back to the show. He ignores them. My blood pressure is taken. A million questions are fired at me. I tell them my leg hurts, but not to call 9-1-1. I’m a doctor, I’m alright. I sign a paper on a clipboard, agreeing to let the medical staff tend to me even though I just want to go home. I hear Taven explain that one minute we were standing there, then next I’m thrown against the wall of the building beside the tent, before slumping down to the ground. None of which I actually remember.
Taven grabs my hand. I barely feel it, and I don’t know if it’s because I was possibly struck by lightning, or if it’s because the long-lost love of my life is the one holding it. I try to squeeze it back. I barely can, my hand is so weak. “You need to go to the hospital,” he tells me. I see the concern etched all over his face.
“No ambulance. Too expensive,” I say.
Melissa’s hot pink blur comes into view next to me. “The fuck does that matter, Dez? You need to get thoroughly checked out.”
“I’m fine,” I insist.
Taven reaches for his keys, then slips his arms under my back and legs and lifts me up. “You’re going. I’ll drive.” A group of other guys starts to protest, his friends, I assume. Taven yells at them and tells them if they wanna stay through the storm, it’s their funeral.
We leave the medical tent. I tighten my grip around Taven’s neck, rubbing my cheek against his jacket. Melissa trots along beside us.
I’ve never been happier to be jostling through the rain in someone’s arms, heading for the grim fluorescent lights of a hospital building.