Page 48 of Tinsel in Telluride

I want to turn around, but I can’t.

I’m frozen.

Literally and figuratively.

Running out in my sweater and leggings, sans coat and gloves, was a terrible idea.

I just needed to get out of there.

I needed to breathe.

Oh, the irony that now I can’t force a simple breath into my lungs.

“Fuck, you’re already shivering.”

Am I?

I’m fairly certain that’s just my body freaking out right alongside my heart, which is doing double-time against my ribcage.

Am I having a heart attack?

Shit.

Is this me dying?

At least Zach will have Luca.

Maybe this was meant to happen?

No.

I can’t die.

Not like this.

“You’re not dying.”

Did I say that out loud?

“Are you sure?” My voice is embarrassingly small.

Luca drapes my coat over my shoulders and presses his chest to my back, wrapping his coat around us both. Gently, he covers my hands with his and, one finger at a time, pries them from the railing. Once he’s got them all detached, he spins me in his arms and pulls them to his lips, warming them with his breath.

“I promise.”

And I think I believe him.

Maybe.

Then again, maybe he’s in on it, and it’s a way to get Zach all to himself.

God, my brain is a fucked-up place.

I tip my head back, still struggling to catch my breath.

My chest hurts. My brain hurts. My heart hurts.

Luca mutters a string of curses as he continues to blow hot air on my frigid fingers.

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