Page 5 of Tainted Tempos

“Mckenna?” Allegra knocks again, more urgently this time.

“Be out in a minute,” I manage to reply.

I close my eyes for several seconds. I feel the marble of the vanity top beneath my fingers. I scrunch my toes into the cool tiles of the floor. The sound of running water from the faucet. The scent of lavender soap. I open my eyes. Spot the shiny chrome of the hot water tap.

Slowly my dizziness fades. I breathe in and out. Slowly, deeply. Again.

As the bathroom stabilizes, my mind settles.

When I’m ready, I raise my face to the mirror and blanch. I look awful. Pale skin and shocked eyes. Exhausted and pathetic. Weak.

Fuck. What the hell was I thinking?

I saw the videos. Last night, I washappy. Joyful and exuberant and glowing.

I declared my love for Mav onstage, in front of a room full of strangers, for crying out loud.

I kissed him, spun in circles, and admired my ring like a woman in love.

And now, I can’t recall any of it, save for wisps that make me feel like my mind is playing tricks on me. Is it? Am I losing my sanity?

And one of the first things Mav decided on was an annulment.

Not even a divorce but an annulment. A way to permanently erase last night. To pretend it never happened. Hell, if I can’t recall it and he can erase it—did it?

My heart rate increases at the realization that while I may not remember last night, Maverick truly regrets it. How could he not?

I ruined his life. His career. I made a mess of things when he tried to fix them.

Why the hell would I propose marriage? Worse, why did he say yes?

To spare my feelings? To create a good story to laugh at in a decade?

Another knock on the door. “Mckenna?” It’s Levi.

The concern in his tone brings a fresh wave of tears to my eyes.

I turn off the faucet and drag a towel across my face. Taking a deep breath, I pull my hair out of the bun and rake my fingers through it, trying to smooth down the flyaway strands. I need to get a handle on this situation. I need to pull myself together.

Sweeping my hair back into a new, messy knot, I give my reflection a stern nod, and open the bathroom door.

Levi stumbles back half a step, but before I exit the bathroom, he hugs me. I go willingly, needing his strength, anyone’s strength, to bolster mine.

“You’re gonna be okay, Kenny,” he whispers.

“I hope so,” I reply, swallowing back the ball of emotion that swells in my throat.

“I promise you.” His tone is certain, laced with a surety I wish I felt. But I cling to his words nonetheless. Levi has been through a lot. He’s hit rock bottom, nearly ruined his relationship with Allegra, and managed to rebuild his life. His reassuring me that I’ll get through this hits differently than if it came from anyone else.

From his history, I trust that he has experienced worse. And, as shitty as it sounds, that brings me a sliver of comfort.

I nod, dropping my head to his shoulder.

“All right, let’s get this over with,” Mav announces, clapping his hands together loudly.

I wince and pull away from Levi. When I meet Mav’s eyes, he’s glaring at me, and I feel even worse.

I’m another mess to clean up—a burden in another person’s life. Unfortunately for Maverick, he can’t forget me as quickly as my parents have since I’m his legal wife.