Page 9 of Of Heartbreak and Harmony
I try, but nausea hits me hard, and my legs give out. God, I’m so freaking tired. I think my shock has used up the last of my energystores. My body will shut down now. Not death by cardio. Death by Torren King. How poetic.
I close my eyes once more.
“It’s cool. We can stay here for a minute.” His voice switches from low and close, to louder and more distant. Like he’s looking away from me, talking to someone else. “Hey, can you get some water and ibuprofen? Maybe some ice? I don’t think she hit her head, but she’s pretty rattled.”
I groan and slowly bring my hand to my temple. “I feel like I was hit by a bus.”
“Not quite, but close. Damon’s not far off.”
I furrow my brow and pop one eye open, allowing myself to look at his ear so I don’t have to see how pathetic I look in his sunglasses.
“Damon?”
“Yeah... He, um, well, he kind of stepped in your path...on purpose.”
I pop open my other eye. “What? Why?”
His lips curl into a smirk. “I mean, you were screaming my name and chasing after me. He’s my security. It was either lay you out or taze you.”
I groan again and push myself up slowly to a sitting position, so I’m no longer lying sprawled out in Torren King’s—the rock star, not the dog—lap. What the actual fuck is my life.
“I wasn’t screaming your name,” I explain. “I was screaming the dog’s name.” I drop my head into my hands. “I feel like I might throw up.”
A hand rests on my back and rubs up and down.
“Here. Drink this.” A cool glass of water is offered to me, and I take it and gulp it down. “The dog?”
I nod. “Yeah. My sister’s dog. He’s black and shaggy and has green eyes. She named him Torren King. I told her not to—it’s a horrible name for a dog—but he answers to it now.”
“Huh. That’s a first.”
I snort a laugh and don’t even care how unattractive it sounds. I attempt to stand, but I’m wobbly.
“You should wait another few minutes,” he says, but I jerk my head no.
“I gotta get the dog.”
“We got him. Just relax for a bit more.”
I sit back down. I glance around and find Torren King the dog lounging on the ground next to some giant man in black pants and a black T-shirt. I scowl at the dog. He’s definitely on my shit list now. Then I look beyond the dog, past the man, and find a crowd—a large crowd—staring at me. Phones are out, recording and taking pictures. People are whispering and giggling.
Then I notice everything else.
There’s someone sweeping up what looks like broken glass. There are french fries all over the ground. What I thought was sweat on my skin and shirt is actually some sort of soft drink.
“What happened?” I gasp out, and Torren chuckles.
“Well, you bounced right off Damon, then took out a server’s tray before hurtling to the ground. I caught you, but you really decided to do the most damage on your way down.”
A quick glance behind me reveals a café and some dining tables filled with more people.
They are staring, too.
I start to stand again, but Torren places his hands on my shoulders, stopping me.
“Just hang out, yeah? We’ve got a medic coming.”
“No. Thanks, but I’m fine. I have to get back to my sister.”
