Page 87 of Falling Madly
“You passed out.”
I felt strong arms lifting me off the floor, onto a couch I didn’t recognize. It took me several beats to make sense of it. I was still in Kyle’s cabin, but Trevor was here. Either I was safe, or we were both in danger. My mouth felt dry, and I scanned the room. Kyle stood back; his arms folded. He looked concerned. Or maybe a little annoyed.
“Do you have your car?” I whispered. “Take me out of here. Now.”
Trevor nodded, a quizzical look in his eyes. “Why are you whispering?” He turned to Kyle. “Did she hit her head on the way down?”
“No, I don’t think so.” He scratched his head, frowning. “Look, I’m not trained in first aid. I didn’t know what to do. One minute she was fine and then… bam.”
“Please,” I pleaded with Trevor.
He scooped me up and planted me on my feet, walking me to the door.
“I’ll drive her home,” he told Kyle. “Maybe via the hospital.”
“Keep me posted.”
Outside, the damp smell of evergreens hit my nostrils. I’d never felt more grateful to smell something. To be alive.
I sank into Trevor’s passenger seat like it was my final destination. “Thank you. Thank you.” Tears blurred my vision as I waited for Trevor to start the car and drive down the winding road. Every yard we put between us and Kyle relaxed me further. My head felt light and woozy, but I could breathe, and all senses seemed to work. Whatever I’d swallowed hadn’t killed me.
“How did you know where I was?” I asked.
“Peony’s friend Kerry said she saw a blue Tesla leave right after you. That’s when I remembered Kyle’s cabin.”
“Have you been here?”
“No. But when I was buying mine, we exchanged notes. He was really helpful. Lovely guy. I think he… likes you.” Trevor threw me a resigned look. “I would have left you two to it. I mean, it’s none of my business if you want to…” His jaw twitched, his expression hard.
“What?” I demanded, confused.
“I was just going to double-check you’re okay and leave, but he dragged me in, scared shitless.”
“Scared?” I blinked, trying to catch up. “Of what?”
“Of ye fainting.”
“But… he gave me the drink. I thought he drugged me.”
He shook his head. “I dinnae think so.”
“How do you know?”
Trevor cast me a concerned look. “Because we checked the drink. He showed me the bottles and swore there wasn’t anything unsavory in them. He knew it looked bad, with ye passed out on the floor. He was freaking out.”
“He could have slipped in something?—”
“He drank it, Teresa. He was so desperate to show me he hadn’t drugged you that he downed your drink in front of me.”
“What?” My mind spun like a film on fast forward. Or maybe it was backward. “The drink on the table…”
“Cuba Libre.”
I hung my head. It was still spinning. What was wrong with me? How had I misjudged Kyle that badly? I’d been sure that I was going to die. Had I made myself faint by the power of suggestion? Your mind could play tricks on you. I knew that. We were all biased. I’d once built an entire beer campaign around biases. I’d studied them. How had I missed this prime example of confirmation bias? Of course. When you were looking for clues, you saw them everywhere.
I felt so stupid I hardly wanted to talk, so we drove in silence. When we got to town, Trevor pulled over and called Charlie, explaining to him that I’d been at Kyle’s, just like he’d suspected, and that he’d take me home.
The call was short, his tone clipped.
