Page 15 of My Heart Still Beats
My body has recovered.
Still, just to be sure, I grip the counter once more. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in again.
Exhaustion weighs on me. I haven’t been eating right, and I haven’t been sleeping well.
When I do manage to fall asleep, nightmares plague me.
But I have to get a grip.
And not just on this counter.
My best friend is getting married—married to the man of her dreams. Married to the man of anyone’s dreams, really. I can’t let her down.
I draw in a breath again. Check my reflection in the mirror to make sure I’m still me.
I nod to myself.
Then I leave the bathroom and—
Thud.
I look up, get my bearings. I ran right into Benjamin Black.
He grabs my shoulders. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”
“Yes.” I pull out of his grasp. “Were you waiting for me?”
“No… I was heading to the bathroom.”
Oh. Of course he was. The men’s room is right next to the ladies’ room.
“Right. Sorry.”
He gazes up and down my body. “You sure you’re okay?”
Is he serious?
Of course I’m not okay. I just had a fucking panic attack in the bathroom. I haven’t eaten, haven’t slept, and he’s the one who made me come out tonight.
No. My best friend, Skye, made me come out tonight.
Never again.
“I’m fine,” I grit out.
He stands in my way.
“If you’ll excuse me,” I say.
He cocks his head, looks me over. “Tessa, wait right here for me while I go to the bathroom. I want to see that you get home safely.”
“That’s not necessary.”
He reaches out, but he doesn’t touch me. “Please.”
Something in his voice makes me think about it.
Please.
