Page 95 of Obsession

I released my fingers from the metal and immediately felt the cold air fly past me. The sensation of falling, as if my whole body suddenly deflated. This time I was in my right mind and could feel everything much better than when I had fallen from the pyramid, when I was almost unconscious.

It probably only lasted a second. More screams sounded simultaneously, but I couldn’t scream.

Then I stopped.

The impact was strong, but not painful.

The crash and the broken bones didn’t come, but I felt that grip, that warmth that had become painfully familiar. I hadclosed my eyes during the fall, and when I opened them again, I saw heaven and hell dancing on a single face.

He held me like that for a while without saying anything. I wasn’t able to speak either because my heart was still pounding in my chest. He was holding me like a bride once more.

“Katherine, honey, are you okay? What happened?”

Harris set me down as Iolanda approached us.

“I’m sorry, Iolanda, I broke some of your jars.”

Despite what had happened, my voice was surprisingly calm; only my breathing was frantic. Harris’s palm remained on my lower back, holding me close, as if he expected me to collapse, anyway.

“To hell with the jars, thank God Elay was here to catch you.”

For the next few minutes, she examined me all over, just to make sure I hadn’t hurt myself, then stroked Harris’s cheeks and kissed him on the forehead, like the hero she said he was.

I couldn’t deny it anymore. He had, once again, been my hero, even if part of the incident was still his fault. I wouldn’t have slipped if he hadn’t gone berserk with a jealousy so inappropriate for what we were.

When the commotion had died down and they concluded that the only damage done was a few broken jars of honey, everyone went back to their activities. The blond guy disappeared, and I didn’t see him again.

Harris picked up a crate and climbed up the platform alone after cleaning up the spilled honey on it. He wouldn’t have allowed me to climb back up, and I didn’t want to. He didn’t allow Iolanda to climb up either. My fingers and arms hurt, and I had broken all my nails because I had clawed at the metal. It was a miracle they didn’t bleed.

After he finished, I was tired, thirsty, and melted from the heat. The warehouse had air conditioning, but with the doors open, it didn’t help much.

As if Iolanda had read my mind, she brought a can of Coke for each of us.

Harris opened his and took a few sips, and I tried to stifle a laugh as the carbonated drink oozed from the corner of his mouth.

“Do you still need me?” he asked her.

She shook her head.

“Thank you very much, dear. Josh would have spent half the day carrying those crates and the other half complaining about it.”

Harris laughed, and I wondered if he knew my uncle too. I wasn’t sure how I should have felt about that.

“Anytime.”

Iolanda turned to me.

“Thank you, honey, and I’m sorry you almost fell off that thing. Thank God it did not turn into a tragedy.”

“It was my pleasure, Iolanda,” I smiled. “You have no reason to apologize, it was my fault. I’ll pay for those jars.”

She waved her hand away like I was crazy.

“Nonsense. With all the help you two have given me today, I’ll give you free honey for the rest of the year.”

Harris smiled.

“Violet will be happy to hear that.”

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