Page 16 of My Heart Before You

Without warning, a man in a grey hoodie pushed past her and grabbed for her purse. She clutched at the long strap as it slid from her shoulder, stopping the mugger from taking off with it. Pushing hard against the ground, Colin closed in on the two of them as the man yanked, lurching her forward.

He was practically upon them, yelling, “Let go of her!” when she swung her right arm around and blasted the mugger’s face with pepper spray. His momentum collided with the attacker at the exact moment she pushed the trigger. Immediate and intense pain blunted his senses as he and the man hit the ground. He grappled blindly to grab and hold the man’s leg, but the mugger broke free and took off sprinting.

He pushed himself up quickly and coughed, doubling over by the unexpected agony of his face on fire. His eyes burned incessantly, and the sensation crept into his nose and mouth the more he gasped for breath. Grabbing the edge of his shirt, he wiped futilely at his eyes and face. Soft muttering that ended in the word “strong” entered his ears before he felt Emilie at his side.

“Oh my god, Dr. Abernan!”

The muscles of his eyes forced them shut, so he could only hear her, not see her. Two hands landed on his shoulders before their cool touch moved to the sides of his face.

“Open your eyes.”

He wished he could obey her command, but it was impossible.

“I can’t,” he groaned.

“I’ve got a water bottle. I’m going to try and flush your eyes.”

Colin felt the pressure of the water splash over his eyelids before it ran down his face to wet his shirt. The expected relief from the inferno he was experiencing did not come. In fact, the water made the pain so much worse. Now, he felt burning and a severe pinprick sensation like he was being stabbed by a million hypodermic needles. A soft cloth smelling faintly of honeysuckle hastily swabbed his face before it was pressed over his eye sockets.

“It’s my scarf.”

Grunting against the blaze, he pushed the scarf away from his face and found his voice. “Rubbing makes it worse.”

Her hand was on his shoulder again. “I live four blocks from here. Can you walk?”

He managed to nod and felt her take him by the elbow, pulling him to walk beside her.

“I am so sorry, Dr. Abernan. I didn’t see you until it was too late. I was just trying to get that guy to let go of me.” Her words raced out.

His voice was starting to strain as tears continually streamed from his eyes and snot ran from his nose. “I know.”

After what felt like the longest four blocks of his life, she helped him through a door and put his hand on what he realized was a stair handrail.

“I’m on the third floor.” She sounded apologetic.

They climbed the stairs together, and she helped him through another door before settling him on a plush sofa chair. An attempt to open his eyes revealed a blurry room with a brightly illuminated yellow blob in front of him and what might be a kitchen to his right. Groaning, he rested his elbows on his knees and tentatively touched his head.

The inferno that was his face was improving at least a little. All the tears and mucus he expelled onto the street while walking had helped flush out the mace. A waft of honeysuckle and a shadow drifted in front of his closed eyelids before laying a hand towel over his left knee.

“I know you don’t want to rub your face, but in case you’d like it later.” She paused. “Can I make you a cup of coffee or something? Tea?”

Unease flooded into her voice. His decreased sight seemed to amplify his hearing—the shouts of small children in the street below, the rustling of dry leaves, and her quiet breathing dominated his experience.

With his pain regressing, his brain began functioning again, and he realized that he was sitting in a colleague's house, rudely dripping body fluids over her furniture in his sweaty running clothes. He made another attempt at vision, blinking at the figure in front of him. Her fuzzy silhouette was backlit from the window, giving her a rectangular-shaped yellow halo.

He closed his eyes as he sighed through his nose. “I apologize for the inconvenience, but since I still can’t see, I assume I’ll be here a while. Coffee, black, would be great.”

There was a pause, and for a moment all he heard was silence.

“Are you apologizing to me after I maced you?”

The tone and rhythm of her voice changed. Even with his eyes sealed shut, he knew she’d spoken through a smile.

Before he could answer, a restrained chortle softly broke into a small pearl of giggles before quickly dissolving into completely uninhibited bright laughter. The sound of her transition from the smallest to largest laugh was delightful to his ear. It was a melodious roller coaster that was completely infectious, and he found himself laughing so hard his abs contracted tightly, and his eyes watered profusely again.

She tried to collect herself and attempted to speak only to have incoherent, high-pitched staccato syllables escape her mouth. This lack of speech only intensified her tumble back into hilarity and made him laugh so forcefully, he shook as no sound escaped him. After a long while, they eventually calmed down, both threatening to start again with spilled giggles and audible sighs.

He wiped his face with the soft hand towel, finding it no longer as painful to do so. “I haven’t laughed like that in a long time.”

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