Page 61 of Shut Up and Bite Me

“I’ve got him, don’t worry,” Ava assures me before gently sliding Greyson out from beneath my head and picking him up. “Autumn, where should I take him?”

Autumn rushes over to my side, a look of determination on her face. “Take him upstairs. He needs to rest. I’ll check on him in a minute.”

As Greyson is carried away from me, the sound of his whisper roars into my ears, bringing me back to life just enough to hold on. “Vivian.”

I want to tell him,I’m right here and it’s okay. But I know my body isn’t functioning right. I need to take this one step at a time. Taking a deep breath, I steady my racing heart, just trying to survive.

They will take care of him. He’ll be okay now.

Ava rushes over, crouching down beside Autumn.

Autumn takes charge, her voice commanding but strained. “We need to flip her over. Get her mouth open.”

My body is limp and lifeless as they roll me over and part my lips. My mind feels fuzzy, and I feel light, like I’m floating in the air.

A disgusting metallic liquid hits my tongue as she tips the vial into my mouth. Mustering all of the energy I have left, I swallow the antidote. Let’s just hope there’s still time.

Autumn’s heavy breathing fills my ears as she wraps her arms around me and squeezes me tight. “It has to work, Vivian. It has to.” She rocks me back and forth, rubbing my back before pulling away.

“What do we do now?” Ava asks, panic still shaking her voice.

“Take her up to her bed. All we can do is wait and hope that we got it to her in time.” Autumn wipes the tears from her cheeks as Ava scoops me into her arms.

The ceiling above me blurs for seconds as Ava hyper-speeds me to my bedroom, carefully laying me down on the bed.

Pressure digs into my chest, and I quickly realize it’s Lucy. She nestles her head into the crook of my neck.My sweet girl.

Autumn rushes into the room, not stopping until she reaches my side and grabs my hand. “Greyson and Ethan are resting in separate rooms. They’ll be just fine, Vivian. You did it. You saved them.”

Her words become soft and muffled, and I wonder why she’s covering her mouth or why I can’t see her face as silence trickles into my ears, her voice cutting in and out.

Why can’t I hear her? Why can’t I see anything, for that matter?

My thoughts are beginning to scramble, and everything around me falls eerily quiet as my mind falls victim to the venom.

My eyes fly open, and I gasp for air.

Where’s Greyson?

“Woah, take a breath.” Ava’s sweet voice calms me as her hands pin me to the bed. “You’re okay.”

Sitting up, I clear my throat. “Where’s Greyson?”

“He’s in the other room. He hasn’t woken up yet, but he’s doing just fine. Autumn gave him a mild sedative to keep him calm and a few healing potions to help. He’s a bit dinged up from fighting with Victor. But he’ll wake up soon. For now, you need to rest.”

My chest heaves as I suck in lungfuls of air, my heart thumping in my ears.Why is everything so loud right now?

Her shoe drags across the floor, and I can hear a tiny pebble stuck beneath her shoe, sounding like nails on a chalkboard.

“Take a deep breath,” Ava instructs me, and I listen.

Flattening my palms on my thighs, I close my eyes and take a slow and steady breath, holding it for a few seconds before gradually exhaling.

Images of what happened flash in my mind. Victor biting Greyson. Me breaking Victor’s jaw. Ugh, the gory image churns my stomach. But I would do it again, hell I just might when I see him.

I can’t believe all of that happened. I don’t know what came over me; I just know I wanted to inflict the most pain on him.

“There you go,” Ava says softly as the memory of everything floods my brain.

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