Page 15 of You Belong With Me

“There she is,” Gabriel says with a smile, pulling me against him. “My guardian angel.” He looks back up at the crowd of people. “The memory of her is what brought me back. It’s why I’m here.”

And if this situation couldn’t get more uncomfortable, everyone startsclapping. Like I’ve just won an Emmy or something.

With another laugh, I mumble something, my gaze searching for Lucas again. He’s watching the scene blankly—no emotion at all on that beautiful face, and I have no idea what to make of that. He almost seems angry. But angry atwhat?Me? All I did was tell him the truth.

Gabriel has his arm around me, and he squeezes. “Isn’t that right, babe?”

I blink and shake my head. “I’m uh, sorry. I wasn’t really listening. What was the question?”

Everyone laughs, then someone says, “She’s dazed. It’s a lot to take in.”

Yeah, no joke.

“Someone asked ‘what’s next’ and I said the first order of business is for you and me to get re-acquainted,” he says.

My stomach drops when he says that.

“Oh, right. Yeah.” But as the words leave my lips, my chest starts tightening, and I feel like I can’t breathe. I glance up at the faces surrounding me, but they’re blurred. I blink several times, but that only seems to make it worse.

With panic rising in my chest, I step away from Gabriel, thinking the distance will make it easier to breathe. It doesn’t, and now my heart is beating so fast, I start panicking even more.

“Wyn, you okay?” Gabriel asks, reaching for me.

I hold my hand up and frantically glance around for a quick exit or a bathroom or something, but it’s too late. I take one step, and I know what’s coming because it’s happened before. I falter, and the last thing I remember is the white tile floor rushing toward my face.

Then everything goes black…

CHAPTER SEVEN

Lucas

“Fuck!”I see Wyn’s eyes roll back a second before Wyn faints, but by the time I react, it’s already too late, and she’s on the ground.

I shove through the group of people, who aren’t doing shit. They just look at Wyn, and then at each other like fucking idiots—no one brave enough to jump in and help her.

Thankfully, the impact was softened when Gabriel reached out on reflex as she started to fall. Even Gabriel is looking down at her,like what the fuck just happened?

I kneel next to her, moving her slightly to try and wake her up.Fuck. With everything that’s happened, she probably hasn’t been eating well enough, and her blood sugar is probably low. I blame myself for that. She’s my consort, and at the end of the day, I’m responsible for her. I should have made sure she was eating properly.

Her eyes are closed, her brows pinched together as she moves her head slightly to the side. A wave of relief washes over me, and I glance up at Ms. Martelle. “Do you have juice, or candy or anything?”

She looks flustered. “I have some soda in the fridge.”

I nod and make a motion for her to bring it to me. While I’m waiting, I smooth the hair out of Wyn’s face, my fingertip brushing over her flushed cheek.

Ms. Martelle shoves a can of cold lemon-lime soda in my face. Popping it open, I help Wyn up, so she can take a sip, but she shakes her head, and tries to push the can away.

“Drink,” I command. I don’t give a fuck who is listening, she’s not going to push me away. Not now.

With a scowl, she does as instructed, taking a big gulp before pushing the can away again. “I’m fine,” she says, struggling to get up. I help her back onto her feet while everyone else watches silently. “It’s been a crazy day,” she says with an embarrassed laugh.

“You poor thing,” Ms. Martelle says without a hint of emotion in her voice.

I still have my hand on the small of her back. Afraid she’s going to topple over gain. “I’m taking you home.”

She shakes her head. “I’m okay.”

“That wasn’t a question, Wyn.”

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