Page 36 of Forget Me Not
I stop, the wordsisterhanging limp from my lips, and I can’t believe I almost said that out loud. Like Natalie actually had a choice in the matter; like her life wasn’t cut short in the very place it began.
Liam is quiet, eyebrows lifting as he waits for me to continue.
“My dad,” I say, averting my eyes. “My point is, there’s no shame in staying put if you’re happy. The small-town life just wasn’t for me.”
We go back to picking, a heavy silence between us that feels awkward and strained.
“What were you doing before you started at Galloway?” I ask,trying to revive the conversation. Then I take a few steps forward, searching his expression for any lingering offense. “Did you always know you wanted to—”
My brain stops mid-thought as a scream erupts from my throat, the sudden sensation searing through my body leaving me blinded by white-hot pain.
“Fuck!”I yell, watching as Liam whips around fast, big, blue eyes stretched wide in surprise. Then I look down just in time to catch a glimpse of a golden-brown body slithering into the brush, the flick of a tail before it melts into the shade. “I think—I think I just—”
“That looked like a copperhead,” he interrupts, unstrapping his bucket as he makes his way toward me. I remember, too late, what he warned me of earlier—all the creatures that like to hide from the sun—and I glance down at my ankle, to the place I just felt a sharp bite as two pinprick punctures start to seep blood.
“It’s okay,” he says. “Just try to relax.”
“Relax?”I ask, the skin on my leg already starting to burn. “How am I supposed to relax? I just got bit by asnake.”
“Because the faster your heart beats, the faster the venom will spread.”
I drop down to the dirt, extending my leg straight out in front as I will my body to somehow stay calm.
“That was a little one,” he says, kneeling by my side as he inspects the wound. “Plus, copperhead bites are rarely fatal.”
“Very reassuring,” I say, wincing as he grabs my leg in his hands.
“Thought I heard a scream.”
We twist to the side, to the sound of a new voice cutting through the quiet, and I watch as Mitchell makes his way over before coming to a stop just above.
“Snakebite,” he adds, hands on his hips as he assesses the scene.
“I should probably get to a hospital,” I say, looking back at my ankle as the skin starts to swell. “Is there even one on the island?”
“It’s about an hour away, but that won’t be necessary,” Mitchell says as he cranes his neck. “We’ve got everything we need right here.”
I turn toward him, not sure if he’s kidding.
“Of course, I’d be happy to take you, but antivenom is expensive. You have insurance?”
My heart sinks as I think about how I lost my coverage right after I quit. How I kept telling myself I’d get it soon, later. Maybe once I sold a few stories. My lack of a paycheck making it impossible to stomach the monthly cost.
“No,” I say at last. “I don’t.”
“Uninsured, you’re looking at ten grand a vial. Minimum. Plus, they’ll make you stay overnight, maybe multiple nights. That, and lab work. Pain medication.”
I close my eyes and tip my head back, feeling the familiar panic flare up.
“Or I can treat you right here, for free.”
I open them again, the searing heat starting to sneak up my leg as I stare at this stranger standing before me, my mind winding around all the unusual things that I’ve learned as I try to decide if I should trust him.
As I wonder if I even have a choice.
CHAPTER 24
I’m in the main house ten minutes later, my body collapsed onto a chair in the living room and my leg propped up on an old stool. Liam is dabbing at the wound with warm, soapy water, my teeth clenched tight as I stomach the pain.
