Page 6 of Red Zone Realizations
Staring back at me, pain etched on her face, is Audrey.
And she has her hands over her nose. She looks up at me and my heart sinks in my chest. Her beautiful brown eyes are wide with shock, and I feel like the world’s biggest asshole.
“Oh my God! I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” I put my hands on her shoulders in an attempt to steady her. I realize this is kind of intimate for two people who simply exist around each other, but never speak. I’m afraid she’s going to cry or hit me back. “I was in a rush, and I wasn’t paying attention!”
“It’s not that bad.” She touches gingerly around her nose. “It doesn’t feel broken.”
“You should still go to urgent care and have them look at it. I could take you if you need a ride?”
“I’m good,” she says but her eyes are watering. She takes her hand away from her face for a second and small drops of blood splatter on her palms. “But there is one teensy problem.”
I’m hovering. I’m totally hovering, but I can’t help it. My body is coiled with tension and ready to jump into action for whatever she needs. Anything to assuage this guilt building in my chest. “What?” My eyes are solely focused on her. I notice her gaze is a little hazy, like she can’t fully see me standing in front of her. I put my hands under her elbows for support.
“Blood makes me pass out.” And then she’s gone.
Unconscious.
I knocked her out.
Well,Ididn’t. The blood did. But I caused the blood! This normally poised woman is in a heap in my arms, and I hover, knees bent, above the floor. Bearing her weight, I move my legs out from under me and sit on my butt. I do my best not to jostle her, fearing I’ll make things worse. Her head is in my lap, and though everyone is buzzing around me, I can’t help but take in the delicate details of her face. Tousled brown hair, still damp with sweat. The gentle slope of her nose. Even the bow of her upper lip isn’t sharp. It’s delicate. And looking at it this close, like a true creep, I wonder how it tastes. A little line of blood trickles out of her nose.
“I need a napkin or a tissue,” I call to anyone who is listening. I don’t mean to bark orders but there’s an unconscious woman in my arms. A yoga teacher rushes over with a tissue and a pamphlet that details all the different ways to purchase classes and fans her with it.
I wait one second.
Two.
Three.
Finally, her eyes flutter.
I breathe a sigh of relief. I had no idea I was literally frozen in place waiting for her to come back. To look up at me with her brown eyes, which are the softest color rather than rich like chocolate. “Audrey, can you hear me?” Something likemmmurrmmmcomes out of her mouth. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
I hold the tissues to her face. Thankfully, the blood has already stopped.
“We’re going to sit you on the bench,” I tell her as I place my other hand under her knees and lift her into my arms. She’s so light even though she’s leaning her full weight into me. Curling up against me like she can’t help curving into mychest. When she’s safely deposited on the bench and has a cup of cool water in her hands to sip on, I slide in next to her. Her delicate pink lips touch the cup as she tips a little sip of water into her mouth. “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I did that. I was in a rush. I wasn’t looking where I was going.”
“I’m fine,” she says, but her laugh is breathless, and she squeezes her eyes shut as another wave of dizziness hits her. I move to kneel in front of her, worried she’ll go out again and tumble forward.
“Let me make it up to you. Please. Anything you want. Coffee? Do you drink coffee? Of course you do, everyone does.” I pause and think. “Is this worth more than coffee? Dinner?” I’m frantically trying to come up with a fair way to make this up to her. If she doesn’t accept me—I mean my apology—I’ll be condemned to live with this horrible feeling for the rest of my life.
“It’s really not necessary. That could have been anyone.” But it happened to her.
“You’ll make me feel so much better if you let me do this for you. Really, you’d be helping me.”
She looks around us; there’s at least five people standing in a tight circle seeing what all the commotion is about. She looks back at me, this time her eyes are guarded again. “I promise, it’s okay.”
My brain is mush and I’m scrambling for something—anything to make this better. “Please just take my number. If you do go to the doctor, send me the bill. I want to pay for it. It’s all my fault.”
“You really don’t have to?—”
“Please,” I beg. And she must read something on my face that says I’m sincere because she holds her phone out to me and I quickly put my number in and save it. She looks at thenew contact and then looks back at me like she’s trying to match the name to the face. I realize that while I’ve been flirting with her from afar, we’ve never been formally introduced. I hold my hand out for her to shake. “Noah Fox.”
A shy smile splits her lips even though she does her best to tame it, but she takes my hand anyway. Her palm is a little sweaty, but I would never hold it against her. “Audrey Dupree. Nice to finally meet you.”
Chapter Five
AUDREY
