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I couldn’t speak, just let her lead me through the store and out onto the sidewalk, her free hand fishing her phone out of her pocket. She held her phone to her ear as she opened the passenger door of a sleek, black car for me, and ushered me inside.

“Marina, have Kelly meet me at the hospital,” she said, her voice even but firm. “And call Joe and Vanessa; tell them I’m taking Frankie to the ER.”

She shut the door and ran around to the driver’s side, getting in and hitting the ignition in one fluid motion.

My hands trembled on the seat belt and she noticed.

“Here,” she said gently, reaching over to click the belt in place.

Without another word, she sped out into traffic, weaving in and out with a practiced ease I would have been impressed by. If I could breathe.

The edges of my vision turned dark and I blindly threw a hand out toward her, the panic seizing my lungs.

“I’m here,” she said, grabbing my hand and squeezing gently. “We’re almost there, I promise. I want you to squeeze my hand if you’re about pass out; I don’t want you getting hurt on the dashboard.”

I nodded, trying to count the tiny, forced breaths scraping in and out of my throat.

Hayden swore as she turned a corner and hit traffic, but the darkness spread across my vision and I squeezed her hand as hard as I could. The last thing I remembered was Hayden’s arm bracing me against the seat to keep me from falling head first into the dash board.

Bright white fluorescent bulbs glared down at me the moment I opened my eyes. I hissed at the burn, trying to shield my eyes but finding an IV strapped to my arm.

Oh. Right.

I passed out in Hayden’s car.

I glanced around, looking for any sign of her and found nothing.Maybe she had urgent work to get back to, I mused. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she had. I was sure her assistant hadn’t blocked out time to take me to the ER. As gently as I could, I shifted my body into a sitting position, and nausea roiled in my gut.

Just then, Hayden’s voice filtered into the room and I perked up, straining my ears to hear more.

“Thanks, Doctor,” she said. “I’ll take her home and keep an eye on her.”

My cheeks heated and my heart sped up because surely,surelyHayden wouldn’t actually keep an eye on me.

Right?

The door opened and she walked in, her mouth pulled into a tight line that softened when she saw me.

“You’re up,” she said, crossing the distance to my bed. “How do you feel?”

“Disgusting,” I admitted. Her frown deepened and she looked as though she was about to call the doctor so I quickly added, “But that’s completely normal! The medication usually makes me feel nauseous for a while after.”

She narrowed her eyes at me but let it go.

“The doctor is going to come and check on you before he discharges you,” she explained, even though I knew the process by heart. Part of me loved that she was still there, that she hadn’t just called Vanessa to come and take care of me.

“I should be okay to go,” I told her. “I just need to be unplugged.”

“Unplugged,” she breathed, huffing a quiet laugh.

I lifted my arms in answer, showing her the drips stuck in both of them.

“Can’t go anywhere when I’m hooked up to half a pharmacy,” I pointed out.

“I’m so relieved that you’ve got your sense of humor back.” Hayden sighed. “I can’t say that walking in and seeing your lips turn blue first thing in the morning was laugh-worthy.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said, sobering up immediately. “It was a stupid mistake and I’m so lucky you came in when you did. Thank you.”

Hayden folded her arms across her chest. “What was a stupid mistake?”