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She wasn’t even that sad! Why was it suddenly so hard to breathe?
"Ellie?" Lily's voice was filled with panic. Ellie blinked, her vision swimming. Her heart was racing.
"What the—" Lily’s eyes widened. She glanced frantically at the dishes on the table. "Did you eat something with nuts in it?!"
Ellie couldn’t even open her eyes anymore.
Lily jumped to her feet, running to grab the first aid kit. "I might have something for you. Wait, just hold on," she said, her voice tense, her face filled with alarm. Ellie’s eyes were watering, and she couldn’t speak. Her tongue had swollen, and her breathing had become shallow.
"Got it!" Lily cried, grabbing an epipen and rushing to Ellie’s side. She injected it into Ellie’s thigh as quickly as she could.
Minutes later, Ellie’s breathing started to steady, and the allergic reaction began to subside. The panic in the room eased as Ellie calmed, her eyes no longer swelling with tears.
Lily collapsed on the floor beside her, breathing heavily, clutching her chest. "It’s been three years!" she yelled, her voice trembling with disbelief. "Three damn years, Ellie! And your boyfriend doesn’t even know that you’re deathly allergic to nuts? Is he out of his goddamn mind?"
Ellie couldn’t answer. She lay on the floor, her eyes filled with tears. But this time, the pain wasn’t from the allergic reaction—it was something deeper, something that clenched her chest, sharper and heavier than any allergy could be. And it hurt far more than she wanted it to.
***
After Lily left for her hospital shift last night, Ellie slept like the dead. By the next day, now that she was feeling much better, she pulled out her suitcase and threw it open to grab a dress to wear. Just as she yanked the dress from the bag, a loud banging on the door made her jump.
"Ellie Madden! Come out of this house right now!" A familiar voice echoed through the apartment.
“SNS?” Ellie panicked at once. "What the hell is he doing here?!”
Instead of answering the door, Ellie bolted toward the bedroom, diving under the covers to hide. The banging stopped after a few minutes.
"Is he gone already?" Ellie whispered to herself, peeking out from under the covers.
Another bang on the door made her jolt, her heart racing. She pulled the covers tighter around her, but the next moment, Sawyer stormed through the door with a dark look on his face. He didn’t stop there. He marched right in, as if he owned the place, and headed straight for the bedroom.
Behind him was the landlord, holding a set of keys in his hands. Just as Sawyer was about to enter the bedroom, he suddenly halted and turned around, realizing the landlord was still following him.
With a sharp lift of his brow, he eyed the landlord.
"Mr. Stark, the money?" The landlord gave an awkward, sheepish smile. "I opened the door for you."
"Right," he muttered, pulling out a card and handing it to the old man. The landlord grinned, taking the card, but just as he grabbed it, Sawyer didn’t let go.
The old man looked up at Sawyer in surprise.
"This card has ten thousand dollars," Sawyer said coldly, stepping closer to him. "And ten thousand more." He paused, his voice darkening. "The extra ten thousand is for you to never do this again—never open this door for any man in exchange for money. You get it?"
The old man blinked, confusion flickering in his eyes. But then, seeing the look on Sawyer’s face, he nodded, the fear creeping into his expression.
He tried to take the card again, but Sawyer held on tighter, bending down to make sure the landlord was looking straight into his dark, menacing eyes.
"If I hear you’ve done this for anyone else, if you’ve opened the door behind that girl’s back..." Sawyer’s voice was dangerously low, "I’ll send you to live with men triple your size in jail for the rest of your life. Understand?"
The landlord scrambled back, eyes wide with fear. He nodded frantically, no longer daring to hold on to the card. "I get it. I get it," he stammered.
Satisfied, Sawyer nodded, finally letting go of the card. He tossed it at the man, who caught it just before it fell to the floor. Without another word, the landlord rushed out of the house, the door slamming behind him.
Sawyer finally turned and entered Ellie’s room.
Ellie clutched the covers tighter, pulling them up over her head in an attempt to hide.
A large, loudthudechoed through the room, followed by a swift tug that yanked the covers off her face.