There was no way Lexi would have made it through the evening without Wavy. And it wasn’t just her who helped out. As the Oak Creek regulars realized Wavy had stepped up, they began helping more too. Kendrick took a couple loads of glasses to the back dishwasher. Zac and Anne bussed tables in between dances. Lexi even caught Gavin emptying the trash at the end of the bar when it got too full.
She didn’t get the chance to say thank you because none of them came close enough for her to talk to them. They didn’t seem to want or expect thanks. It was like this was home, and they were just doing their part. She would’ve been charmed if she hadn’t been so busy putting all her energy into staying upright.
The night spiraled into a bigger and bigger blur until every breath was agonizing. She somehow managed to get the bar closed and locked. She paid Amber half the tips and would’ve paid Wavy too, but she was gone.
Despite the help, there was still a lot that needed to be done to close the bar for the night, but it would have to wait. Lexi recognized the final signs of collapse in her own body. Soon, she would be falling where she stood. She put on her best normal voice and told Amber to go home. They’d deal with the rest of the cleanup tomorrow. Amber agreed and left out the back. The girl was exhausted too.
Lex almost wished for one of the pills her aunt and uncle used to slip her to shock her out of this stage if it had happened at an inconvenient time. The stimulants, usually amphetamines, had been brutal on her body, but there had been no doubt she would stay awake. Now, she wasn’t sure she would make it the two blocks back to her apartment.
She might not even make it out of this bar. She walked as steadily as she could back to the bathroom. She knew from experience that if she gave in to her insomnia coma with anything but a completely empty bladder, she’d wake up with an unpleasant surprise.
She needed to call Mac. Thankfully, they weren’t open for lunch tomorrow, but she didn’t want him shocked at the state of the Eagle’s Nest when he came in for tomorrow night’s shift. She had no idea if she would make it back in time to help. Usually when she crashed, it was for twelve to fifteen hours.
She went to the phone on Mac’s desk, but her eyes wouldn’t focus on the numbers to press. Everything was contracting down to tiny pinpricks in her vision.
Shit. This wasn’t good. She needed to get home right now or she definitely wasn’t going to make it.
She counted her steps as she walked to the back door. That didn’t actually do anything but it gave her something manageable for her brain to focus on and kept her from panicking as the world closed in on her like a coffin. She got outside and managed to get the key into the door to lock it behind her.
Now, all she needed to do was make it a couple of blocks to her apartment.
She counted her steps again. One. Two. Three. Fou— The ground in front of her was barely visible anymore. She couldn’t see or hear anything through the cotton that had filled her head.
She wasn’t going to make it.
She had to make it.
Rescuing her when she finally collapsed had been part of her aunt and uncle’s manipulative games. They weren’t here to manipulate her now, but they also weren’t here to make sure Lexi found her way to a bed when the collapse came. She only had herself.
One. Two— She stumbled on a crack in the pavement, then couldn’t seem to regain her balance. She could feel herself beginning to fall, and there wasn’t anything she could do to stop it. She waited for the pain.
But strong arms caught her, helped her back upright. “Whoa there, Green Eyes. Been sampling some of your own drinks?”
Gavin.
“I—” There was nothing to say even if she could make words come out.
“Lexi? What’s going on?”
“I—I have to get home.” She took a few more steps, praying she was still going in the right direction.
“What’s wrong with you?”
She couldn’t answer, so she focused on walking, leaving him behind. She only got a few steps before she wobbled on her feet again. The ringing in her ears grew louder. She knew what that meant.
“Oh no,” she whispered.
“What?” Gavin was standing right in front of her now.
“Move,” she tried to warn him.
“Lexi, what the hell is going on?”
She vomited all over him. She couldn’t move, couldn’t stop.
She expected him to jump away but instead he moved closer. “Jesus, Lexi, are you sick?”
His arms wrapped around her and helped her to her knees on the pavement while her stomach emptied the rest of its contents. For a long minute afterward, she sat there trying to get in enough oxygen.
“Home.” She pushed the word out with all the remaining strength she had. She only had minutes now before her entire system shut down. “Home.”
Everything spun again, and she thought she was about to keel over, then realized it was Gavin picking her up in his arms. A few moments later, the world shifted again as he put her inside his SUV.
“Home,” she whispered again.
If she could make it to her bed, everything would be all right. She would work everything else out once she woke up.
She counted the seconds as Gavin drove, using every bit of her remaining strength to stay conscious. When he came to an abrupt halt, she almost wept in relief as she recognized her apartment door.
A few more seconds, Lexi. You can do this.
“Goodbye.” She was vaguely aware of how weak and hoarse her voice sounded. But there was nothing she could do about that now. She’d have to make up some excuse to him later.
She reached for the SUV’s door handle, missed, and reached again, sighing in relief as her fingers found the handle and opened the door. She fell out of the vehicle, somehow landed on her feet, and stumbled toward the apartment door.
A few more seconds.
“Oh, hell no. I’m not leaving you like this.” Gavin was right next to her again.
“No.” He needed to leave her alone. She couldn’t get full sentences out. She gritted her teeth against the roaring pain. “Goodbye.”
“I’ll help you get inside.”
“No. I can do—” She didn’t finish the sentence as the world faded to black around her and disappeared.
8
Gavin caught Lexi as she passed out in the middle of telling him she could handle whatever was happening to her.
He had no idea what was going on, but there was no way in hell he was going to leave her here outside on the ground. He grabbed the key from her hand and opened the door, then scooped her up in his arms and carried her right over the fucking threshold.
She’d worked too hard. Exhaustion—that had to be it. Her body had given out, but she’d be coming to any second now.
But she didn’t stir a bit as he carried her up the narrow stairs to the apartment and laid her on the bed.
He’d never been up here. The studio apartment was tiny—the full bed and dresser took up most of the space. There was a small kitchen area with a microwave, miniature fridge, and a single countertop burner. A dining table that could maybe fit two people was pushed up against the window.
Damn it, she should’ve woken up by now, or at least be stirring. Even unconscious, she was pale and her features were pinched, like she was in pain. Maybe she was.