Listed: Volume IV Read Free Page B

wasn’t
the best time anyway.
    They
went back into the house, and the heat inside swallowed Emily up. She really
wanted to go home. Now that the emotion was resolved, she felt shaky and
totally drained. It would be rude to leave the party early, though, since the Masons’
had planned it just for her.
    She
told Paul she needed to go to the bathroom, and while she was there she
splashed some water onto her face to cool down and revive herself. They only
needed to stay another hour, and then they could go home.
    When
she returned to the living room, she saw first thing that Paul was talking to Mrs.
Mason across the room. He was smiling, and it seemed to be sincerely, and Emily
was glad to see it.
    Laura
came over to ask if she was all right. She thought maybe Emily had been upset
by what she’d said earlier.
    Emily
had absolutely no energy for such a conversation. She tried to assure Laura she
was fine, but she was having trouble putting together an articulate sentence of
more than a few words.
    She
couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her. Maybe the emotion had taken more
out of her than she’d realized. Maybe she was just tired from a long day. Maybe
it was just too hot in the room. She felt flushed, she was sweating a little,
and she felt like she was swaying on her feet.
    Laura
was expecting her to respond to something she'd said, but Emily couldn’t even
remember what had been said.
    She
took a few deep breaths and suddenly realized she needed to sit down. Her knees
felt like they were going to buckle. Her vision blurred over and then darkened.
She swayed forward. Would have fallen had strong arms not caught her around the
waist.
    Emily
leaned against Paul, who must have pushed people out of the way to get to her
so quickly. He put a hand on her forehead, then on her cheek, then back on her
forehead. “Oh baby,” he murmured. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
    She
blinked up at him blankly, having no idea what he was talking about. “Is
something wrong with me?” she asked, wondering why she couldn’t seem to stand
up without Paul’s support.
    “You’ll
be all right.” Paul turned to Mrs. Mason, who must have followed him across the
room. “We need to get home.”
    Mrs.
Mason nodded, her eyes full of sympathy and understanding. "She can lie
down here if she needs to."
    But
Emily tried to pull away. “We can’t leave. The party’s not over yet.”
    “You
have a fever. I don't know how it spiked so quickly.” Paul stroked her hair
back from her face. His other arm was still around her waist. “Thanks for
offer," he said to Mrs. Mason. "But I need to get her home.”
    “Oh,
no,” Emily mumbled, realizing that feverish was exactly how she was feeling. A
surge of dread and disappointment overwhelmed her.
    She
really didn’t want to have another fever. She’d been hoping to have sex with
Paul again when they got home, but obviously that wasn’t going to happen now.
    Now
everyone at the party was looking at her like she was a freak, like she was an
object of pity, like she was on death’s door.
    All
of which might be true.
    She
knew she said goodbye to people and thanked the Masons’ for their hospitality,
but she couldn’t really remember any of the conversations.
    Then
they were walking to the waiting car—or Paul was walking and Emily was
stumbling along, leaning on him.
    They
must have gotten home, but Emily had no memory of it.
    ***
    Emily’s body ached, and
she felt like she was trying to break through a thick fog of heat and pain as
she fought to open her eyes.
    Before
she could do so, she felt something cool and wet stroke her face. “Paul,” she
breathed weakly. She wasn’t anywhere close to thinking coherently, but she
somehow associated the sensation of relief with that name.
    She
managed to force her eyes open, fuzzily expecting to see a handsome, familiar
face and deep gray eyes.
    Instead,
she saw a woman with a plain, square face and brown hair pulled back in a
single braid.