“Paige?” I ask, inching forward.
Her eyes move up to meet mine. I see fear in there, pure and unvarnished.
Then she drops the arrangement.
The vase shatters at her feet, water and flowers splashing out in every direction. I don’t know how I get to her side so fast, but suddenly, she’s in my arms before she can collapse to the ground. Her face is turning colors before my eyes. Purple, red, blue, then white as a ghost.
“Paige,” I keep repeating, running my hands over her suddenly mottled skin. “Paige. Paige. Paige!”
She shakes her head frantically. “I… I… can’t… b-b-breathe…”
“Rada!” I roar. “Call an ambulance!”
Rada’s running footsteps fade away as I cling to Paige. I try to hold her upright, but she wilts in my hands. When she goes slack and unconscious, I pick her up and carry her
