The nurse smiles at both of us, visibly curious. “He gets faint around needles. Basically the doctor in general.”
“Ohhhh. Oh, you poor thing. Well, I promise you it will be very quick, as quick as I can make it,” the nurse says, trying to reassure her.
“Yeah, I don’t think that’s going to matter much,” I say, starting to feel my heartbeat in my ears.
I lose a piece of time, because suddenly I’m sitting in one of the bigger waiting room chairs, my arms out to the side, elbows resting on the armrests.
I can’t breathe properly. My mouth is open, but it’s like I can’t pull in enough air.
“Lincoln, look at me. Do you want to do the countdown?” Gabby says, pulling me out of my fear.
“No—just…I… hold on, I need to get out for a second.”
“It’s okay, we’re just going to—” the nurse starts to say, but panic slams into me like a truck.
“NO STOP GET—I NEED TO GET UP! PLEASE JUST WAIT! WAIT!”
I stand up abruptly, making the nurse jump to her feet as well.
“Just give him a minute,” I hear Gabby say.
The nurse asks her if I always get like this.
“I promise he’s not violent. He’s just scared,” Gabby says, her voice the only thing keeping me from going off the deep end.
I find myself in the hall, walking toward the waiting room, ready to leave, when I feel someone gently pull my arm back.
“You made me come with you today to do this, so you’re not going to bail,” Gabby orders.
“I don’t even know how I got out here.”
“You walked,” Gabby says, the people in the waiting room staring at both of us. “Come on.”
She pulls me back in. My heart is beating out of my chest. It takes me a whole ten minutes to settle into the chair again. It’s like my body is fighting me.
“Oh God, I’m sorry,” I tell the nurse, a tear escaping my eye. “You must think I’m such a bitch,” I say with a fear-filled chuckle, my lungs on fire with how hard I’m breathing.
The nurse smiles at me kindly. “Oh sweetheart, you’d besurprisedhowmanygrown men faint or panic during blood draws. It’s more common than you think, I promise.”
She starts to take out the needle packet.
Gabby holds my hand tighter. “Link, it’s okay, everyth—”
-??-
Chapter 45
Gabrielle's POV
Lincoln’s head moves. Even though I’ve seen it happen to him many times, it’s still weird to see someone just lose consciousness like that. One minute he’s awake, and then the next his head just falls forward, lifeless, as his brain and nervous system shut down.
I hate seeing him like that because… then my mind always goes… what if he died.
“Welcome back,” the nurse says cheerily as Lincoln lifts his head, looking at both of us confused.
Lincoln had explained to me a long time ago that it literally feels as though he blinks one moment and wakes up somewhere else the next.
“Did I pass out?” he asks tiredly, probably relieved it’s all over.
