Page 62 of Whispers and Wildfire
I put the shop towel down. “Hey, Mel.”
She didn’t answer. Too much noise.
I walked across the garage to see what she was trying to find. She moved farther down the wall of shelves and popped up on her toes again.
“Mel.”
When she didn’t turn, I reached out to tap her on the shoulder. “Do you nee—”
As soon as my hand touched her, and before I could finish the word, she whirled around, eyes wild with terror, and punched me right in the nose.
Pain made me stagger back, and my eyes immediately started to water. I covered my nose with my hand.
“What the fuck?”
Her eyes widened, and she clapped a hand over her mouth.
I lowered my hand to see if my nose was bleeding. It wasn’t, but I had to keep blinking to get my eyes to stop watering.
“I’m so sorry,” she said.
Gingerly, I touched the bridge of my nose. “Holy shit, Mel. What the fuck did you do that for?”
“You scared me.”
“I tapped you on the shoulder. I don’t think that warrants a fist to the face.”
“I didn’t mean to. I didn’t even know you were there. You can’t hear a thing in here.”
Pain throbbed, radiating across my cheekbones. “I wasn’t trying to scare you.”
“But you did. Warn a girl before you touch her from behind.”
I was about to snap at her, but the look in her eyes stopped me. There was still a wildness in her expression. And it wasn’t anger. It was fear.
She looked terrified.
“Hey.” I tried to soften my voice, although it was difficult with all the noise. “Are you okay?”
“Um, Luke?”
“What?”
She pointed at my face. “You’re bleeding.”
I felt the warm drip and cupped my hand under my nose to catch it as I ran for the bathroom. Melanie followed me in.
I unrolled a handful of toilet paper and tried to mop up the mess before I got blood on my shirt.
“Are you all right?” she asked. “Do you need more toilet paper?”
“I got it.” I leaned over the sink and pinched the bridge of my nose, hoping to make it stop faster. “And no, I’m not all right. You punched me in the face.”
“I’m sorry. You startled me.”
“Most people get startled and gasp or scream or something. They don’t turn around throwing punches.”
“Well… I’m not most people.”
