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Finally relenting, she allowed Theon to slip an arm around her waist, the bond immediately calming down in his chest and resuming its contented hum. She walked slowly, gingerly placing her feet down while she went. He couldn’t help but think that the sneakers he had for her would be more comfortable than fucking flip-flops, but he bit his tongue, not wanting to drive her away from him again.
They didn’t say anything as they walked beneath the obscenely bright lights, but she wouldn’t let him steer her too far from Luka. When Theon couldn’t stand the silence anymore, he asked, “Is it helping? Walking around and stretching your legs?”
“Mhmm,” she hummed, stumbling a bit and causing Theon to tighten his grip on her.
“Careful, beautiful. You don’t want to overdo it. Maybe we should head back to the vehicle.”
“I need to use the restroom.”
Theon sighed internally. Why hadn’t he thought of that? They could have been making their way there. He whistled low at Luka and jerked his chin at the convenience store, and Luka nodded in acknowledgement that he’d meet them inside.
It took a few minutes to make it to the building and then make their way to the restrooms in the back. He opened the door to follow her in, but she pressed a hand to his chest.
“You’re not coming in here,” she said, her eyes saying there was no negotiating on this.
“Tessa, you cannot even stand on your own,” he argued anyway.
“No. Absolutely not. It’s bad enough you changed my clothes while I was unconscious. This is not happening.” She may have been arguing with him, but she sounded utterly exhausted. Smoothing back her hair, the black Mark, his Mark, stood out starkly against her fair skin.
“Five minutes, Tessa,” he finally agreed.
“Turtles move faster than me right now. I’m going to need more time than that,” she sighed.
“Fine. Seven.”
Tessa sighed heavily again, shrugging out of his hold. “Whatever.”
The cord in his chest immediately went taut when the door closed behind her. He tried to keep himself busy, perusing the coolers and shelves of junk food, but still found himself checking his watch every thirty seconds. Luka showed up when she was four minutes into her allotted seven.
“Want one?” he asked, holding out a bag of doughnuts sprinkled with sugar.
“Those aren’t good for you,” Theon replied.
“Legacy,” Luka said mockingly, jabbing a thumb into his chest. “This is not what’s going to kill me.”
He made a valid point. With their extended lifespans and self-healing abilities, Legacy weren’t susceptible to the diseases and ailments that plagued the mortals. The Fae were generally healthy, too, as well as having extended lifespans, but they still fell ill from time to time. He’d make sure Tessa ate well and ate properly to ensure she stayed healthy. He told her he took care of what was his, and he meant it.
The seven minute mark hit, and she didn’t emerge.
Then eight minutes.
Then nine.
At ten minutes, even Luka began looking concerned and agreed they should check on her. Theon didn’t waste a second, knocking once before pushing open the door to the restroom.
“Tessa? I gave you ten minutes,” he called out, immediately looking around for windows, relieved when there were none. He probably should have checked for those first given her earlier disappearing act, but since she could scarcely move, he hadn’t been overly concerned.
The sound of sniffling and soft whimpering came from the last stall in the row, and he followed it. “Tessa?” he called again, pushing on the door. Of course it was locked. “Tessa, are you all right?” When she didn’t answer, he sighed. “Tessa, unlock the door.”
The sound of the latch sliding followed a moment later, and he pushed the stall door open. Tessa was sitting on the closed toilet lid with tears streaming down her face. Her arms were wrapped tightly around herself, and she was doubled over, rocking back and forth.
Theon lowered into a crouch before her, taking her face in his hands. “Tessa, what’s wrong?”
“It hurts,” she whimpered. “Everything hurts.”
“Tessa,” he sighed, pulling her into his arms, but she stiffened against him.
“My skin hurts. My hair hurts. I didn’t know hair could hurt, but mine does. These tight clothes against my skin hurt. It’s why I didn’t want to wear the sneakers. I didn’t want the feel of the socks on my skin. I wasn’t trying to be a pain in the ass,” she sobbed into his shoulder, her entire body tense and rigid against him.
