Page 29 of Thorns and Ashes
Airway.
Breathing.
Circulation.
Quickly, I run through the information in front of me. He’s conscious, but his breaths are coming in too rapidly with a wheezing sound. He’s not choking on anything.
“His pulse is thready,” Mark adds to my list.
Maria runs back into the cafe and clears the crowd of people around us. “Please, everyone, return to your seats.”
“His lips are swelling.” The answer hits me. “He’s in anaphylactic shock!”
“Uncle Levi, he’s got a Peanut Allergy!” Violet shouts, her little voice shaking.
“I need an Epi-Pen!” I yell out to everyone listening.
“Take mine.” Billy hands me his Epi-Pen, and I quickly administer it.
Slowly, the little boy’s breathing returns to normal as the swelling goes down.
“Move, move. Get out of my way!” A woman’s voice shouts over the chaos.
“Mommy!” Violet runs to Ali, her mother, and Tom’s sister.
“Levi, what happened? Shane, sweetie, are you alright?” Ali is holding her three-month-old son, Heath, in her arms, and her twin girls, Lily and Iris, follow closely behind her. “We were only gone for a few minutes.”
“He’s alright, Ali. He had an allergic reaction,” I tell her as calmly as I can.
Shane slowly stands up, and we help him to his chair. Ali offers him soft, comforting words as she smooths over the boy’s hair.
“I don’t understand how this happened. I made sure the pastry I bought him didn’t have any nuts.” She glances at the table and back to Shane, but does a double-take. “Wait.” She picks up the pastry from her table and holds it up. “I didn’t order him this.”
Oh hell. I glance at Tris, and she must realize it too because her eyes are wide and, to my surprise, watery.
It’s the pastry she gave the little boy.
“I saw him take a free sample earlier,” I catch myself saying. “It must have been when you were in the bathroom with the kids. It’s no one’s fault.” My gaze moves subtly between her and Tris. “He’ll be fine, but I’m gonna have Billy here call an ambulance so he can get checked out at the hospital.”
Billy pulls out his phone and makes the call.
“Thank you, Levi.” Ali takes in a shuddering breath and pulls out her phone. “I’ll let his mom know so she can meet us there.”
As the crowd settles back into their seats, I somehow find myself standing next to a shaken Tris.
“It wasn’t your fault,” I say gently, only for her to hear.
Her breath stutters on an inhale. “I gave him the pastry.”
“I know,” I explain.
She quirks her head to the side, frowning, a question in her glassy blue eyes.
“I saw you.”
Her shoulders drop, like she’s too tired to pretend she’s alright, and something about her, like this, the glimpse of the woman who hides behind the walls of ice, has an invisible hand pressing down on my chest.
“You were just trying to be nice.” My lips purse, and one corner ticks up, a grim chuckle slipping out at exactly the wrong time.
