Locked in the Room During an Allergy Attack Because I Couldn’t Speak Chapter 06

Locked in the Room During an Allergy Attack Because I Couldn’t Speak Chapter 06

Slade went back to that bar.

The owner didn’t want to pull the footage at first.

“Mr. Mercer, it was a busy night. It’s over now.”

Slade set his car keys on the counter. His voice was flat and cold.

“Who booked the break room? I can look into that too.”

The owner’s face shifted. He pulled the security footage.

At first, I was just pounding on the door.

Then I was clutching my throat.

Then I slid down against the door.

Slade sat in front of the screen. The color drained from his face, little by little.

Tansy stood outside the door. She was holding a bag of nuts.

She laughed and asked, “Is she at it again?”

On the screen, Slade was silent for a few seconds.

Then he said, “Let her get it out.”

“Once she’s tired, she’ll stop.”

The owner didn’t dare look at him.

Slade rewound that clip. Again and again.

His own voice came through the speakers, over and over.

He reached out and stopped the video.

The screen froze on the moment I collapsed against the door.

The owner spoke quietly. “Mr. Mercer, Miss Tansy knew there were nuts in there. She was standing

right there when the staff moved the snacks. She even took a bag.”

Slade looked up. “What did you say?”

The owner braced himself and pointed at an earlier clip.

On the screen, a staff member pushed a snack cart into the break room.

Tansy stood beside it. She looked down and rummaged through the boxes.

She picked up a bag of nuts and said something with a smile.

Not long after, I was pushed into that room.

Slade stared at the screen. The veins on the back of his hand stood out.

Before leaving the bar, he called a few friends.

Someone hemmed and hawed.

Finally they said, “Tansy kept saying you two were just fighting. Said your girlfriend was being

dramatic.”

“Said she wasn’t really allergic. Just wanted you to ditch the game.”

“So we didn’t take it seriously.”

Slade didn’t yell.

He just stood in the hallway and pulled out a cigarette.

The lighter clicked open. Clicked shut. Open. Shut.

The cigarette never lit.

He sent the footage to Tansy.

She called immediately,

She was sobbing so hard she couldn’t breathe.

“Slade. I didn’t know it would get that bad.”

“I just didn’t want you two to fight.”

Slade’s voice was quiet.

“The Keflex allergy. Why did you jump in and say she wasn’t allergic?”

Silence on the other end.

“I forgot.”

“I was just so panicked in the moment.”

“You said you’d been taking care of her for a long time.”

Tansy’s breath caught.

Slade hung up.

He started digging through old messages. Some friends sent him screenshots.

In the group chat, Tansy had said a lot of things:

[Miss Quiet’s mad again today.]

[She types so slow now. Arguing with her isn’t even annoying anymore.]

[Honestly, it’s kind of nice she can’t talk. Otherwise she’d just go crying to Slade.]

The last message was from the night I was rushed to the ER.

Tansy sent: [If she wakes up and starts causing drama again, I swear to god.]

Slade stared at the screen for a long time.

Then he put his phone face down on the table.

The next day, he brought the footage and the chat logs back to Frostwick.

I’d just finished a rehab session.

The doctor asked me to try the shortest possible sound.

My throat burned.

I gripped the edge of the table and inhaled slowly.

The air scraped past my vocal cords. A small sound came out.

The nurse smiled. “Good. Try again.”

Slade stood outside the door. His eyes were red–rimmed.

I tried again.

This time it was a little clearer.

I looked at the nurse. “Thank… you.”

The nurse beamed and gave me a thumbs up.

Slade stepped forward. “Tierney.”

I saw him then.

He was holding a stack of papers.

An apology letter. He must have rewritten it over and over.

I didn’t reach for it.

I picked up my phone and typed for the nurse to see: [Please ask him to leave.]

Slade stood in the doorway like those words had nailed him there.

The nurse walked over. Her tone was polite.

“Sir. The patient doesn’t want to see you right now.”

He looked at me.

I dropped my eyes and kept doing my breathing exercises.

This time, he finally understood.

I was done with him.