Saving Forever - Part 1 by Lexy Timms Page B

face, she wondered how she had held out this long. He wore a charcoal grey shirt that nearly made her moan when she pictured what he would look like without it on. Just black jeans with his belt and boots. Her eyes closed voluntarily on their own; no willpower could have stopped them. She swallowed hard.
    His lips brushed against hers. They still held their fire but the need was less intense, like a slow dance.
    Charity’s fingers found their way again at the back of Elijah’s hair. The warm tremor deep inside her belly could only be relieved by pressing her hips against his. It helped but only a moment before the tremor begged for more. She could feel every inch of his hard body against hers. The warmness inside only grew hotter.
    A terrified scream from the hallway split the air.
    Elijah stiffened at the first scream.
    A woman screamed again, crying, “Help! Someone please help me!”
    Elijah sprang immediately for the door. Charity followed close behind, unsure of what she would see.
    The shrieking woman lay kneeling on the floor beside a man about ten doors down from them. They must have just come from the hotel pool. She wore a yellow terry cloth robe and couldn’t be more than ten years older than Charity. The man on the floor lay on his back, arms and leg sprawled like he’d just dropped.
    Elijah raced over, his voice calm and steady as he spoke to the woman. “I’m a doctor. Ma’am, what happened?” His head turned and he brought his ear close to the man’s nose and mouth.
    Charity noticed the tattoo on his arm. Half of it lay hidden under the sleeve of his shirt but she knew exactly what the design was. Caduces. The medical symbol with wings and the rod of Asclepius, at least that’s how she knew it. There were loads of different versions. She blinked and focused on the prone, unmoving man.
    Elijah stared the man’s chest. “What happened?” he repeated.
    The woman hiccupped. “We-we just went f-for a swim. Tim was eating almonds—”
    “Is he allergic?” Charity asked. She put her arm on the woman’s shoulder, trying to offer some kind of comfort.
    “No. He eats them all the time. I was telling him some joke and he started laughing.” As she spoke, Elijah opened Tim’s mouth, looked inside and then stuck his finger inside to sweep it. “His eyes went big and I th-think he started choking. Then he fell down.” The woman started whimpering.
    “I don’t see anything.” Elijah spoke quietly. Charity didn’t know if he spoke to them or to himself. His hands checked the man’s throat momentarily before he rolled the man on his side. “Help me sit him up.”
    Charity rushed to his side as the wife leaned back against wall, her eyes huge. They sat him up and Charity stabilized his neck as Elijah tried the Heimlich several times.
    “It’s not working.” Charity checked the man’s mouth and saw nothing. Med school natural tactics were kicking back in, but even though she knew what would happen next, she wasn’t prepared.
    “Go back to the room. Call nine-one-one, Charity ,” Elijah said. He continued working on Tim. “Inside my coat is a pen, I need it. It’s a silver one.”
    She ran to the room, grabbing his coat off the floor and then swiping her phone off the TV stand. She searched the inside chest pocket first. The heavy pen was there. When she pulled it out, she realized the silver pen was also a first aid kit. Under the cap was a sharp knife.
    Opening the room door, she leaned into the bathroom and grabbed a straw sitting on the counter she hadn’t used. She raced back down the hall, kicking her shoes off as she ran. She dropped beside Elijah and pulled the cap off the pen, handing it to him handle first.
    When the wife saw the blade, she started crying hysterically. “What are you doing? You’re going to kill him!”
    Charity held the woman back and watched Elijah tilt Tim’s head back and use his fingers to feel for a spot along Tim’s throat. He made a half inch incision