Everything seems to move in slow motion. The crystals shatter on the floor, and shards of glass spray like sparkles. She hears a dull roaring in her ears and each fallen pendant sounds like an avalanche. She curls her body into the fetal position and throws her arms over her face and head. Too slowly, she realizes that she should close her eyes to keep the glass out. She shuts her eyes and everything goes dark and then something heavy is on her.
At first, she thinks she’s been hit but her body doesn’t hurt. Besides the thing is warm and she can hear it breathing. The person wraps arms around her and picks her up, and then they’re running. She hears the chandelier fall with a final deafening crash and she shivers.
She opens her eyes and comes face to face with Andrew. He’s panting for bre
