Dollhouse | bts ✓

15. Heart Attack

I felt nauseous—the feeling bubbled in my chest and stomach during the rest of my evening shift. The worry that trickled through my senses wouldn't allow me to feel any other way.

But I had to force myself to power through the rest of the night. I couldn't afford to go searching for them since I needed any bit of money I could make. I had to focus on my job.

I wasn't sure what to do with the idea, but I had a sneaking suspicion that the random guy had something to do with their sudden disappearance. It wasn't like I could just call 9-1-1 and report someone for stealing my dolls... even though I may or may not have considered it.

So when we finally reached closing and I was free to go, I booked it to my car while struggling to get my phone out even though I didn't know who to call or what to say. All I knew is that I needed help.

But it was raining, my phone was dead, and I couldn't get my car to unlock. I was cold and my clothes were drenched.

My dolls were gone.

I was still shaken up from when an angry customer yelled at me.

Everything was going wrong.

Hot tears pooled in my eyes before I could stop them from racing down my cheeks. I felt so defeated, so helpless, that I didn't know what to do with myself.

But my body did. I leaned over the side of my car and emptied my stomach's contents onto the ground while my nose began to run.

When I finished, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and sunk to the ground. I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the car and continued to sob.

"Y/N? What's wrong?" a small voice asked.

Something poked against my side and I tried to shove it off. But whatever it was dodged my swat.

"Are you sick?" a different small voice asked.

Something pulled at my clothes, but that time I managed to knock over whatever it was as I slapped it away.

"Oof, ouch. Why'd you hit me?"

And then I realized that I recognized those voices. My eyes snapped open as I looked down at my side.

Hoseok and Namjoon were helping Taehyung stand back up while the others huddled together for warmth. They kind of reminded me of drowned rats with their damp hair and wet clothes that clung to every plane and curve of their small bodies.

One look at their helpless, pleading gazes sent waves of warmth channeling through my system. I jumped up to forcefully unlock my car and then turned to scoop them all up into a tangle of doll limbs despite their protests.

I didn't care that we were all drenched and cold. As soon as I sat down in my car, I tightly hugged them against my chest like they were old friends that I hadn't seen in years. I managed to resist the strong urge to pepper their little faces with kisses.

"What happened? Were you guys trying to give me a heart attack? I was so worried. I thought you guys were gone," I pulled them away and settled them onto the passenger's seat with a hardening gaze. "Explain yourselves."

They shivered in response, blinking at me as if I grew another head.

"Well?" I crossed my arms.

"Taehyung farted and it smelled really bad!" Jin finally blurted, pointing at the brown-haired doll. Taehyung froze like a deer caught in headlights, his eyes going wide at the exposure.

I bit back a laugh. Taehyung's head dropped in shame.

"So I opened the bag to get a breath of fresh air so that we wouldn't suffocate," Jungkook added, tagging onto their story. "Then I saw a suspicious, angry looking man."

Namjoon nodded in agreement, "Jungkook didn't know what to do, so—"

"So Jimin moved over to see what was wrong, and then panicked and started softly yelling at the rest of us." Taehyung interrupted Namjoon. "But I thought he was still mad about my fart, even though my stomach hurt, and I didn't really know what was happening—"

"And Jungkook was too scared to jump—" Yoongi's words tumbled over Taehyung's.

"So then Yoongi pushed him out and then dragged the rest of us with him!" Hoseok screamed with excitement over the climax of their story.

"Yeah!" Jin anxiously nodded. "But then we didn't know where to go without getting caught. Then Taehyung saw you—"

"Then Taehyung saw you and tried to run to you for help but we know how that went last time, so we thought it'd be best to escape the building like super secret spies." Hoseok finished Jin's sentence.

"And that's how we ended up hiding under your car, waiting for you." Jimin finished off the story, arms crossed over his chest in triumph. Taehyung and Jungkook both stomped their feet down like little children who were upset over not being able to tell their mother what had happened.

They watched me with a slight hint of fear, as if they were in huge trouble and awaiting their punishment.

But I didn't have enough energy left in me to lecture them again. At least not until later.

I leaned my head back against the headrest, the entire day finally catching up to me as a yawn worked its way out my lips. "Sounds like quite the adventure. As happy as I am that you guys are safe, I'm cold and exhausted. So let's go home, get cleaned up, and have some hot chocolate. Sound like a plan?"

          ___

I AM SO SORRY FOR SLOW UPDATES. It will continue to be that way until I'm finished with school. 

But the good news is that I finally got an estimated length for my stories so far!

Between Shades will probably be around 60-80 chapters long in total, while Doll House will end at around 30 chapters since it's more of a short story. But I like working on two stories at once, so I'll probably publish another short story while I continue to work on Between Shades once Doll House is finished.