Page 49 of Ask No Questions

He lunged at me grabbing for the hose, but I pulled away fast enough and aimed for his face. He turned and grabbed me in a tight bear hug with one arm and turned off the water with the other.

"You will pay for this! I can't believe you shot me!"

"You were chasing me! It was a natural instinct."

"First the knife and now this. Do you feel threatened by me?"

"No, I'm just smart. Brandon taught me as a child to never be unarmed."

"You can't blame Brandon for this. Plus, you ruined my sandwich when you jumped up. So now you owe me a dry shirt and a new lunch."

I looked over his shoulder and saw a giant pile of bread, meats, and oozing goop on the couch. Gross.

"Okay here's the plan. I'll clean the couch. You go change into a clean shirt and wash your face. I'll take you out for a real meal after, deal?"

"I guess." He sighed and pouted as he walked past his disaster of a lunch and continued into Brandon's room.

Luckily, most of the mess that could stain landed on the plate, so the cleanup was easy. The couch was leather, so the rest of the mess could be wiped away. I just hoped there wouldn't be any discoloration left behind. I cleaned up in my bathroom and changed into a cute print skirt and modest, but tight tee before meeting Carter back in the kitchen.

We agreed on a sandwich shop just a block away from my condo, so we walked.

I glanced into the windows of the shops and restaurants we passed. Couples sat together at the outdoor café, teens were hanging out in a local surf shop, the coffee shop was packed even in the afternoon, and people were rushing in and out of a mail service store trying to get in before the deadline for the day.

As we passed another apparel store, I saw something that caused me to stop in my tracks. My body went numb, and my stomach turned. My breathing grew shallow even as I told myself to calm down. Carter took notice and placed his hands on my shoulders, forcing me to look at him.

"Aubrey, what's wrong? What's happening?" I could see the panic in his eyes and wanted to tell him, but my brain was not connecting to my mouth.

I looked in the store again, and the man was gone. Carter moved me to a bench along the storefronts and had me sit. I put my head between my knees, trying to get my body to take deeper breaths. I didn't realize I was crying until I felt Carter's fingers slide across my cheek. His other hand was rubbing my back in an attempt to comfort me, but I felt nothing. My head was spinning.

Morgan was locked up. My mom had confirmed this last time we spoke. There was no way he knew where I was, so even if he was out, he couldn't find me. I repeated these facts to myself until my breathing started slowing back to normal. I looked up at Carter through the tears in my eyes and saw the worry in his beautiful crystal blue eyes and felt guilty for putting it there. He didn't push me for answers but allowed me to calm down and gather myself before asking anything.

"I'm so sorry, Carter."

He looked shocked that those were my first words after that episode.

"You have nothing to apologize for. I'm worried about you, though. Have you ever had a panic attack before?"

So there was a name for it? It was comforting to know that I wasn't dying or experiencing something like a heart attack.

"No, that was the first time."

"There's usually a trigger for those. What happened? If you don't want to go to Joe’s Deli, you could have just told me." He gave me a small smirk as he kept rubbing my back. I was finally able to feel his heat through my shirt now that I was calming down, and it was surprisingly comforting.

I tried to laugh at his joke but barely managed a smile.

"I thought I saw someone. I was mistaken, but it freaked me out."

"Who was it? The only person that could get that reaction from me would be seeing my mother, but that's mostly because she's dead. You didn't see a ghost, did you?"

I was confused at his humor now. His mother was dead?

"Carter, I'm so sorry. I didn't know your mom passed. My dad died when I was six."

"Mine died when I was little, so I don't remember her. That was poor taste on my part, sorry. I just can't imagine who could cause you to react like that."

"I thought it was a guy from back home."

"An ex?"