Page 50 of Ask No Questions

"No, a stalker."

"A stalker? Brandon said there was a long story behind you coming to live here, and I'm starting to see that. Do you want to talk about it?"

"I actually just want to get far away from here. Do you mind if we go somewhere else?"

"I have the perfect place in mind. Let’s go get my car."

He held my hand as we walked back to the parking garage. I was too shaken up to think what this meant. He opened my door and helped me in before shutting it and getting in on his side.

“So where are you taking me?” I was surprised by how comfortable I was with him. I told myself it was because he’s Brandon’s friend, but it was more than that. He had taken care of me. He didn’t run away when I needed him or downplayed the situation like my family and Derek used to. It also helped that he was so overwhelmingly attractive.

“We’re going to my place. I think we can throw a decent meal together.”

We started driving south on the Pacific Coast Highway. The sun was starting to set, casting the ocean and beach in a pink light. Carter let me enjoy the drive and collect my thoughts. We drove through a few cities before reaching his house. It was a small Spanish-style bungalow right off the highway. I got out and followed him through the garage door into the house falling in love with the cozy space.

I was busy taking in the décor when Carter called to me from the kitchen. “You don’t live on campus?”

“No, once Brandon graduated, it didn’t make sense for me to live on campus when this is closer to our office and I can save money.”

This beachfront home was cheaper than a dorm?

“This is my dad’s house. Well, one of them. He bought it as an investment. he planned on renting it out, but when I told him I didn’t want to live on campus, he agreed to let me stay here.”

“It’s quite the upgrade over sharing a room with a stranger.”

He chuckled. “Yeah. So, how does spaghetti sound? It may not be gourmet, but I can make a mean sauce.”

I nodded before turning and making my way through the house. The kitchen was in the back of the house closest to the garage, and down the hall, I found the living room. There was a comfy-looking gray couch and loveseat situated toward the TV so there wasn’t a bad angle. I moved around, looking at the pictures in frames around the room and on the wall. I found one of him with an older version of himself standing next to him. They could have been twins if the age difference wasn’t so obvious. There were a few of him and Brandon from their college days. I started laughing at the picture of the two of them deep-sea fishing. Neither of them expected to catch anything, but Carter was holding up a three-foot-long silver fish. Brandon had called me after that day and told me it had taken two hours of them switching off to reel it in.

I looked out the tall windows to the ocean with the crest of the sun holding on above the horizon. His house was much more understated than Brandon’s, but it was perfect. I could imagine myself living in a place like this one day: swimming every day, keeping the windows open to let in the salty breeze, and falling asleep to the sounds of the ocean all night. This was living the dream.

Carter found me staring out at the ocean and told me everything was ready. I followed him back to the kitchen and saw two plates full of spaghetti waiting.

“This smells amazing!” He smiled and handed me one of the plates.

“Let’s sit outside. I’ll turn on some lights.” As if I would argue against that for any reason. People here didn’t realize how lucky they were to be around the ocean all of the time. I hoped I would never take it for granted.

We sat at the patio table on the deck outside in the glow of the tiki torches he lit. I took a bite of the spaghetti and audibly moaned. We both started laughing. I was grateful he didn’t turn that into an awkward moment.

“So it’s that good, huh?” He was beaming back at me, proud of himself.

“It’s honestly the best I’ve ever had. At least in California.” I laughed as he pouted at me.

“That’s not saying much, you’ve only been here for a few weeks! I’ll take it, though.”

We continued our meal with easy chit chat then cleaned up. When we were done, he motioned for me to follow him back out to the patio again. He grabbed a blanket from the couch on the way out then sat on the rocking bench. I sat next to him, and he draped the blanket across our legs. At first, I sat next to him, but not too close to touch and we looked out at the dark beach. He scooted closer to me and put his arm around my shoulder, warming me. I turned my head to smile up and saw his serious look.

“What’s wrong?” He seemed so content just a few seconds earlier, so I was confused by the sudden change.

“I’m worried about you, Aubrey. Will you explain to me what happened earlier? I mean, who’s the guy you thought you saw?”

I now understood the look he was giving me was similar to the one Brandon gave me whenever we talked about this. Concern. He was worried about me as another brother figure. Disappointment swept over me. Of course he cared about me like a brother. Why would I be disappointed by that?

“I started getting notes last year. They were left in my locker, on my car and then in my car, even in my room. They started out seeming like a prank, but then pictures started showing up with them. Pictures of me at school, at my dance studio, in my car, then from inside my house. It got so creepy. There were even pictures of me undressing or bathing. This person was in my house. He was in my room with me, and I didn’t know.” He looked tense watching me as I spoke and seemed to be hanging on every word waiting for me to give him a reason to freak out.

“I tried telling my mom multiple times, but she didn’t believe it was a serious issue until things escalated to that point. As this was happening, my mom hired me an SAT tutor. His name’s Morgan. He came highly recommended from my mom’s friends, and at first, he was just friendly and never made me feel uncomfortable. Then he started flirting with me and touching me or holding my hand while we studied. I had a boyfriend, so I tried to make it clear I wasn’t interested, but that seemed to set him off. He physically assaulted me twice before my mom finally fired him.”

I felt Carter’s arm tighten around me as I started shaking from the memory. “We put a restraining order against him, but that didn’t keep him away. The night of my stepdad’s birthday party, he showed up and drugged me. He tried to kidnap me but was caught and taken away. That’s why Brandon asked me to move here. My mom barely did anything to help me when I asked her to, then shipped me off the first chance she got. I guess she was embarrassed of me when the media got hold of the story.”