Page 34 of Tell No Lies

He stopped walking and turned to me. “That’s for your own safety! No teenage girl should go off on her own. Especially with guys she barely knows. Do you realize what could have happened to you? If I hadn’t been close by? If someone slipped something into your drink? You could have gotten yourself into a lot of trouble.”

“I know, Carter. I was so stupid, but that’s why I called you. I realized I was in over my head and got out as soon as I could.”

“You shouldn’t have done something so stupid in the first place.” He turned and continued walking, not waiting for me.

I stood there for a moment, frozen. Yes, I had called him for help, but that did not give him the right to lecture me. “I would have called Brandon if I wanted to listen to someone berate me for an hour.”

“Then why did you call me, Aubrey?”

I didn’t have a good response for that, at least not one that I wanted to admit to him or myself. I could have called one of the girls or Mike if I needed to, but I’d called him. Why? I bit my lip, thinking for a second. “Because I trust you. I knew you would come for me.”

He continued on silently for a few moments. “Yeah, I guessed I proved you right.”

I knew I was going to get into trouble for my little excursion, but I’d been expecting the punishment to come from Brandon, not Carter. I brought this upon myself, so I deserved to face the consequences, but knowing Carter was disappointed was almost unbearable.

Just as I was going to apologize again, I saw a flash a movement from the corner of my eye. Before I could register what I saw, a masked person jumped out from the shadow of the building next to us.

A scream caught in my throat when I saw the glimmer of metal. He had a knife.

Carter flung his arm back, knocking me toward the building. I screamed for him to run, but he continued forward toward the assailant.

In a blur, I watched Cater take a swing as the blade veered toward him. The two were exchanging blows until suddenly the masked man dropped the knife and ran back through the darkness of the alley.

I ran to Carter and held on to his arm as I guided him to a nearby bench. He said nothing, but a grimace appeared when I let go.

I grabbed for my phone in my purse and called 911.

Carter sat with his head thrown back, his face marked with pain.

The dispatcher asked for our location and what had happened. When I finished, he asked about the severity of Carter’s injuries. I looked over his body and gasped when I saw red streaking the front of his shirt and upper left arm. I relayed these as I pushed Carter’s hands away so I could lift his shirt. Blood trailed down his defined stomach. When I exposed his chest, there was an opening several inches long.

“We need help now!” I couldn’t take my eyes off the wound despite the objections of my stomach. I swallowed back the urge to throw up and focused on my friend. “Carter, help is coming. Can you hear me?”

He groaned once in response.

The dispatcher said the first responders were in the area and should be there soon. In the distance, sirens rang out. When I saw the flashing lights, I hung up.

I held Carter’s hand as the ambulance pulled next to us and parked. A few EMTs jumped out and rushed over with their gear. I stepped back to give them room to work. One of the paramedics cut open his shirt, pulling it back and then down his arms. This exposed the other wound.

They spoke to each other too fast for me to follow, and only after what felt like hours later did they look up at me. One of them stepped over to me. “Do you know him?”

I kept my eyes on Carter as I answered. “Yes, we were walking home when we were attacked.”

“We have to take him now. Are you coming with us? The police will stay to look at the scene and will come to the hospital later to ask you questions.”

I nodded and followed as they put Carter on the stretcher and slid him into the ambulance. On our way to the hospital, I sent a text to Brandon, telling him to meet us there.

Thirteen

Brandon found me pacing in the waiting room. When he called my name, I ran to him, preventing him from being mad at me for just a moment. He stepped back and took in my appearance.

“What happened, Aubrey?” His tone sent chills down my spine.

“I went to a party with some of my friends. I was bored at home, and I thought they would watch out for me.” I looked up through my wet lashes and saw him staring down at me, expressionless. “When we got to the house, one of the guys I was with left me. The other one stayed with me but got distracted after an hour. I realized I was in a bad position, so I texted Carter to come get me.”

“How did he end up here?”

I fell into a chair behind me and held my face in my hands. I’d thought I was done crying but apparently not. “It happened so fast, Brandon. We were walking, and suddenly, a person in a mask jumped out from the side of a building. Carter threw me back and tried to fight him off. The other guy had a knife. Carter didn’t see it until it was too late.”