Page 97 of Tell No Lies

“Nothing after that?”

I tried to sit up, and this time no one stopped me. Once I was vertical, I looked down. I was only wearing my leotard and tights. Lovely.

“Um, no. Dance went late because we couldn’t get the routine right.”

He nodded. “You don’t remember coming home?”

I shook my head.

Brandon made his way to my side and sat down. He handed me a sweatshirt, which I slipped on gratefully. “You must have hit your head pretty hard.” He turned back to the EMT. “Should we take her to the hospital?”

Before I could refuse, the EMT shook his head. “We can take her in as a precaution, but I don’t think it’s necessary. Her vitals are strong. She might have a slight concussion, but she should be just fine. Give her time to relax.” He moved away and began collecting his things as his partner continued writing on a pad.

“I don’t want to go, Brandon.”

“Fine.” He stood and nodded as he offered me both hands. I held on as he pulled me up and lifted me. He carried me to my bed and then set me down before turning and leading the others out of my room.

I watched as they retreated then fell back into my pillows. What had happened? I had a killer headache, and my back hurt. Was that just from dance? Was I just overly exhausted? There was no way Brandon would let me go this weekend after this episode.

I let out a sigh as my brother came back in, followed by Mckayla, her mom, and Carter. Mckayla and Diane rushed over and began fussing over me. I was trying to convince them I was just fine when Carter cleared his throat. They both stopped and looked at him. Diane stepped back and let Carter take her place, and Mckayla crawled across the bed and sat on the other side of me.

Brandon and Diane leaned against the wall opposite me, looking equally concerned. He was mastering this parenting thing.

“I’m so sorry, Aubrey. This is all my fault.” I looked back at Carter and saw the pain in his eyes.

I scrunched my nose, confused. “What is?” I looked to Mckayla for clarification.

She gave a slight smile and nodded back to Carter.

He was looking down at his hand grasping mine, stroking my palm with his thumb. “I must have scared you. You were sneaking around the house holding a knife, and when I came out of your bathroom, I slammed right into you. You scared me just as much, and … I don’t know, you just collapsed. I tried to hold you up, but …”

He took a deep breath and finally looked me in the eyes. “I called 911, and they told me to do compressions if you didn’t start breathing on your own. Thankfully, you did just that a few seconds into the call.” He stopped and looked over to Brandon then back to me, guilt on his face.

“I came by to check on you and drop off a gift. You’re usually home from dance by five, but when you didn’t respond, I decided to just put your gift in your bathroom. I swear, I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m so sorry!”

I sat up and squeezed the hand that held mine. “You’re not making any sense. What gift? And what were you saying about a knife?”

Brandon spoke up this time. “Liv went to this new soap shop in L.A. It’s all organic, handmade stuff, and she bought a bunch for you. I gave it all to Carter to drop off since I knew I wouldn’t make it home until late tonight.”

I was more confused than ever. “What does soap have to do with my waking up to an EMT in my face?”

Mckayla snickered behind me and rubbed my back. “You went all 007 and tried to attack Carter with a kitchen knife.”

I snapped my head toward her. “What?”

She laughed and pointed to the ground where one of our knives lay, looking very out of place. Hmmm.

I pulled my hand away from Carter’s and sat back against the headboard. I held my head in my hands, resting my elbows against my knees. Seeing the knife reminded me of something. After a few seconds of concentration, it all came back. I burst out laughing. They probably assumed I had lost my mind as tears rolled down my face. I began hiccupping through my giggles.

Mckayla began laughing, shaking the bed. “You guys, this is it. We’ve officially lost her!”

That seemed to break the tension in the room, and soon they were all laughing.

“Sorry, I just remembered. Carter, I’m so sorry!”

He reached for my hand and held it in both of his. Did he realize that Brandon could see him?

“Don’t apologize. You have enough to worry about without me sneaking around your house.”