AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I woke up the following morning exhausted. After arriving back from my afternoon out with Mason, Savannah and I had sat talking for hours. It was after midnight when I’d finally gone to bed, only then to be plagued by nightmares. I’d been awake on and off all night, terrified to fall asleep again in case the nightmares returned. Fortunately, I hadn’t woken anyone up this time. I rolled over and reached for my phone, it had just gone eight o clock, and I saw a text from Jack.
Jack: Hey Lib, I’m at the airport just checking in. Should be landing at 12.30. Can’t wait to see you. Xx
I sent him a quick reply.
Me: Can’t wait to see you either. Safe flight. Will wait for you in arrivals Xx
I dragged myself out of bedand into the shower in the hope that it would wake me up. After spending far too much time under the hot water, I forced myself to get out and get dressed. I made my way downstairs just as Savannah was leaving for university.
“Hey Lib, say hi to Jack for me. I should be back at lunch time, can’t wait to see him. Got to run, see you later.” She rushed out of the door waving her hand at me.
“Bye Savannah,” I called after her smiling to myself, she was like a whirlwind. I ate breakfast alone in the kitchen, Aunt Claire must have already left for the day, and Uncle Ryan and Brody were long gone.
I had a few hours to kill before Mason was due to pick me up, so I decided to take a walk over to the stables to see the horses. I wasn’t worried about bumping into Mason, I knew from talking to him yesterday that he was leading an early morning hike to watch the sunrise. As I headed over, I caught sight of a small wooden cabin tucked behind the stables that I hadn’t noticed before. It was similar to the log cabins that the guests stayed in but much older and smaller.
As I walked closer to it, I could see that although it was old, it had obviously been well looked after. There was a small light attached to the wall by the front door and curtains hung at the windows. A bench sat to the right of the front door on a small porch, and there were wildflowers surrounding the cottage. It was beautiful.
I was eager to see if the inside was as beautiful as the outside. I quickly looked over my shoulder, there was no one around, so I walked onto the small porch and looked through the little window next to the front door. There was a tiny kitchen area to the left of the window with a sink unit and a couple of cupboards, a microwave and toaster sat on the work surface. Across from the kitchen was a small sitting area with a sofa and television. There was a closed door off to the right, which I assumed led to a bathroom. A wooden staircase behind the sofa led to a mezzanine level where a large double bed stood. Large rugs covered the floors, and a couple of pictures hung on the wall. It was small but perfect. There were personal things in the cabin, and I wondered who lived here, I’d have to remember to ask Savannah later.
After spending far too much time being nosey, I finally made it into the stables fussing over the other horses. I stayed for about half an hour, brushing Cookie and Marley before heading back to the house. The nerves were bubbling as I thought about the car journey to the airport. I prayed I could control my emotions.
I checked the time, Mason would be here in half an hour. I opened the kindle app on my phone and sat on the porch swing. Reading was my escape, and I hoped to get lost in the book I was reading until Mason showed up. I was so engrossed I didn’t hear him and jumped a mile when he sat down next to me. “Arghhh,” I screamed clutching my hand to my chest. “You scared me, I didn’t hear you coming,” I told him, my heart pounding.
“Sorry Lib.” He said laughing. “I did shout hello as I came up the path, but your nose was buried in your cell. What’s so interesting on there anyway?” He leaned in closer to me looking at my phone. I took a deep breath, my nose filled with the now familiar smell of Mason, aftershave, and soap. He smelt delicious. He must have showered recently too as I noticed that his hair was still damp.
“Oh, I’m just reading,” I told him turning the app off and tucking my phone into my shorts pocket.
“Ahhh, no wonder you were so captivated, you were reading yournaughtybook.” He winked at me and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
I rolled my eyes and jumped up off the swing. “Whatever Mason. You’re just jealous that it’s not you turning me on.” I watched his mouth drop open, and I realised what I’d said, my face flushing with heat. “I can’t believe I said that. I’m so sorry” I cringed unable to look at him.
“Sweetheart, my moves are ten times better than anything you’ll ever find in a book. Trust me!” He said, a cocky grin forming on his face.
“We should go,” I said changing the subject, my face still flushed. “I don’t want to be late for Jack.”
He laughed, grabbed my hand and pulled me along behind him down the garden path and towards his truck. I couldn’t believe I’d said that to him. I wasn’t exactly giving off the friend vibe when I said things like that!
“Lib, I can hear your mind working overtime. Don’t worry about it.”
He opened the truck door for me, and I climbed in. “Thank you,” I whispered as he closed the door. We headed down the long driveway, and I began my breathing exercises, counting my breaths in and out. My hands were clasped tightly on my lap, and my eyes were fixed on the dashboard in front of me. Mason seemed to be concentrating on driving, and I was glad I didn’t have to make conversation. About ten minutes into the journey I realised that Mason was watching me out of the corner of his eye. I was struggling to control my breathing and losing count of my breaths as the panic began to set in, my heart was racing, and my hands trembled in my lap. There was a loud ringing in my ears, and I felt dizzy. I could hear Mason speaking to me, but it sounded muffled like he was far away. I felt the warm air hit me as he opened my door, I hadn’t even realised he’d stopped the truck. I felt him lifting me from the truck, sitting me down on the grass verge, he kneeled in front of me.
“Libby breath sweetheart, breath.” I heard him say to me. He took my hand and rested it on his chest over his heart. “Feel my heartbeat, Libby, count the beats, one, two, three, four, one, two, three, four. Come on Libby count with me.”
We must have sat there for a few minutes, my hand on his chest and Mason counting aloud. After a while I could feel that the worst of the panic attack was over, the ringing in my ears had lessened, and my breathing was calming down. I could feel Mason’s heartbeat under my hand. He may have seemed calm, but his heart was pounding beneath my fingers. I was quietly counting the beats along with him, and when I felt like I wasn’t going to pass out, I raised my head and looked into his worried eyes.
“Thank God.” He said the relief evident in his voice.
I burst into tears, the realisation of what had happened hitting me. I felt Mason reach for me and pull me into his lap, his arms tight around me. I sobbed into his chest, soaking his t-shirt. He let me cry, never releasing his hold on me. After a few minutes, the sobs had stopped, and I’d manage to calm down. “I’m sorry,” I whispered into his chest, embarrassed.
“Don’t apologise.” I felt his fingers push my sweaty hair off my face and his lips brushed the top of my head. “Are you okay? What happened?” He pulled back slightly so he could look into my eyes.
I took a deep breath. I had to tell him, he looked so worried. I dropped my eyes from his. “I was involved in a car accident a few months ago. I’ve only been in a car a handful of times since then, and I struggle to stay calm. That’s the second panic attack I’ve had, I can normally control them if I concentrate on my breathing, but it didn’t work today…” I trailed off, feeling his arms wrap even tighter around me.
“Why didn’t you tell me? I noticed you seemed on edge in the truck the other night on the way back from the bar, I just thought you were mad at me.” He paused, and I lifted my head to look at him. His eyes were closed, and he whispered. “Were you hurt in the accident?” He opened his eyes and saw me looking at him.
“I hit my head on the window. I was in a coma for a few days, some dizzy spells. I’m okay now. I was lucky…others weren’t.” I looked away from him as a tear rolled down my cheek. He reached down and wiped the tear from my face.
“Please don’t cry. Talk to me, Libby.”
