Page 14 of Above All Else

Boom.

I jumped, my hip bumping into my car mirror as I spun around. A bone-deep pain radiated across my limbs.

Carter stood at the door with his arms bowed out to his sides, his face mask in place, his broad shoulders a silhouette of the demon he personified. He stared at me as I backed away, fumbling with the car door handle.

“Leave me alone.” My tongue sat heavy in my mouth as he glared, his shoulders moving up and down in company with hisbreaths.

The car door snapped open, and I stumbled inside, locking it as he took his first step toward me, his boot scuffing against the cement.

Oh crap.

I pushed the button to ignite the engine.

Lights flashed on the dash. A beeping filled the panicked space. The engine remained dead.

My heart plummeted. “Why aren’t you starting?” Tears threatened to fall as my heart threatened to take flight straight through my throat and plop into my lap.

Carter walked toward me, exuding a sense of calm as though he didn’t care I’d made it to my car.

He did something to my car?

I pressed the button again, and a warning on the dash system flashed an image of a foot touching the brake.

Of course.

My barefoot smashed the brake, and I jabbed my finger into the ignition button as Carter bent over at my door, his goat mask taking over the driver’s side window, his hands tucked behind his back. Reversing out of my driveway, I sped down the road and took a right toward Edwards.

A distorted buzzing coated the back of my skull, pulling at my eyelids and dragging them down like heavy curtains.

Carter stood in my rearview mirror, watching with his hands in his pockets.

“I’m safe. I just need a hospital.”

My tongue sat heavy in my mouth as I slapped it against my lips like a dog eating peanut butter. Lights twinkled in the darkness, the stars streaking in the sky—the signs blurring by. I squinted, my foot pushing harder on the gas pedal.

Did I pass Edwards?

Car lights drew closer from behind, the LEDs blaring in my rearview mirror.

It’s okay. He can’t hurt me in Edwards.

Why would Carter want to hurt me?

What did I do?

My heart shattered into a million fragments, the remnants threatening to cut my insides.

I swiped the swimming thoughts from my mind. My vision narrowed in, focusing on the road as my heart rate slowed, my fingers numbing around the steering wheel.

What did he give me?

A small blue sign moved into view and I stared at it, my mouth parching like the Sahara Desert.

That’s not…

I made a wrong turn?

I can’t be in…

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