Page 46 of Red Zone
I swipe at my cheeks, but the tears don’t stop. Not when he’s standing there looking at me like I’m not some hurricane of a girl who can’t handle her own brain.
“I just—” My voice wavers. “I usually clean. Or organize. Or…I don’t know. If everything is in its place, then I can breathe again.”
Carter doesn’t hesitate.
“Okay,” he says simply, then pushes the door open the rest of the way and steps inside.
I blink at him, still wrapped in the frayed edges of panic. “What are you doing?”
He shrugs. “Helping.”
He looks around like he’s scanning the room for a battle plan. “What’s next?”
I sniff, a shaky laugh escaping before I can stop it. “The pantry. The cans aren’t facing the right way.”
He nods like this is the most normal request he’s ever heard. “Cool. Let’s conquer the pantry.”
I hover for a second, stunned. Then I follow him to the kitchen, grabbing a dish towel and the all- purpose spray on autopilot.
He swings the pantry door open. “Labels out, right?”
“Yeah,” I whisper.
“Boom. I’m on it.”
He starts turning the cans one by one without asking questions, not even when I correct the order twice. I wipe downthe shelves beside him, my heartbeat starting to slow for the first time all night.
He doesn’t talk. Doesn’t ask why I’m like this. Doesn’t make a joke.
He just moves with me. Step for step.
I restock the cereal in height order. He stacks the granola bars by flavor. He even wipes down the spice rack, humming quietly under his breath.
And just like that—the panic starts to dull.
I glance over at him, a stray curl falling into my face.
“You’re…weirdly good at this.”
He grins, flashing that smug, infuriating dimple. “I’ve got range.”
I roll my eyes, but my lips twitch anyway. “Don’t get cocky.”
He shrugs. “Too late.”
Another beat passes, quieter this time. I take a deep breath and lean against the counter, towel still in my hands.
“I hate this part of me,” I admit, voice low.
Carter doesn’t miss a beat.
“I don’t.”
I blink at him, stunned by the simplicity in his voice. The way he says it like it’s not a big deal.
Like I didn’t just unravel in front of him.
“You don’t?” I ask softly.
