If We Lasted Forever | BOOK 2 ✔️

10 | Come home

Elijah Atlas Carpenter

It all happened so fast. I saw the switch. Hell I have been there. When your brain shuts you down because it gets scared that your body can't handle the situation.

An instinct. A really bad one. Most people only experience it when they are close to death.

However a panic attack is your mind thinking you are in danger. That you are dying. That's why you can't breathe, that's why your body shuts down.

He shouldn't have touched her. I hope he knows that. The pure terror in her eyes was hard to miss. Even after years I could still read her.

I held her for a long time. Others took Dominic to a doctor. Caleb stayed behind. Luke didn't.

I don't know where he went.

"You're okay" I tell her again for like the 174838th time. My only goal was to calm her down enough. So that we could get her into a car. Go home.

"She can't hear me" I say silently as if answering Caleb's questioning glare.

I knew she couldn't. She wasn't here. Right now she was off in her thoughts somewhere hopefully better than here.

"What was that?" Caleb asks me. "Why did she shoot him?"

I sigh not knowing how to explain it. I could always be honest. He doesn't get it though. He could never get it.

What it's like not to be in control of your thoughts and movements. Incapable of even understanding what you're doing.

"You need to call Alex" I simply say dismissing him for now. He frowns but reaches into his pocket and walks out with his phone in hand.

I guess the realization hit me later. I looked down and realized just who I was holding. My sister. The same one that ran away years ago.

The same one that turned cold all so suddenly. The same one that completely ditched her first name because she felt different.

I had wondered so many times why it all happened. So many nights I spent up wondering why she turned to drugs, tried to kill herself, ran away.

I had no answers and the worst part is that I can't ask Ki- Athena. I can't ask her yet. She might run again.

"I shot him" she mumbled suddenly. "I could have killed him. What's wrong with me?" she sounded like she was crying but no tears left her eyes.

"Nothing is wrong with you. It was a panic attack" I reassure her. She doesn't seem to believe me.

"You shouldn't have looked for me" she says so silently that I'm questioning my hearing ability. "Why?" I ask calmly. "Because you found me. That's bad for you" she says.

I can't say I understand. I don't. Like at all. I'm so confused honestly. Like what?

Caleb enters again throwing Kie a quick look before speaking. "Alex said to bring her home asap" he says taking a seat.

"That's all?" I ask confused. Usually Alex would have hundreds of things he wants us to do in these situations. "Well we also have to bring everybody who lives here with us. The second car will arrive in an hour or so" he decides to mention.