The Last Time

Chapter Nine

Carlson's car pulls up in front of me and he gets out. I look up to see him walking over to me. His eyes widen but he normalizes them and walks over to me and leans down so we're at the same level. "What happened?" he asks me in the same repeating gentle tone of voice. He doesn't yell, doesn't get scared... just doesn't react in any way thats different than before. Like he wants me to be comfortable around him.

"Y-yeah I just had a p-panic attack," I tell him quietly, my eyes gazing up at him. "I'm fine though, you don't have to worry," I tell him, my leg still trembling in place. He leans his hand down and gently holding my left leg down. He rubs it gently, then looks back at me.

"Do you want to talk about it right now or wait until you calm down a bit and then talk?" he asks me, giving me a gentle smile. His hand is still on my thigh, but I don't look down since that might trigger him to take it off. I don't answer.

"We can talk about it once we get to my house," he tells me with the same returning smile. He removes his hand from my thigh and stands up, leaning over with his hand. I take it and he pulls me up. I hug him tightly. He doesn't hug back at first, most likely surprised, but he hugs me back moments later. I place my head gently on his chest, where he follows by setting his chin on top of my head. I close my eyes, pulling him even closer to me than before.

It's quiet for a few minutes before I mutter. "...thanks for getting me, Carlson."

He laughs softly. "It's no problem, Alice," he tells me, his arms still around my back. He slowly pulls out of the hug, then looks at me with a smile. I smile back.

"Let's get you to my house," he tells me, taking my hand gently. He starts to walk over to the passenger side of the car with me at his side. I squeeze his hand gently. He squeezes my hand back, then lets go and he reaches over and opens the passenger side door. I hop inside and buckle myself in. He closes my door then walks over to the other side of the car and gets into the drivers seat. He buckles in then looks over at me, his eyes following down to my lips before looking away and turning the key for the car to start. He pulls forward and starts to drive. My face reddens slightly. Why is he being so nice to me?

"You didn't have to do this, you know," I tell him, looking away and staring outside the window. "You could've stayed home and enjoyed the rest of your night without worrying about me."

Carlson was taken my surprise by this. His eyesbrows raise but then fall just as quickly, probably because he doesn't want to give any signs away.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay," he tells me, taking a left. "By the sound of what I could hear over the phone and the way you were speaking, you seemed like you needed someone to be there for you. Especially considering that I could hear cars passing by and how I heard your voice and body shake. I knew something was up and I was right, and now I'm here to help you." He tells me, smiling softly at the end. He doesn't turn his head towards me since he's still driving, but is expression is still visible as I look over at him.

"I really appreciate you doing this," I say, looking away once again. "Matt wouldn't have ever done this for me," I tell him, leaning back against the seat. "He isn't the type to care."

Carlsons jaw tightens, but he releases it and stops at a red light. He thinks for a moment on what to say, then sighs. "He isn't," he tells me, not adding on to what he said. He looks over at a strip of fast food joints thats to the left, where his blinkers at. "You want something to eat? Or drink?" he asks, looking over at me.

I think for a moment before nodding. "I- maybe some coffee... or like fries or something," I tell him, looking down at my stomach. It grumbles, either from throwing up or hunger. Either way, I should probably eat something so there's some substance in there.