Scott POV
It had been over three hours since Mitch left. I had called him a few times to see if he was okay, but after the second time I called, he'd turned his phone off. It was the middle of the night and I was extremely worried about what could happen to him, or worse, what he could do to himself.
I'd already texted Kirstie, Avi, Kevin, Todrick, and even Tyler to see if he'd gone to stay with one of them, but he hadn't. The only other place he'd go would be his parent's house, but Mitch would never want to tell his parents what was going on. Where was he?
I could just imagine how scared he probably was when I'd shoved him. I didn't mean it, I'd just let my anger get the best of me. I felt so bad that I honestly wouldn't have been surprised if he never came back. I didn't deserve someone as amazing as him anyways.
I wanted to get in my car and go look for him, but I knew he didn't want to see me. I just hoped he would come home soon.
Mitch POV
I finally pulled my car over to the side of the road when I could no longer see through my tears. I turned the car off and then my mind began to flood with images of Scott...and then Trevor...and then the two began to blur together and it made my chest tighten. Breathing quickly became more difficult and soon I was having a full-on panic attack.
I felt like crying some more, but the tightness in my chest wouldn't allow for it. The car was quickly closing in on me, so I opened the door and dragged myself out onto the grass. I sat on the ground, my back leaning against the car's tire, and I pulled my knees into my chest.
Just breathe. I told myself. Just breathe. I couldn't get a deep breath and images of Trevor standing over me filled my mind. I couldn't stop the thoughts from coming as I shoved my head between my knees, gasping for air. I stared at the ground, trying to think about what my next move was once I could breathe again.
I could go home. I knew Scott was sorry, and I really needed him right now, I just didn't want to be afraid of him. I knew the image of him shoving me to the ground would induce another panic attack, and that was the last thing I wanted.
I thought about his perspective, though, and how worried he must be right about now. I waited until my breathing slowed down and I was able to get a good breath before I stood up. I walked around the car a few times, breathing in the cool night's air. Finally, when I was almost back to normal, I got back in my car. When I turned on my headlights I realized a new problem: I had no idea where I was.
I took out my phone and turned it back on as I pulled the car back onto the road. I saw that I had even more missed calls from Scott and suddenly I felt even more guilty for making him worry so much. I dialed his number and he picked up on the second ring.
"H-hello? Mitch?" He asked, his voice frantic.
"Hey." I answered as if nothing had happened.
"Oh my gosh! I've been so worried about you. Please, please, come home." He begged. "I'm so sorry, I never meant to hurt you."
"Scott," I cut him off, "I know you didn't mean to, and I'm sorry I ran off. I just started to panic and I didn't know what else to do."
"Where are you?" He asked.
"Um," I mumbled, "That's sort of the problem. I just drove for a while, not paying any attention to where I was going. I started to have a panic attack so I pulled off the road and now that I'm back on I realized that I have no idea where I am."
"Alright, just stay calm." He advised. "Are there any street signs or buildings around?"
I looked, but I didn't see any. It was so dark outside, and the darkness scared me. To make matters worse, little raindrops were beginning to fall on my windshield. I hated thunderstorms even more than the dark.
"Maybe I should just sleep in my car tonight." I said, hating the idea, but realizing that it may be my only option.
"No," Scott said firmly. "That is so unsafe. I bet I can track your iPhone on that tracking app. I'll come find you and bring you home and then we can go back for your car tomorrow."
I loved that idea. Scott coming to my rescue. "Okay," I answered. "What should I do until you get here?"
"Just find a parking lot or something if you can. I'd rather you not just pull off onto the side of the road." He was always looking out for me. "And stay on the phone. I know you don't like the dark."
"Or thunder." I answered right as a loud crack of thunder ripped through the air.
"Is it storming there?" He asked.
I tried to look out the windshield at the sky, but it was too dark to see anything. "It's about to, I think. It's sprinkling and I heard thunder."
"Don't panic, okay? Everything's alright." Scott's voice soothed me.
It was hard not to panic when you were alone and vulnerable in a car during a thunderstorm at 1 AM.
"Holy shit." Scott suddenly muttered.
"What is it?" I asked, as I searched the dark road for a place that looked reasonable to pull off.
"You drove really far. Too far for just three hours. You must have been going fast."
I tried to think about how fast I was driving, but I honestly couldn't remember. "I probably was, I don't know." I answered honestly.
Ugh. How do I get myself into these situations?
"It's going to take me a little while to get there." He said, his voice stressed.
"If you tell me which direction to drive I can meet you half way." I offered.
There was a slight pause. "Are you okay to drive?"
"I've been driving this whole time." I reminded him.
He sighed. "Okay, but if you start to feel tired or panicked again, just pull off the road, okay?"
"Yes sir." I answered. "Now which way should I go?"
"Make a complete U-turn and just drive back the other way. I'll let you know if you need to turn."
Scott gave me direction after direction, and after what seemed like hours, I finally saw his car coming at me from the other way. I pulled my car into the parking lot of what looked to be a very sketchy motel, and he did the same. I turned the car off and hopped out, the now-pouring rain drenching me.
Scott stopped his car beside mine and got out. He stood in front of me, the rain making his t-shirt stick to his skin, defining his every muscle. I lunged forward and threw myself into his arms, my lips landing on his. I can't believe I ever thought even for a second that he would hurt me. He was, and would always be, my safe place.
