Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Ashley

A shley turned in her last paper and was now just waiting on grades. She couldn’t wait to go home and sleep for a whole day. Easier said than done with her live-in bodyguard.

“Now where?” Carter asked.

He’d been her shadow since she’d left the house and it was driving her nuts. Carter wanted to clear rooms she went into and check backgrounds of everyone she saw. It was out of hand.

Luke wasn’t returning her calls about it either. She was going to tear him a new one when he did answer. This was ridiculous.

“Somewhere you’ll be happy about. Home.” She rolled her eyes and left before him.

It was enough that he’d invaded her space, but if she had to answer one more damn question about who he was, she’d lose it. He’d tried to convince her to tell people he was her new boyfriend, but she’d refused.

On the fly, she’d told people he was an exchange student and shadowing her. It didn’t make any sense at all, but people had gone with it. Honestly, it was stupid the number of people that believed her with no questions asked.

“Great,” Carter said from behind her.

He’d been annoyed that they’d walked everywhere. Then he’d been annoyed when she’d ordered a rideshare. There was no pleasing him, and everything she did was wrong.

Back at her house, he once again pushed her behind him as he went into the apartment, checking every room and closet for some nonexistent threat. She went to the kitchen and started making herself a frozen pizza. The plan was to eat all the carbs and then sleep the rest of the day and night away.

A knock on her door had Carter jumping into action and beating her to the peephole.

“If you would let me look, I could tell you who it is,” she angrily whispered.

“And if they shoot through the door or something? Better if I look,” he countered.

Ashley rolled her eyes. “No one is going to shoot me.” She used both hands and shoved him away from the door, only to see it was Julian on the other side.

“Well?” he asked. “I’ve seen him around. Who is he?”

“Some annoying guy.” She nearly told Carter to answer and tell him to go away, but she wasn’t about to let him feel useful, so she opened the door.

“Hey, Ashley.”

“Julian,” she greeted. “Where’d you get my address?” She regretted the question as soon as she asked it, as Carter tensed beside her.

“Leah gave it to me. I was worried when you weren’t answering any of my calls or texts.”

Because she had blocked him to save her own peace. “I’m fine. Just studying as usual.”

“Aren’t classes done?”

“Mostly. I still have a few things to do.” It wasn’t a lie but either way she didn’t want to hang out with him.

Carter was out of view of Julian, but she reluctantly admitted she felt better that he was here.

“Do you want to go out with us tonight?” Julian asked.

“No, thanks. You have a good night.”

“Wait.” He put his hand out, stopping the door from closing.

“What?” Ashley snapped. “Julian, I don’t appreciate you showing up at my house. I am grateful for the concern, but I’m fine, just busy.”

“I was worried,” he said, sounding just a little contrite.

“And you’ve seen I’m fine. I don’t answer my phone when I’m studying for many people. You have a good night.” The oven beeped. “I’m going to go have dinner.”

Ashley closed the door, this time with no resistance, and turned to Carter. He was glaring at her as though he had a lot of questions, none of which she intended to answer.

“Who was that?” he asked, following her to the kitchen.

“Some guy from school.”

“Has he been following you?”

“No. He just wants a date and I don’t. Sometimes he invites me out with groups and I say no.” She didn’t want to hang out with him at all. He gave her a weird vibe that she couldn’t pinpoint.

“I’ll have Matt look into him. What’s his last name?”

Ashley shrugged. She had probably heard it once or twice but hadn’t bothered to commit it to memory.

Carter sighed. “Give me his phone number then.”

She opened her phone and read the number to him. “I’m going to make some food now, okay? Do you need to check the oven for intruders?”

“Very funny. With all the secrets you’re hiding, maybe I should.” With that, he walked to the kitchen table and started typing away on his phone.

Ashley did what she’d planned and ate all the things before crashing hard and sleeping for nearly twelve hours. She would have kept going, but she needed to use the bathroom.

Carter was asleep on her couch, a place he’d forced himself to sleep on since he’d gotten there. Never mind that she had a whole spare room with a bed. The fool was going to have a bad back and neck before he finished babysitting her.

When she was done in the bathroom, she crawled back in the bed and found herself unable to sleep. Normally, she’d go to the living room and just watch a movie, but since that space was occupied, she opened her laptop and tried to watch a movie from there.

As the opening scenes played, she scrolled her phone, noting she had more messages from Julian, which she ignored. The group chat for one of her classes had several messages from people planning a night out to celebrate being done.

They waited for grades to post, and there was no guarantee that anyone would pass or fail, though they were all confident they’d passed. But being done? That was enough reason to celebrate.

Ashley texted them back that she was down and would join them later tonight at the club. It wasn’t her scene normally, but these weren’t normal times.

“You okay?” Carter tapped lightly on her door.

“As good as I can be watching TV on my laptop since you’re in my living room instead of a bed.”

He didn’t open the door, but she could have sworn she heard him chuckle. “You can come out here.”

“I’m good.”

He walked away, she guessed, because he didn’t say anything else.

Ashley gave up on sleep and got up to get ready for the gym. If sleep wasn’t coming, she’d get her day started. It was already past six in the morning anyway.

Dressed for the gym, she started to walk out of her room, ready to go. Thinking better of it because she knew Carter wouldn’t let her go, so she changed her mind. If he saw her, she saw no indication.

“Now what?” she wondered aloud. She needed to get out of here and away from him for a little bit.

She stared at her window and the fire escape and came up with an idea. She wouldn’t be able to take anything, like a bottle or water or her gym bag, but it would be worth it.

Quietly, she opened the window and stepped out onto the platform, looking down. She was only on the third floor, but she’d never come out here. The morning was peaceful as she climbed down the stairs and reached the sidewalk.

She got to the gym in peace. Her phone was still on her nightstand, and she didn’t wish Carter luck with finding her. Ashley felt smothered and needed a break.

It was at the start of her third mile on the treadmill when a very angry Carter walked in. She saw his reflection in the mirrors lining the wall and quickly looked anywhere else, hoping he didn’t notice her.

She wasn’t lucky. He stormed over to her and got on the next treadmill. “What is wrong with you?” he hissed.

“Nothing,” she said flippantly.

“Why didn’t you just tell me you were going to the gym?”

“Because I needed a break from you. I don’t like being watched and I live alone for a reason.”

“That’s not how this works, princess.”

“Don’t call me that.” She hated it.

“Then stop acting like a spoiled brat.”

Ashley stopped the treadmill, not caring where she was in the workout. She wasn’t in the mood any longer.

“Now what?” Carter asked, shutting his own off.

“I’m going home. You did all this for nothing.” She didn’t wait for him when she walked away, but did stop and turn back once. “I’m going to Club4 tonight. You’ve been warned.”

“Absolutely not. That place is crawling with people and there’s no way to keep you safe inside. Pick somewhere else.”

“Fat chance.” She left the gym, feeling him staring at her the whole way back to her apartment.

* * *

In the end, she won. Carter must have recognized that she was going regardless. It would have been a victory had it not been for the fact that he stuck to her like glue. She chose to get drunk instead of dealing with him.

There was something freeing about him being there because she could let go and know nothing was going to happen to her. One thing was certain, Carter took his mission to keep her safe seriously.

He kept her drink in his hand when she tried to sit it down. While he didn’t say why, she knew it was to keep anyone from slipping anything in it. That hadn’t happened to her before, thankfully, but she accepted that bit of help.

While her and her friends danced, Carter watched her the whole time. Once when someone got a little handsy, he stepped in and told the man to back off.

Then she had to go with his dating cover because it was too weird to call it anything else with the way he was acting. Her friends gushed over their new relationship, and Ashley gave up and backed out of partying the whole night.

“Ready to go?” she asked Carter.

“You’re done?”

She nodded and hiccupped.

“You’re drunk.” He huffed.

“You’re observant.”

Carter helped her out of the club and held her close as they headed back to her apartment. She let him, her addled brain not letting her push him away because she did like it, not something she’d admit to herself sober.

He tucked her into bed and left her room. Ashley closed her eyes and plotted the next time she was going to get away from him. Her mission was to convince him and her brother that he wasn’t needed.

She grinned to herself as she thought about where she was heading next. A salon day was calling her name after all the work she’d put in. If he wanted to tag along for that one, he could. She just wouldn’t be finishing the day with him there.

This was going to be great. She only wished she’d be able to see his reaction when he realized she’d slipped out again.