Finding Carter | ✓

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter 13
Accidental Kisses

Tuesday rolled around a few days later, and I ended up being forcefully woken up by another dream of Aiden. He had found me and decided to finish what he started that day. His hands wrapping around my neck and...

My feet pounded harder against the pavement as I picked up my pace. Oliver easily matched my speed, almost gleefully.

The moment I exited the lobby, Oliver must have read something on my expression because he didn't say anything before jogging at a light pace next to me. We remained silent for over thirty minutes, until I gradually slowed my speed.

"Feeling better?" Oliver asked softly.

Twisting my head to him, I pinched my lips into a tight smile. "That obvious?"

He staggered a bit before walking in long strides. Quickly checking our surroundings, I realized we were getting closer to my building. We did almost four laps around our area.

"You can talk to me, you know? I don't just have to be your running partner," he joked and nudged my side. "What happened?"

"You've got to be a little more specific, Ollie."

Cocking his head toward the clear sky, he shrugged. "Well, first... what happened Friday? You just disappeared."

"Didn't you see—"

"The fight?" He interrupted me with a quirked brow. "Yeah. What happened?"

Not wanting to recall the past, I grumbled, "A guy got touchy."

Oliver didn't say anything right away. "What the fuck?" He shook his head in disbelief. "Shit. Good thing security didn't catch your friend, then. They were looking for him, but you got him out too fast."

I was relieved about that. Although, I did have to talk to Daniel about not causing fights when security was so close by.

"But that still doesn't answer my question," he continued after a few moments. He peeked in my direction before brisky moving his gaze forward. "What happened that made you so angry today? Did... Daniel do something?"

"No, no. He's fine," I rushed out, eager to defend him. "He didn't do anything. It's me. I had a bad sleep." Not a total lie.

Oliver pursed his lips but didn't say anything after that. I was tempted to pick up my speed again, but as we turned a corner, I ended up stumbling and nearly falling when I spotted Dallas—who was leaning against a brick wall.

While I was initially relieved that he wasn't idling by my apartment complex, he was on my street. I didn't want to go home while he could see where I was walking.

Dallas pushed himself off the wall and smirked when our eyes met. I caught movement behind him and realized he wasn't alone. Two of his friends were standing with him.

Oliver must have sensed something was wrong because he puffed his chest out and stayed by my side. Still, I focused on Dallas, who kept his amused gaze on me before taking a calculating step forward.

Last I saw Dallas was outside the grocery store, less than two weeks ago. He still looked the same, with his short, nearly black hair and dark eyes to match. Tattoos ran down his arms and up his neck, which was easy to see since all he wore was a white tee-shirt. I questioned if he was cold but realized I didn't really... give a fuck.

"It's nice to see you again, Carter," Dallas suddenly spoke, spitting out my name as if saying it tasted like acid. "You got yourself a fuckboy already?"

He took another threatening step closer, making Oliver tense next to me. Instead of answering, however, my jaw clenched as I tilted my head and shoved my hand into my pocket, clenching my pepper spray for comfort.