Free Resist Me (Change Me Book One - standalone): McCoy Raven Boys by A.O. Peart Page A

caught one of those glances and asked, “Do you think someone might be actually following us?” My heart did a flip in my chest and started to race again. What if we were followed? What if we didn’t escape unnoticed as we hoped?  
    “I don’t think so. Since we left, I didn’t see a single vehicle or a motorcycle follow us. But I’m keeping an eye on the road,” he said quietly.  
    Was he really so sure, or did he simply try not to freak me out? My breath got shallow and ragged. I knew what was coming—I’ve developed anxiety as the aftermath of all the latest occurrences. I dug in my backpack, searching for my pills. I hated taking meds, but sometimes it was the only way to calm down. And now I didn’t want to have the full-blown anxiety attack.  
    Ethan squinted at me, but didn’t say anything. By now my hands trembled uncontrollably. My panic attacks were usually mild, but this one was approaching fast. Too fast. The vial fell down from between my fingers and rolled onto the floor. I tried to bend in my waist to retrieve it, but the seatbelt restrained me, so I unfastened it and quickly grabbed my pills.  
    “What’s that?” Ethan inquired. His eyes moving from the vial to my face. “Are you okay?”
    “I’m… uh, not really. I have anxiety now… from all those terrible things… you know, all I told you about. I need to take my pill.” I shook out a few white tablets onto my palm, put one in my mouth, and tilted my head back. We didn’t have any water left, so I had to swallow the medicine without it.  
    “What are you taking?”
    “ Buspirone.”  
    Ethan asked, “How often?”
    “Usually once a day, sometimes less. It depends on how I feel.”
    “Do you have a prescription refill?”
    I looked at him, not comprehending why he was asking me all these questions.  
    “I’m trained as a paramedic too, remember?” He seemed to read my mind. “If you need the meds, I have to know what pharmacy carries your refills.”
    Wow, that was smart.  
    “Oh, it makes sense. Thanks for thinking of that,” I mumbled, openly staring at this bewildering man. “But I just got it refilled, so there is a month worth of the meds in here.” I lifted the orange-colored plastic container to show him.
    He nodded. I leaned back in the seat and closed my eyes, trying to breathe deeply and slowly. A few moments later I turned my head toward Ethan and looked at him. He was chewing on his lower lip, deep in thought, driving with one hand on the steering wheel and the other arm draped across his leg.  
    My medication probably started to kick in, because I became feeling more relaxed. I slumped even more in my seat, still watching Ethan. He wore washed-off jeans with a few small holes around the knees and one on his thigh. The black t-shirt with a small silver raven on the left side of his chest definitely wasn’t the Fire Department issued, so I assumed he changed when he went to grab his backpack from the firehouse. I thought about my own clothes which I swapped with Chris.        
    “What?” He raised his eye brows. “You’re staring at me.”
    “Sorry.” I shrugged. “This is the first time in weeks that I’m actually not scared out of my wits. It feels really good.”
    His eyes lingered on me. I was wondering what went through his mind now. But then he changed the subject, “That grocery store I mentioned is not far from here. When we get there, we’ll need to be swift and act inconspicuous so nobody remembers us.”  
    My expression must’ve changed at his words, because he added in a little bit gentler voice, “It’s okay. If we don’t bring any attention to ourselves, nobody should really notice us.”
    “Ethan, I need to tell you something,” I said quietly.
    He whipped his face back to me.  
    “My real name isn’t Gloria Glass. The FBI witness protection program changed it.”
    “I figured that much.” He visibly relaxed. “So what is your real name?”
    “It’s