Free To Hell and Back by Leigha Taylor

come by to sign my release papers.  There has been absolutely no sign of my father, but I can’t stop staring at the clock.  I watch every single second tick by as I wait for Carson.  I really want to believe he’s coming, that yesterday wasn’t a dream, but part of me feels like this can’t possibly be real.  I’m taking a leap of faith and I’m going to see where it takes me.  As long as it’s in the opposite direction of my former home, I’m willing to try.
    I called the school this morning and told them I wouldn’t be back.  I asked about a GED, but, since there are so few weeks left in the school year, they will let me homeschool myself for the rest of the year.  The story I gave them is that I am riddled with anxiety after the attack. I said that I just can’t handle school right now.  It’s kind of ironic; even with all the uncertainty in my life, I’m the least anxious I’ve been in years.  I will have to keep up with my classes, but I can do everything through email. There is no reason for me to ever set foot in the school building again. It feels like I am one step closer to being free of this place, but there is so much more to think about.
    I’m pulled out of my thoughts when I hear the door open and my heart stops for a second.  I can’t help being scared that my father is going to come through that door first and everything is going to go wrong.  My heart resumes it’s normal, if somewhat hastened, rhythm when I see it’s Carson.  He has a bouquet of flowers for me and Claire is right behind him with a wheelchair. 
    “Carson!  Thank God!” I start to get up from the end of the bed but Carson quickly crosses to me and takes my arm.  He kisses me gently on the forehead and I feel so completely cared for in this moment that I just want to stop time and revel in the feeling. 
    Carson laughs a little and says, “Did you think I wouldn’t come? I seem to remember promising to be your knight in shining armor.”
    “Please tell me he didn’t really say that,” Claire chimes in.
    “He really did.”  I smile at her. She pushes the wheelchair toward me and I try to wave it away. “I’m okay to walk, but thank you, Claire.  I feel better today than I have yet.”
    “I’m sure you do, but it’s hospital policy that you can’t walk out of here.  Your boyfriend can bring the car around and I’ll bring you out front.”
    I pale at the word “boyfriend” and my gaze snaps to Carson’s face.  I don’t know what I expected but it wasn’t the look of pure happiness I see there.  He is beaming at me with a smile that not only reaches his eyes, but makes them sparkle, and I feel like pinching myself.  He really is my knight.  Carson hands me the flowers and kisses me again, this time on the lips.  It’s a simple kiss, one that I’m not embarrassed for Claire to see, but it means the world to me. 
    “Thank you, Carson. They’re so beautiful.”
    “So is my girlfriend, ” he says. He tells Claire to be careful with me and heads out to get his car.
    “Wow,” Claire says once the door closes behind Carson.  “I didn’t want to say anything but is that seriously Maxwell Presley?  My younger sister was a huge Stonewall fan and maybe I’m crazy but that looked an awful lot like the guy from the posters on her wall!”
    I don’t usually think about who Carson is to other people.  Everything between us is still so new, but he’s already grown to be more than the guy in the magazines hidden under my mattress.  “Yes, that’s him,” I tell Claire.  “He’s really a wonderful guy, kind of trying to stay out of the spotlight at the moment.”
    “Don’t worry, honey. I won’t be calling the tabloids,” she laughs. “I get the feeling there is a lot more to your story than I know. That young man looks at you like you hung the moon and I’m happy for you. Everyone should have someone who looks at them that way.”
    She motions to the wheelchair and I sit down.