Page 41 of From That Moment

There were no cameras in the parking lot, something that was going to be changed.

And according to Hazel, I had Prior to thank for that, too.

So, I didn’t know who had attacked me, and I might not ever know. If it wasn’t attached to my past, and it wasn’t Benji, then who was it? Maybe one of the dates that I’d been on before? I didn’t know. I didn’t think so, though.

Maybe whoever it was only wanted my purse.

They hadn’t taken that, though. Instead, they had hurt me, bruised me, and gave me nightmares.

I still didn’t know who it was or who it could be.

The one name that kept coming to my mind no matter what, was the person who had been there when I needed help.

Prior had been there.

And I didn’t know what I was going to do about that.

I would have to face him soon. I needed to thank him and figure out what to say.

And all the while, I’d have to do my best not to think about him in any other way.

He wasn’t mine. He was someone else’s.

Maybe that was exactly why I needed to go on another date. To put Prior out of my mind. And the nightmares, too.

As I looked at my reflection in the mirror, I didn’t think I would be able to forget anytime soon. The bruises would fade, and my ribs would heal, but my nightmares would remain—like always.

No matter how far I looked into the future, my past was always there to haunt me.

Always.

Chapter 9

Prior

“Paris is backto work today, right?” Nate asked as we turned the corner, the sun coming up in front of us.

I nodded, let out a breath, and panted a bit since we were jogging. I hated talking while I ran. Nate loved the exercise, and since he was the one who wanted to jog this morning, and I needed to clear my head, I had to deal with the chatting. “Yes. I don’t think she’s working a whole day.”

“Your boss is letting that play out?” Nate asked.

“Yes,” I said, my chest burning. I was running way too fast, trying to keep up with Nate. It wasn’t that I wasn’t an okay runner, it was more that Nate was fucking good and could do this for hours. I liked to run a couple of miles and call it a day. Nate could probably run marathons if he tried.

However, he was my baby brother, and I had to at leasttryto keep up with him. It was the principle of the thing.

Nate had always been this way, though. The best athlete of us all. And it didn’t escape our notice that while he might be the best athlete, his twin sister was the one who was the sickest of us all, lupus trying to take her from us every time she got ill.

I frowned, pushing those weird thoughts from my mind. I didn’t know why I was getting all philosophical when it came to the family. Maybe it was because I was trying not to think about Paris and the fact that I was going to see her today.

I didn’t know why it should bother me. I kept thinking about her screaming, and what would’ve happened if I hadn’t been there. What would’ve happened if I had been two seconds late, or perhaps two seconds early? Would she have been as hurt if I hadn’t gotten there on time? Or maybe I should have walked her to her damn car so she wouldn’t be hurt at all.

I kept thinking about it, over and over again, but I couldn’t push it from my mind, even though I should.

I couldn’t fix this. I couldn’t help her.

“Prior?”

We turned into my driveway, and I leaned forward, resting my hands on my knees as I tried to catch my breath.