Breathe Out (Just Breathe, #2)(95)

“No,” Nathan argues sternly, holding more firmly as I squirm.

“What?” I mumble.

Nathan lowers me into the passenger seat and Jared hooks me in.

Panic rises inside me and I’m unable to fight the tears forming in my eyes. “Jared, please,” I beg.

“Jared, maybe you shouldn’t force her,” Pop-Pop states.

“Jared,” I plea. My body is frozen from shock and fear. I can’t move.

“You sure we should force her?” Joe questions nervously.

“Jared, you’re scaring her,” Pop-Pop tries to reason.

“Jared, please don’t make me do this,” I sob. “Please.”

Jared finishes buckling himself in and takes my hands. “Kitten, do you trust me?”

My head furiously shakes at what’s about to happen and I gulp for air to speak. “Yes, but . . .” I mumble as he wipes the tears away.

“I won’t let anything bad happen to you,” he reassures. “I promise.”

“Please,” I beg again, hoping that he’ll listen.

Jared ignores my pleas, wrapping his arm around me as I continue to cry and beg.

“Jared, please,” I continue. “Please don’t make me do this.”

Jared, Nathan and Maggie have tried to get me to ride bumper cars and go-karts in the past, but I’ve always been too afraid — panic attacks ensue each time. They look too much like a car with less padding and coverage. I hate riding in cars, but I’ve been able to adapt — sort of. Whenever we’ve gone places where they had these contraptions, I’d always sit to the side and watch them have fun.


I squeeze my eyes shut, duck my head behind Jared’s shoulder and grip his arm, not wanting to see anything. A scream leaps from my throat when the car jolts from being turned on. “I f*cking hate you,” I shout.”

“No, you don’t,” Jared challenges.

“Yes, I do!” I shout.

Jared wraps his right arm around my waist.

Our bodies are hurled through the air and my nerves continue to tremble as I slowly begin to hear my friends laughing and shouting. No one bumps into us, and when I eventually look, I see that Jared avoids bumping into them.

“Look out!” I scream, ducking into Jared’s chest. Nathan almost collides with our car.

“Come on, Emma,” Jared coaxes. “I need your eyes. You got to tell me when they’re coming up behind us.”

“Nice try,” I scold. The sound of a car colliding with something catches my attention and I yelp.

“See,” he mentions. “I need you to warn me.”

My eyes pop open a little and I can just barely see over the back of the car. “Maggie at seven o’clock,” I announce.

Maggie’s car skims the edge of our vehicle as Jared jerks the steering wheel, forcing us to bolt in a different direction.

“Don’t stop,” Jared encourages. “What else do you see?”

Popping open, my eyes confirm Joe trailing us. “Joe’s at our six o’clock,” I reveal.

“How close?” Jared checks.

Joe grins at me and suddenly jerks his wheel to the right, deflecting Nathan from coming at Jared and me. I watch as Pop-Pop and Joanna, who are riding in the same car, collide into the opposite side of Nathan’s vehicle. Pop-Pop and Joe send me reassuring smiles and the tension eases a little from my shoulders.

After a few more rounds of dodging vehicles, Jared inquires, “Who should we get?”

“What?”

“Who do you want to target?” Jared questions.

My eyes scan the people around us and a wicked grin smears across my face. “Nathan.”

“Sweet,” Jared confirms with a devious laugh.

Jared swirls around, avoiding Maggie and Henry and corners Nathan with the aid of Pop-Pop.

“Get him,” Pop-Pop coaxes.

A giggle brushes past my lips as Jared and I head directly toward the front of Nathan’s car. I scream when out our vehicles collide, but the jolt isn’t as jarring as I expect it to be.

“Who’s next?” Jared asks.

“Maggie,” I reply.

“I got your back,” Nathan says, still laughing.

Maggie’s able to avoid us with the temporary help of Henry, but Pop-Pop and Nathan come to our aid to corner her. Jared and I continue to ride around, seeking out targets while getting hit just as many times as we intend to strike others.

“See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Jared says, helping me out of the car.

My cheeks hurt from smiling and I shake my head in disbelief. Maggie, Joanna and I head to the restroom before continuing on. Right as we enter the facilities, I bolt toward the nearest toilet.

“Emma, you okay?” Maggie inquires.

Vomit surfaces in my throat two seconds after my face reaches the porcelain rim. I uncontrollably hurl into the bowl several times. Maggie helps by flushing the toilet to rid my nostrils of the horrific smell as she wipes my nose and mouth with toilet paper.

“You good?” she asks once I sit back against the wall of the stall.

“That was f*cking horrible,” I shout. “How could you let them do that to me?”

Maggie squats down to a sitting position. “Emma?”