A waft of barbecue-scented heat washed over Gray, and he started tapping his foot restlessly.
“So, where’s my girl now?” Landon asked.
“At home with a friend,” Austin answered. Then he loosened his tie and caught sight of Gray and Jayden. “Hello.” He smiled politely.
“Oh, right.” Landon gestured to Gray and Darius. “They might buy the Wagoneer.”
“Ah.” Austin accepted a beer from Chase and was visibly relieved. “Thanks. Have you offered them anything?” he asked Landon pointedly.
Landon smirked and slid his gaze to Gray. “Austin and my wife help me be a better man. You want anything to drink, kid?”
Gray shook his head and felt his chest grow tight. “Thanks, I’m good.”
How long was this gonna take?
He heard Landon offer Jayden a soda, but the words sounded far away. Someone added insult to injury and put on music in the shop too. Rock music poured out. Everyone was having a good time. Through bits and pieces of conversation, Gray understood they were close friends and family, and they met up for dinner once a month. Landon mentioned last time at their place. Austin spoke of next month at their house. Jayden gulped down some Coke from a glass bottle and said something Gray couldn’t decipher. He stared at the boy; he saw his lips moving, but he couldn’t for the life of him hear any of it.
His heart started hammering.
He blinked and wiped sweat off his forehead.
Nausea crawled up his throat.
“Darius, come quick!” Jayden yelled.
Oh God.
Gray choked on a breath. It felt like someone had tightened a rope around his neck, and the edges of his vision were turning black.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“Hey! Everybody back off.” That sounded like Austin, but Gray wasn’t sure.
And then it didn’t matter because Darius appeared in front of him and cradled Gray’s face in his hands.
Darius was repeating something over and over, too quietly for it to rise above the rushing sounds in Gray’s ears. Gulping in some air, he did his best to focus on Darius. Panic threatened to overtake him—just you and me. Gray blinked, unsure if he had heard the words or thought them.
“Listen to my voice, knucklehead. It’s just you and me—somewhere else.”
Their game…
They’d done it on the yacht. They’d done it after they’d been rescued from the island too. They’d pretended it was only them in the world. Just the two of them, somewhere else.
“Just you and me,” Gray whispered hoarsely.
Darius nodded and combed back Gray’s hair with his fingers. It was a soft touch that sent a shiver through the discomfort of everything else. “You and me, somewhere else,” he murmured. “You got this. You’re stronger than you think.”
Gray sucked in a shaky breath and held it, then let it out slowly. And he reached out blindly for Jayden, thankful beyond words when he wrapped his fingers around a small wrist. He needed them both close.
“It’s time to feel better now,” Jayden whispered in his ear. “I’ll hug you, okay? I’ll hug you. You gotta feel better.” His arms came around Gray’s chest, or almost, and he rested his head on Gray’s shoulder. “Please feel better now.”
Gray did feel better. He was starting to, anyway. Because these two guys knew how to steal his attention better than anyone else.
“Come on, let’s get you some fresh air.” Darius stood up and pulled Gray with him. “Focus on breathing. You have your anxiety meds in the car, right?”
He wasn’t a big fan of those but acknowledged now wasn’t the time to argue. He needed to clear his brain and power down.
On the way to the Jeep, Darius promised to take care of Jayden and that they’d be out of here soon.
Gray’s head was swimming, and he only resurfaced in an instinctive jerk when Darius went to open the passenger’s side door. Instead, Gray went with the back seat. He pushed some of their belongings down onto the floor and then collapsed across the seats, his feet sticking out.
Darius reached inside the car with a bottle of water and a pill.
Gray had no energy left. He merely stared unseeingly at what Darius extended to him.
It made Darius switch tactics, and he rounded the car instead. He opened the other door, coming closer to Gray’s head, and bent down to place the pill between his lips.
“Take this for me, baby,” Darius murmured. “You need to rest. I’ll handle everything else, all right? We’ll be out of here soon. I’m just gonna take the Wagoneer on a quick test drive.”
“I can watch him,” Jayden offered.
That gave Gray enough strength to shake his head and swallow down the pill. “I’ll be fine,” he croaked. “Go with Darius.” At this point, buying that car would take less time than going to a rental place. Besides, Gray was past the period where everything shut down just because he had a panic attack. He only needed to rest for a while. Life went on, and he had to accept setbacks along the way.