Never to Hope by Aimie Grey

need you to go upstairs. Lock the door and don’t open it for anyone other than me. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
    “Okay.” Even though I was scared to be alone, being in the middle of this situation was much more terrifying.
    I waited a few moments after Carter pushed the guy out of the bedroom before following. When I finally made my way into the living room, I found the man on his knees in the middle of the floor, with his back to me. Carter was facing him with the barrel of the gun pressed firmly against his forehead. “Go on, babe. Don’t forget to lock everything.”
    Nodding, I clung to the perimeter of the room in order to stay as far away from them as possible. My keys were in my bag, so I grabbed it from the closet before dashing out into the hallway. Ignoring my earlier aches and pains, I ran up the two flights of stairs to my home, digging through my bag for the key as I went. When I arrived at my destination, I took a deep breath to steady myself long enough to slide the key in the lock and get inside my apartment.
    I flipped the two bolts and slid the chain into place as soon as the door slammed shut. When everything was secure, I started to remember some things I’d learned in a safety seminar they’d had at work a few years back. I retrieved one of the two chairs from my small kitchen table and wedged it under the door handle. After that, I went to my bedroom closet and grabbed the aluminum bat that had been my security system at my old apartment in the city.
    Hours passed while I sat in the middle of the living room floor with my overly alert eyes trained on the front door. The adrenaline trance had me so focused I jumped when the knock finally came.
    “W-who is it?”
    “It’s me, babe. It’s okay to open the door now.”
    A look through the peephole verified my ears hadn’t been playing tricks on me. I dislodged the chair from under the handle, fumbled with the hardware, and then yanked the door open.
    Carter’s arms were wrapped around me before the door was closed all the way.
    “I was so scared,” I whispered into his shirt and dug my fingers into his back.
    “Me, too. I’ve never been that scared before.”
    “Who was he? What happened?”
    “I don’t know who he is or why he was there. When the police showed up, I explained what happened and then handed him over. I had to retell the story several times, and it took me a while to convince them not to interview you. I knew you wouldn’t want to talk to them right now.”
    “Oh, fuck. This was all my fault. I think I forgot to lock the door when I came home. I was just so happy to be home, and—”
    “Shh, baby. It isn’t your fault. You didn’t invite him over”
    “I won’t forget again, I promise.” His long fingers stroked my back as I sobbed into his chest.
    “He would have found a way in even if the door had been locked. If anything, you probably saved me from having a broken door frame or window.”
    “Can we stay here tonight?” I wasn’t sure I could sleep in Carter’s bed right after what had happened.
    “Of course, baby. First thing tomorrow, I’m having a top-of-the-line security system installed in both of our apartments.”
    Talk of security brought a forgotten question from earlier back to the front of my mind. “Why do you have a gun?”
    “For protection.” I waited for him to elaborate, but nothing came. It seemed unusual someone would have a gun in this quiet neighborhood—at least it had been until tonight—unless something had happened to make them feel threatened. His last place had been huge, and I couldn’t imagine it not being in a secure building.
    “Was it loaded?”
    “Yes. Is that a problem for you?”
    My problem was he didn’t seem to trust me enough to open up to me about it. “I’ve just heard stories about how guns are usually turned against the owner during a break in. If I’d been there alone, and he’d found it…” I didn’t even want to think about what might