Chapter 18

                                    

                                          
~Ashton~
I carried Esther to my room and laid her down on my bed, tucking her in like a child. She had finally calmed down in the car once we were away from the station but she still wouldn't tell me what triggered her to have a panic attack like that and after a few minutes of me driving she had fallen asleep in the passenger seat. 
I turned away from her to go call George, the chief, to ask what happened before I came into the room as I didn't have time to get the story before I took Esther home but when I tried to walk away she grabbed my hand, stopping me. "Stay with me," She almost whispered. "please."
"Of course." I kissed her forehead and laid down next to her, pulling her closer to me. She cuddled into my chest and soon fell back asleep.
As she slept I tried to recall anything that could've made her have a panic attack but I couldn't think of anything. Nothing had happened in the short amount of time that she was in the room that I knew of except Matthew Aldine was brought into the interrogation room but that's it. I didn't understand why that would cause her to have a panic attack, though. 
I knew there were things in her life that she wasn't telling me and I didn't want to force her to tell me but at this point I needed to know so I could protect her from it. I couldn't help but feel like it was my fault, after all I was the one who had brought her. I finally decided to ask her about everything when she woke up since I didn't want this to happen again. 
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I was still laying with her in bed a few hours later when she finally woke up. "How are you feeling, darling?" I ran my fingers through her hair as she stretched out.
"Better." She sighed as she continued. "I'm sorry you had to deal with all that. I really didn't expect that to happen."
I lifted her chin with my finger so she would look at my face. "Mae, it's not your fault. I don't want you to feel like you have to apologize to me for stuff like that. I want to be there for you." I left a light kiss on her lips.
She didn't say anything for a while and it seemed like she was thinking about something. "Thank you, Ash."
I kissed her once more and finally asked the question that had been gnawing at me for the past few hours. "What caused you to have that panic attack, Mae?" 
"It's a long story." 
"I have the rest of the day off from work, darling. I have time to listen and I need you to tell me so I can help you. I can't help if you don't tell me the full story." 
She sighed again and got up from the bed, walking towards my closet. I was sure she was going to tell me to forget about it when she spoke up, surprising me. "Let me change into comfortable clothes first then I'll tell you everything I can." 
I nodded, telling her I understood as she grabbed some of my clothes and walked to the bathroom. I got out of my bed and started to pick clothes up off the floor and throw them into the laundry bin in the corner of my room, trying to distract my impatient mind. 
Esther walked out of the bathroom as I was picking up the last of the clothes and tossing them in the laundry bin. She walked over to my bed and sat back down in the same spot she had slept in, pulling the grey comforter up to hide her face in. "Darling, why are you hiding?" I softly asked as I sat next to her and pulled her into my arms.
"I'm nervous, I've never told anyone else the details of it and I have no clue what you're going to think."
"I'm not going to judge you, if that's what you're thinking, Mae. I'm never going to judge you for something you've gone through."