Building on Lies Read Free

eyes shut tight, a box cutter held out in front of her. He said I was shaking so bad he thought I was having a seizure.
    Very romantic, right?
    “ Hey, are you OK?" he asked me, concerned. I had my eyes closed, so I didn’t know it was Channing who was talking to me. I was so scared I didn’t care if it was the President himself who was talking to me.
    “ What’s wrong? How can I help?" he asked, taking the box cutter from my sweaty, shaking hands. “ Hey…open your eyes, sweetheart. Look at me. What’s wrong?”
    His voice sounded so soothing, and so concerned, I managed to open my eyes. Under ordinary circumstances, I would have been ecstatic to be close to Channing Sutton, one of the hottest guys in school. But at that moment, all I wanted was to get out of the closet, and out of the Sutton house. I wanted to be home, in my room, in my bed, which I knew for sure was spider-free.
    “ Spider," was all I could say.
    “ Spider?" he repeated, and I was surprised he understood me, because I was so scared my throat felt like it was closing off.
    “ Scared," I choked out. “ Scared of spiders. Very scared”.
    “ You’re very scared of spiders?" he asked, his brow furrowed. Then, because Channing is not only amazingly handsome, he’s also amazingly intelligent, he nodded his head in understanding.
    “ Oh," he said, quietly. “ You’re scared of spiders. You saw one in here somewhere?”
    I nodded, and I started crying. Like a baby. In fact, I wanted my mother, and I actually told him so.
    “ I want to get out of this closet! I want my mom!" I whimpered, because arachnophobia will do that to you. It will turn you into a quivering blubbery idiot, crying for your mother. In front of a hot, popular guy.
    “ OK, Nellie. We’ll get you out of here, and we’ll find your mom," Channing said, in a calm voice. He knelt down in front of me and extended his hand. “ Just get up and hold my hand, and we’ll walk out together”.
    I shook my head. I literally could not move unless I knew the spider was gone.
    Channing realized this because he got up and looked around. “ I don’t see the spider anywhere. Let’s get you out of here, and far away from it just in case”.
    This time instead of waiting for me to take his hand, he grabbed mine and pulled me up. His grip was firm, and I held onto his hand tight. I didn’t care that my hands were slick with sweat. I just wanted out of the closet.
    He opened the door, and we quickly walked out. He led me back to the kitchen, where the housekeeper was still chatting away on her cell.
    “ Is everything OK? Did you find what you needed?" she asked, putting the phone away from her ear.
    “ Stay with her, Gemma. Let me get her some water," Channing said, walking towards the kitchen cabinet.
    Gemma noticed how red and shaken I was, because she hung up the phone and asked what was wrong.
    “ What happened? Why are you crying?" she asked, putting her hand over mine. “ Oh wow, you’re shaking like a leaf!”
    My mother and Giselle entered the kitchen just then. They wondered what was taking me so long.
    “ Hey, sweetie? Were you able to find something we can open those boxes with?" my mother asked, but then she rushed over when she saw my face. “ Nellie! What’s the matter?”
    Channing placed a glass of water in front of me, and I reached for it. I was still feeling anxious and out of sorts, but I thought since he was nice enough to pour me water I might as well drink it. I brought the cup up to my lips, but my hands were shaking so bad the water sloshed down the sides.
    “ I found her in the storage closet. She saw a spider," Channing told my mother. “ She was pretty scared”.
    My mother sighed, and reached out to stroke my hair. “ She’s terrified of spiders. They bring on a panic attack in her. She’s been scared of them since she was very young”.
    “ I found a box cutter and I was about to bring it to you," I explained to my mother. “ But then this spider