THE BLEEDING HEART

PANIC ATTACK

Chapter 5: THE THUNDERSTORM AND BURIED TRAUMA

A violent, unyielding thunderstorm struck the city on a Friday evening.

By 8:30 PM, the rain was pouring in blinding sheets, and the wind howled fiercely against the skyscraper. Most of the corporate staff had rushed home early to avoid the gridlock, leaving only Kenneth and Ian on the executive floor.Ian sat at his desk, staring blankly at his computer screen.

But he wasn't working. As a massive, blinding flash of lightning lit up the dark sky outside, followed instantly by a deafening, earth-shaking crack of thunder, Ian stiffened.To anyone else, it was just a bad storm.

But to Ian, the sound of the thunder and the vibration of the glass walls were a terrifying echo of a nightmare from seventeen years ago—the horrific sound of twisting metal, shattering windshields, and the final, desperate screams of his parents before their car plunged into darkness.

Ian’s hands began to shake so violently that he couldn't even keep them on the keyboard. His breathing turned shallow and rapid. A suffocating panic attack clawed its way up his throat, making him feel as though the oxygen had been completely sucked out of the room.

He pulled his knees up to his chest, burying his face in his arms, trying to make himself as small as possible.Kenneth walked out of his office, his expensive wool coat draped over his arm, ready to leave for the night. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the pitiful sight at the secretary’s desk.

Ian was huddled in his chair, pale as a ghost, tears streaming freely down his face as his entire body trembled uncontrollably.A normal, detached boss would have walked past, ignoring the personal drama of an employee.

But the raw, unadulterated terror in Ian’s sky-blue eyes struck a deep chord within Kenneth’s long-buried humanity."Sue? What on earth is wrong with you?" Kenneth demanded, dropping his coat onto a chair and striding over to the desk.Ian couldn't answer. He was trapped in the past.

Another flash of lightning illuminated the office, and Ian let out a choked gasp, tightly clamping his hands over his ears to block out the incoming thunder.Seeing the sheer agony on the boy's face, Kenneth lost all his calculated restraint.

He reached down and firmly grabbed Ian’s wrists, forcefully but carefully pulling them away from his ears."Look at me, Ian! Look at my face!" Kenneth commanded, his voice loud but fiercely grounded. "The storm is outside. You are safe in this building. Breathe, damn it! Look at me and breathe!"