5
Jessica woke up instantly. She couldn’t explain why, but all of a sudden, she was wide awake.
She didn’t open her eyes, just listened to her surroundings. Then she heard a crash.
She jumped out of bed like it had been lit on fire around her. She stopped. Her reality rushed back like a tidal wave overtaking a beach, all at once with no compassion for the damage it was leaving behind.
Jessica grabbed the edge of the dresser, Braden’s dresser, and gasped for breath. Panic gripped her, seizing every part of her body until her vision darkened around the edges and she thought she was going to pass out.
“Breathe, just breathe.”
The voice was far away, but she heard it. It kept telling her to breathe, and her body obeyed it, sucking in air in gulps and choking it out when she forgot to exh
