LORI
Jason caught most of the fall, but my legs gave out completely. I was breathing like I’d run a marathon uphill with a brick strapped to my chest. My hands clawed at the fabric of his shirt, gripping it like it could anchor me back into myself. My whole body felt too tight, like it wasn’t mine anymore. My heart slammed against my ribs like it was trying to break out.
“I—” I gasped, swallowed, blinked, and blinked again. “I almost… I was gonna hurt her.”
Jason held me, arms solid around my back, his chest rising and falling in this steady rhythm that started syncing with mine, even when everything else felt scrambled and wrong. He didn’t tell me to calm down, he didn’t say it wasn’t a big deal, he didn’t lie.
“I heard things,” I said, voice shaking. “In my head. Like whispers but l
