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My throat tightened. Sweat appeared and dripped down my face. My heart banged in my ears. I scanned my eyes around the restaurant as if any of these customers sitting at the tables could be there to harm me. My body trembled. The waiter approached from behind me with a pitcher of water.
I shrieked and jumped in my seat.
“Jasmine? Are you okay?” Chase reached for my hand. I shoved it away and rose.
“I have to go to the lady’s room.” I wiped some of the sweat away. My stomach twisted into an unsettling knot.
Focus on breathing. Count your breaths. You know what to do.
I sucked in a lot of air through my nose.
“Let me walk you.” Chase rose.
“No.” I hurried away, bumping into a woman as she left the bathroom.
They all died.
A cold dread expanded across my skin. My fingers turned ice cold. I rubbed them together.
But who did it? Do they want to hurt me? Am I safe? Stay in the moment. Don’t think about it. Breathe.
Chapter 9
Drunken Lyrics
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I stood in the bathroom for fifteen minutes, meditating and calming myself down.
When I walked out, Chase stood by the door.
It took another five minutes to reassure him that I was okay and it was just one of many anxiety attacks I’d experienced in my life. They’d started the day after Troy killed my mother’s boyfriend.
Through the years, I’d learned to cope with them.
Dinner continued in silence with a little casual talk tossed in. I think Chase figured I was too fragile for his arrangement and decided not to bring it up again.
