The Freewheelin' [𝑩𝒐𝒃 𝑫𝒚𝒍𝒂𝒏]

Chapter 7: Anxiety

"Do you eat?"

"What kinda question is that? Of course I do, I'm not a ghost! How many times do I have to say that." Bob chuckled and threw his hat from hand to hand, looking up at Lesley from the floor.

"What are you then?" She shut her door and threw some little scraps from dinner down.

"Oh nice, thanks." He said sarcastically. "I don't feel up to a Q&A right now....can't I just have some time to not think?"

Lesley sighed and sat at her vanity, placing her head in her hands. A silence fell over the room, neither real sure what to say.

Bob stood up, walking slowly to stand behind Lesley, watching himself in the mirror. He picked up his right hand and ran it through her hair, her head shooting up in response.

"What're you doing?"

"Your hair was frizzy. I straightened it out. Easy peasy." He smirked at her in the mirror, her eyes locked on his as she tried to decode. He stumbled back and sat on her bed, pulling his untied worn-out leather boots off from his feet. He dropped them on the wood floor with a soft thud, looking back up to catch Lesley watching him through the mirror.

"Don't get too excited now, darling- don't think you're getting a full show." He teased and cocked his brows, gesturing to himself.

"Oh please. I'm not even justifying that with a response." Her skin lightly glowed pink at the teasing, rolling her eyes and standing up for the tiny chair.

"I assume you sleep, and there's no way in hell you're sleeping in here."

"Oh really, you think I sleep? That's new! Where are you throwing me then?"

"I don't know......basement I guess." She shrugged and opened her door back up motioning for the man to follow. He obnoxiously sighed but complied and grabbed his shoes before following behind her. They twisted and turned down the stairs and hallways until they reached the final floor of the house-the basement. An old couch sat in the middle with other little odds and ends scattered around it, like boxes, side tables, and what not. He set his stuff down, taking a stroll around the small area.

"Roomie."

Lesley ignored his comment, grabbing some blankets and pillows from a closet and throwing them down to the couch softly. Strands of hair fell forward covering her face, her slender fingers tucking them back behind her ear.

"That was pretty endearing." Bob spoke softly and sat down, gifting her a small smile while she stood behind him.

Her mind buffered as a reaction, standing in place for a longer time then she should've. "You're- you're not even real-?" Her head felt slightly fuzzy as she tried to wrap it around what was actually happening in this moment.

"Of course I am! If I have to tell you this one more time-" he sighed loudly, throwing his head back.

She shook her head and twisted herself up the stairs. He waved her off confused, watching her run up. Her breathing rapidly sped up, not sure if it was from running up the stairs or her own mind.

"Hun! Hey! Why were you down there?" Her mom stopped her, visibly confused noticing her state.

"Oh- I just wanted to see if we had uhm some pillows form a while ago. I found them, we're good! Was just wondering, just curious." She fumbled the words out quick, seeming more suspicious than ever.

"Okay....glad to hear it..."

"Yeah! I'm gonna catch some Z's- goodnight!" She spat out before speed walking to her room, holding back tears as she shut her door. Her heart fell into the pit of her stomach, and her fingers started trembling while the tears flowed. She quietly gasped for air, falling on her bed. The world felt like it was caving in, like every breath would be her last, like her heart was going at super sonic speeds yet inevitably failing her- a feeling of no escape crowded her and she shook and cried, squeezing her fists together in hopes of calming herself. She sat up and paced around her room, rubbing her eyes to dry them out but it was no use. Everything washed over her like waves, she felt better for a second before it struck like a hammer.

The door cracked open, assuming her mom had heard her. But that wasn't it. Bob walked in slowly and asked what was wrong, shutting the door behind him as she cried harder seeing him.

"Anxiety-" she chocked out between cries, forcing herself to talk, not sure why she did after. "You're not even real, I'm going fucking insane- what even is any of this, what the fuck" she mumbled and flapped her hands.

He waltzed over to her slowly, not saying anything as he placed a hand on her arm.

"Hunny, I am real. You're not insane. Do you feel my hand on your arm? Do you feel my breath on your face?" He asked quietly, the first sincere thing he's said the whole time. She nodded and cried harder, so he pulled her into his chest.

"Listen, I know this is fucking with you but you have to trust me when I say this. You're perfectly sane, if anything I'm the insane one. I can feel you right now, and you can feel me. We're mended together, and you can feel it. Look into my eyes. Tell me what color they are." He rubbed her back up and down.

"Blue." She whispered and wiped her eyes.

"What colors my hair?"

"Brown."

"What color is my shirt?"

"Blue."

"What do you smell right now?"

"Pine trees..tea..cigarettes.."

"Close your eyes." She followed his orders, her breathing slowing down.

"Take my hand, I'm sitting you on the bed." He grabbed her hand softly, leading her towards the cushion.

"Lay down. Breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. Focus on what you smell, my voice and my touch. Describe when things change."

This went on until she opened her tear stung eyes, her body feeling absolutely exhausted. Her muscles hurt, her brain hurt, her lungs- everything ached.

"I'm real, you don't ever need to worry about it." She nodded and rolled onto her side, not having enough energy to talk. He pulled her blankets around her frame, then walked over to leave. He stopped a moment before shutting the lights off, biting his lip. He felt a pain in his own chest, feeling....bad? He felt horrible, actually..

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A/N!: hey! I hope this chapter doesn't seem rushed, I wasn't real sure on the pace- so, having said that, I apologize if it is!!! Thank you guys for the love on this story, while I have you hear!!! It's so encouraging to keep writing, even if I suck ass at updating sometimes ! Thank you guys, I appreciate it so much!!🫶🏻🤎