Bad Karma

two

Leilani Elrod

Episode 1. Pilot

"Hurricane Agatha continues it's steady march towards Kildare Island on the Outer Banks of North Carolina."

"No, no, it's okay. It won't hit us-" The hurricane siren cut Kie off from comforting me, sending me into another fit of hysteria. Kie looked up at JJ, her eyebrows kneaded together as she rubbed circles on my back. My chest burned and my body shook uncontrollably.

JJ squatted next to me and set a hand on my knee, "Lee, can you hear me? Lee?" I slowly nodded. "Alright, you need to breathe with me, okay?" I shook my head, "Yes, you can. Ready? In-" I tried to breath in, but the breath was shaky and I kept having to restart, "- and out." I breathed out.

We continued this until I could breathe somewhat normally, "Where's John B and Pope?" I squeaked out, looking over at Kie with wide eyes. She opened her mouth to reply, but my mind began to move a mile a minute and I cut her off, "We have to get them! They're gonna get stuck- and- and- what if they-"

"Lei-"

"They could-"

"Lee!" JJ said loudly, squeezing my knee while trying to ground me again, "Why don't we go lay down, yeah?" He stood up and wrapped his arms under mine to help me get up. Tears clouded my vision and I relied on JJ to lead me to John B's room, which had been converted to mine after he moved into Big John's room.

JJ sat with me on the bed and kept me tucked into his side. I hated being a nuisance every time there was a single drop of rain. I hated constantly worrying about everyone and everything. I hated the looks everyone would give me after one of my episodes. But they took care of me. They always did.

"I'm sorry, J." I cried harder, keeping myself buried into his chest.

"Shh." He cooed softly, "Don't apologize. I've got you. Close your eyes."

I did as he said and he began to trace patterns into my upper arm, his soft breath on my head lulling me to sleep.

I woke up what felt like minutes later, rain pounding on the roof and wind whipping the windows. My breathing sped up and I was hit full force with a wave of nausea. I snapped out of bed, completely forgetting that JJ was passed out beside me, and ran as fast as I could to the bathroom, immediately doubling over the toilet and letting the contents of my stomach spill out.

"Hey, hey." JJ's voice filled my ears, drowning out the intense ringing in my head. He set a careful hand on my back and his other hand held my hair back as I finished vomiting, being left with nothing in my stomach and dry heaving over the toilet. I reached my hand up and flushed the toilet.

"You're all right. Let's get you cleaned up, okay?" I weakly nodded and he helped me up, helping me brush my teeth and grabbing me a glass of water. Aqua-phobia was a spectrum, and I was at the point on the spectrum to where I was afraid of being in large bodies of water and drowning. Not even getting started on my obvious astraphobia. So, no, I'm not afraid of showers or drinking water.

And I could be on a boat. After the accident, I couldn't even touch a boat or go near water, but after baby-steps, I could now happily spend a day on the boat with my friends as they splashed around in the water.

Thunder rumbled and JJ had carried my back into the bed, checking a hundred times if I was going to throw up again. I wasn't. He kept me wrapped tightly in his arms. The worst part of my panic attack was over, but the tremors continued. Jumping and panicking with every strike of lightening and shaking more and more as the rain pounded against the roof harder.

"You wanna hear a story?" JJ asked. I nodded, though I knew exactly what story he was going to tell. He told the same one every time. So, he told me about the mermaid that found the royal merchant. How she befriended every creature that swam by, giving each of them a bar of the lost gold and sending them on their merry way. I had never heard the end of the story, because, like every other time he told this story, I nodded off to sleep, my hand gripping his T-shirt and his arms wrapped tightly around me.