Sugar & Spice: remake

Always there

*Ava goes through a panic episode in this chapter*

The next morning came a new day, marking our first day to get into gear with the shop downstairs. After agreeing to pick up where our grandparents left off, Mayor MacKenzie gave us the keys to the shop and the living space upstairs. It was bigger than expected, but I liked it. Even Robin likes it. And much like downstairs, it had retro furniture, plus some modern technology with it as well.

"Morning Ava." Robin greeted me with a smile as I walked into the kitchen.

"Hey. Did you sleep okay Robin?"

"Yeah! Even better compared to the nights in the city."

"That's good..." It does please me to hear that she slept better. Before coming here, Robin struggled to get any decent sleep. Even when she's in a safe place, she never sleeps well. At least she was able to sleep well.

"Ava, you alright?" She asked me with a concerned look on her face. I guess it was clear that something was bothering me.

"Honestly, not really..."

"What's up?"

"It's nothing. Just... Can we really do this..? Running the store."

"I don't see why we can't. Why ask anyway?"

"I'm just worried. I mean, what if we fail..."

"Ava, we won't fail this," she said while sitting in the chair and holding my hand. "And I swear to god and the devil that we will do this."

A part of me wished I could feel reassured by Robin's words of comfort and gesture, but it didn't completely stop the slight anxiety running through my head. "I appreciate this, Robin, but...I'm afraid it's not enough."

"Well, why didn't you tell me what's going on in that head of yours?"

"Well, even though MacKenzie is kind enough to let us sleep here, it still doesn't solve the problem we're still facing..." I said while opening up my emotions to Robin. The mayor is allowing us to stay here. He's even paying for our food and electricity until we get our finances together. But even that would last for a short while... He even said that we have a couple of weeks to bring in customers.

And honestly, it scares me. Not only were we given what felt like a short deadline, but it almost sounded impossible. How can we even manage to convince people to come to a store that was not only closed for a long time but would also not draw in any customers regardless? My mind was slowly going through with the what-ifs possibilities. And if we do fail, then Robin will be out on the street again. And before I knew it, my mind started to crumble apart. I can feel and hear my heartbeat quickening. My breathing becomes heavy and deeper. It all became so unbearable that I slowly got off my chair and began to crumble down on the floor.

It wasn't long till I felt Robin's arms wrapped around me, even though I couldn't hear her...I know that she's worrying about me. She also must have noticed that I couldn't hear her, so rather than trying to talk to me; she simply pulled me close. Specifically pulling my head towards her chest, from there, I was able to hear her heartbeat. Unlike mine, it was steady and calm. I try to steady my breathing by listening to Robin's heart, following the beats as I take slow breaths; in and out. As I was slowly coming back together, I could feel my eyes getting heavy. I faintly hear Robin saying that I should close my eyes, saying that everything will be OK. And then, I was out like a light bulb.

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