Orphan

Chapter 6

The city lights were like stars in the urban wilderness. She gazed at them with pure admiration, like a lost child that had entered a parallel universe. Her nerves were like that worrying mother, pleading for her to come home, but she would not listen.

The sense of liberation would destroy her anxiety, or at least she hoped.

She had done it. She had run away, but she had absolutely no idea what would happen because of it.

She was nervous.

Anxiety always took her like a kidnapper, violently and without warning. First, there were the heavy breaths. A robbing of oxygen it was, the criminal was vicious. She walked into a store in hopes of calming herself down.

"Do you need a bag, miss?"

Jackson Perez turned to the boy offering a bag.

"No thank you."

The boy grabbed the arm of Jackson as she was walking away, startling her, making her more nervous than she already was. He let go of her arm about a second later.

"Are you alright?"

Jackson Perez was never the type to engage in conversation with complete strangers. Uneasiness settled within her. " I- I'm fine. I should go."

"You look very uneasy. Are you lost?".

The guy had genuineness in his eyes, but she could not trust him. Her nerves were acting up again, and she could not breathe easily. He began to notice this.

"You're having a panic attack, aren't you?"

Jackson gave a look that said, " How do you know?"

The boy explained that he had also been diagnosed with social anxiety. His voice was soothing, like a lullaby to a newborn.

"Try to take deep, slow breaths. Be aware of them. Think of the calmest place you've ever been to, and relive it. That's what I always do. Don't let it control you."

Jackson allowed the air to fill her lungs, and she allowed her body to stop shaking. She had no idea how she had done it; the boy had most likely been the cause.

"Wow, thanks for whatever you just did. I feel a whole lot better now."

"You're welcome. Are you really going shopping? Cause if not, I know this really cool restaurant that's close. I was planning on going today."

Jackson looked away, and then she looked into the boy's eyes.

"You want me to come with you?"

The boy nodded his head. "I'd like that a lot. By the way, I never got your name."

Her lips formed the words Jackson Perez.

" Jackson Perez? I feel as if I have heard that name before. "

The boy's eyes locked with Jackson's, and his jaw dropped.

"Oh. my. God."