Exhale

Chapter 33: Bandit

Purple is back.

Zuri

The heat in my ears is a deafening, high-frequency alarm, screaming through my skull until every throb in my head matches the frantic, uneven rhythm of my heart, and my lungs can't catch any air. I can see my tears, my eyes burning.

Everything is numb, my breathing shallow, and I feel hands running through my hair, pushing it out of my face. I opened my eyes, but they were too blurry.

My feet are tingling, and my whole body feels like fire.

"Sweets? Z? Zuri?" A muffled voice, a Roman's voice; it feels like I'm underwater. My eyes burn, and he lifts my head.

"Baby, breathe." I felt air hit my face, and I took a deep breath. The ringing and muffled sound cleared, and I could hear my sobs. Roman became more audible.

We were sitting on the floor in our living room, and I couldn't recall entering the apartment.

He blew air on my face, and I took another deep breath.

"It's okay." He pulls me into him, my cheek resting on his chest. "Shh, we're going to be fine, I got you."

I couldn't help but shiver. I focused on my breathing even though the tears still flowed. I could feel his hand moving up and down my back. He held me close.

Roman

It's taking everything in me. The smugness on Vicky's face while Marley just stood there, barely even doing anything. She told her our secrets and then tried to beg for forgiveness right in our faces.

Zuri was right, it's hard to be the nice one. Marley sucks at handling her ex, but clearly, she doesn't want to; she enjoys the company.

I try to shake my thoughts, I don't even want to think about her; she is dead to me. I need my Sweets. I press kisses on her head.

She's still crying from those assholes. Getting her home was tough; she's been having an anxiety attack for too long. But I can feel her settling. My hands find her hair, soothing her has become second nature to me. The feeling of her tight curls hugging my fingers.

She hummed, relaxing into me. "Sweets?" I looked down, and I could only see her hair. I fixed it by getting it out of her face. I could see her cheek and nose. "About what that troll said...it's true." I watched for a reaction as her eyes met mine. Red and puffy, her nose too.

"You're adopted?" She asked softly, All I could do was nod. I felt my throat cracking, the sound of the glass breaking.

I closed my eyes and drew in a slow, shaky breath. My fingers absentmindedly traced small circles against her back as she rested on my chest, her warmth grounding me in a moment I wasn't sure I wanted to revisit.

"It happened when I was thirteen," I whispered.

The words felt heavier than they should have. I swallowed hard, staring at the ceiling as if it might somehow make the memories easier to face. My heartbeat picked up, each thud echoing in my ears.

"We were driving home from one of my track meets." I paused, my voice catching. "I was exhausted, so I climbed into the backseat and fell asleep almost as soon as we got on the road."

For a second, everything was quiet.

"Then..." I exhaled slowly. "The only thing I remember is this deafening sound." My jaw tightened. "Metal crashing into metal. Glass exploding everywhere." I squeezed my eyes shut. "And my mom's screams."