Still Here

Chapter Ten

The next morning was silent. Shiloh didn't say a word and neither did her parents. They got dressed for work without making a sound. The three met downstairs for breakfast with Shiloh still in her pajamas and ate in silence.

Keanna watched her daughter eat Cheerios out of her tiny bowl with her tiny spoon as the moment in the ER replayed over and over in her mind. She always knew her daughter was shy but she never thought in a million years that Shiloh would have an anxiety disorder.

Aubrey was the first to break the silence. "Going to work?" he asked Keanna.

She nodded. "Yes."

"I'll take Shiloh with me," he offered.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. She likes seeing Ryan."

"Uncle Ryan!" Shiloh sang.

"If you insist. I should get going. I'll see you later." Keanna cleaned up her space.

"Already?" Aubrey asked.

"I have one hell of a commute, baby," Keanna explained, kissing the top of Shiloh's head.

"Alright then. Love you."

"Love you too."

Their goodbye kiss meant more to them that day. Aubrey savored that three seconds as if he would never kiss her lips again.

"I love you, Aubrey," Keanna breathed, gazing into his eyes.

"I love you too."

She smiled slightly before grabbing her purse and walking out the door. Aubrey looked over at his daughter.

"Hey, baby girl."

"Hi."

"How are you?"

"I'm good."

"You ready to come to work with Daddy?"

"Yes. But can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Is there something wrong with me?"

Aubrey searched Shiloh's big, inquisitive eyes while he contemplated the right answer to her question.

"No, baby, there's nothing wrong with you," he replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Because that's what the people at school were saying."

"Don't listen to them. You're not going back to that school. You're perfect just the way you are and Daddy loves you very much."

Aubrey leaned over and kissed Shiloh's cheek. "Let's go to work."
  ♤♤♤
The traffic on the way to the studio was horrendous. Aubrey knew he should've left earlier. The fact that Shiloh was screaming crying didn't help either.

Aubrey did everything he could to calm her down, eventually getting off the freeway to talk to her.

"Baby, if you calm down we can get there faster and get out of the car, okay?" he cooed.

"Daddy, my chest," she complained through the tears.

"What's wrong with your chest?"

"It...it hurts."

Aubrey studied Shiloh tear stained face and noticed that sweat was dripping from her hairline.

"Baby, are you okay?" he asked smoothing her hair back.

"I need air, Daddy. I need air now. Now!"

"Okay, okay. Hold on just a second." He unbuckled Shiloh's seatbelt as fast as he could and got her out of the car.

Shiloh stumbled around still crying and breathing like she's been underwater for the entire car ride. Aubrey couldn't handle seeing his daughter like this but knew he had to do something.

"What's wrong, Shiloh? Tell Daddy what's wrong," Aubrey instructed catching Shiloh before she fell onto the pavement.

"I'm dizzy and it's hot and I can't...I can't breathe and..."

"Yes, you can breathe just take a deep breath, okay? Breathe with me. Come on."

Aubrey inhaled and exhaled about three times before Shiloh began to copy him.

"Good. How do you feel now?" Aubrey asked kissing her forehead.

"Better."

"Okay. We still have to go to work though. Are you gonna be okay?"

"I think."

"Alright. Just breathe like that when you feel another panic attack come on, okay?"

"I hate this, Daddy," Shiloh pouted, crossing her little arms.

"Hate what?"

"Hate being myself."

"Don't you ever say that, do you hear me? I don't want to hear it come out of your mouth ever again. Ever," Aubrey snapped. "Answer me!"

"Okay!" Shiloh cried.

"You may hate being agoraphobic but you don't hate yourself. Get in the car." Aubrey opened the car door for his daughter.

The rest of the drive was silent. Aubrey could still hear Shiloh taking deep breaths. He smiled to himself and focused on the road.

A/N: I'm so sorry this isn't super long. Hopefully another longer chapter will be up soon❤️