Saints and Sinners

Prologue

The thoughts were accelerating inside his head. He wanted them to slow down so he could breathe, but they wouldn’t. His breaths came out in gasps, and he felt as if he would black out at any given moment. His heart hammered in his chest, as if it belonged to a rabbit running for its skin. The room span as he squatted on the floor. He felt so sick. He wanted to call an ambulance, but the phone was too far away.

He tucked his legs up to his chest, his eyes screwed tightly shut as they began to sting with unshed tears. He clenched his numb hands into a fist, clamping them securely over his ears. He hid his head between his knees. The world had already began to slowly fade out, and he felt isolated. Trapped. It felt as if he were drowning, and there was no way to escape the water. Maybe he didn’t want to resurface. At least now he was far away from reality, where he felt safe in the confinements of his own mind. Although, his imagination was jeopardizing him more than anything right now.

His breathing was shallow and quick, and he often gasped for air in a desperate attempt to regulate his respiration. His fingers were now entangled in his disheveled honey-blonde locks, as they gripped for something, anything, to relieve him from this stressful, mess of a state he was stuck in. He was dressed slovenly, the end of his tie thrown carelessly over his shoulder with the knot halfway undone, although that was quite possibly the last concern on his mind.

“Adrien,” a benevolent voice called his name, capturing his attention. He snapped his head up, finding the figure of a girl on the end of the couch opposite to him. Her features were blurred by his tears, leaving and any sort of detailing on the girl unidentifiable. Still, even in his frenzied state, the hair and eyes unmistakably belonged to her. Marinette.

He thrusted out his hand out, reaching for hers. As if answering his prayers, she wrapped her hands around his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “I’m here. You’re okay.” She gently pressed his knuckles up to her soft lips. Her presence sobered him, as she drew him out from the darkness.

That’s right… it was her. She was his precious light in a world so dark. A gift, blessing… whatever you may call it.

She was his savior. A pure, clean angel that he didn’t want to taint with his darkness.