Secret Mistake 3

85.

GIA POV

Delano got up to get ready for work. Salem was in our bed from last night. Apparently she didn't want to be far from me. It was like when she was a baby and she only wanted to sleep with us. But I wasn't trying to start a new habit.

He turned around to only see Salem had rolled over into his spot. She cuddled herself amongst his pillows. "We definitely need to find a solution to what's going on with her".

"You're telling me. She was all up under me last night" I said.

"If anything call me at work" he said. I nodded and just tried to go back to sleep. Today was the only day I was going to give Salem a day off from school. The boys came in to say their goodbyes before going to catch the bus. "Salem is staying home?" Kai asked.

"Yeah, just for today" I said.

He glanced at Salem who was still sleeping and shrugged. Ryan and Kai both ran outside. Harlow peeked her head in... "morning mommy! Wait? Why is she here?".

"Salem isn't feeling like herself. So just leave her alone" I said.

"I always leave her alone" she said.

"Right... also that means don't touch her stuff either" I said. Harlow whined "aw man!". An hour later Salem woke up. She came into the kitchen after using the bathroom.

"Morning!" She said.

"Hey! How are you feeling?" I asked.

She shrugged "I'm tired".

"Well you just woke up" I joked. She smiled at me "I'm hungry too". Walking over to her and placing a plate of Elsa pancakes I made. Her eyes lit up "wow mommy".

"I know!" I smiled. She didn't have to say anything else. Knowing I put a smile on her face is all that mattered. She tore into the pancakes. I guess she was really hungry. Harlow came out looking for her plate "no pancakes for me?".

Putting a plate down in front of her she smiled "I love mommy's pancakes!".

"Good, and today I don't want neither of you fighting  with one another" I warned. Harlow looked a little offended "me? I don't start the fights! She does".

"Harlow it doesn't matter. Just don't do it" I said. She continued to eat her pancakes without saying anything else. I wanted Salem to just relax and not do too much. Also, I was trying to figure out what's going on with her. But she won't open up.

As the day went on I cleaned up a bit. Dinner was already done. Harlow seemed bored she kept pacing back and forth sighing. "What?" I asked.

"I'm bored! Can we go to the park or something?" She asked. Glancing at Salem who was watching tv but you can tell she wasn't focused on it. "Yeah let's go". Harlow cheered and ran to her room to put her shoes on. "Salem put on your shoes we are going to the park". She nodded and did what I told her to do.

We walked down the street to the nearest park. Once we reached the gate Harlow raced in. Salem stopped mid track and stared. "Come on!" I said.

"Mommy I cant breathe!" She frantically said.

"What do you mean?" I asked. Salem started gasping for air. She was holding her chest and trying to breathe. Running up to her "look at me! Just try and relax and breathe". She was hyperventilating. Close to her ear "breathe! Salem. Just slow breaths" I whispered. She started to breath slowly and calm down. My god... did Salem just have a panic attack?.

My mind was racing. There's no way my child had a panic attack! No way!. Once Salem came to she looked a little shaken up. Harlow watched us from the slide but continued to play once she noticed things were okay.

"Mommy I couldn't breathe! And my chest was tight" she said. Just embracing Salem into a tight hug. I felt for her. At this point the whole park idea was ruined. But I stayed because Harlow was playing.

Later on that night. I was biting away at my cuticles cause I was in a deep thought. Delano raised his brow "What's wrong?".

"I think I passed on my mental illness to Salem" I said.

"Gia? What are you talking about?" He asked.

"Salem had a panic attack at the park today. It happened so sudden" I said.

"Are you sure that's what it was?" I looked at Delano "really? Like I can't spot a panic attack" I said. He sighed "what can we do? I remember when I first saw you when you had one. I knew what it was but I wasn't sure how to help. The only thing I knew was that you went through something traumatic in order to experience those".

"Delano... it hurt to see Salem go through that. It broke me. Maybe I passed on my fucked up head to her". He shook his head "you didn't pass down anything. We need to either talk to her or bring her to our therapist".

"I have an appointment tomorrow. I'll just inform them Salem will be taking my spot. She needs the help more than I do right now. Poor baby" a knock at the door... she opened the door a little "mommy can I sleep with you tonight? I don't want to be alone".

Delano and I looked at each other "yeah sure come on in". She opened the door more and walked in. She climbed into our bed and snuggled next to me. Glancing up at Delano. He just was staring at Salem.