Page 116 of Solanum

She started when I touched her arm, recoiling with her eyes locked on Moreno, who was the louder of the two venting.

"Hey, honey." I held my hands up, moving in front of her and forcing her to look at me. "Nora."

"Are they fighting?" she asked, her eyes welling up almost immediately.

"They're upset about work. Not fighting with each other. Look at me." I lowered my hands, holding them out to her. When her gaze locked on mine, I said, "Come to me."

She shook her head when the harsh reaction suddenly struck her, holding her hands close to her chest. "I have to call Maya."

"Honey, Maya is okay. Look at me, Nor." My heart thundered in my chest as I watched the anxiety crash over her.

"I'm…" Tears tumbled down her cheeks and she clutched her shirt, backing away until her rear slammed into the cabinets. "Having a panic attack."

"I can see that. Come to me." I didn't pursue her yet, assuming that crowding her would make it worse.

"I'm not a slut," she said under her breath, her bottom lip quivering in between heavy breaths.

My stomach lurched when old stories resurfaced in her dialogue, and I fought the rugged emotions that choked me just the same. I hadn't a clue what the four other people behind me did in the wake of Nora's reaction, but the room fell quiet.

"You're not, honey. You're safe here with me, right?" I took one step closer to her, and she nodded, choking on a soft sob. "Come to me, Kitten." I held my arms out to her. "Come on."

Nora reached out shaky hands in my direction. When I closed the space between us, she cried harder as I plucked her off her feet in a sweeping hug. Her legs wrapped around my waist and she cried against my shoulder, covering her head with her arm.

"You're okay, honey." I pressed my lips to her shoulder and turned her away so she couldn't see the others.

Sali stood beside Maggie, a horrified tearful expression breaking through the surface of her scowl. Harper leaned against Moreno, who's eyes softened when he looked on. Ben, however, paced beside the front door, his hands cupped over his mouth. The mood in the room shifted from normal to devastated in a heartbeat, as if all of them bore tendrils of something that connected them to Nora's pain.

I blinked away the tears that threatened to fall and carried Nora away from them into the living room. She cried quietly against my shoulder, and I sat down with her on the floor in front of the fireplace. I grabbed a blanket from the basket beside the armchair and wrapped it around her when she snuggled against me. Her heavy breathing slowed in time, but she kept her hands over her face.

"You're okay, honey," I whispered with my lips close to her ear. "I have you."

She shook her head, tugging at her hair in between cries. "I can't breathe."

"Look at me, Nor." I unfurled her fingers from her hair then held her shaking hands in mine. When she met my gaze, I said, "Breathe with me. Slow in through your nose." I breathed with her, then exhaled slowly. "Out your mouth. Do it with me."

She followed along twice, then winced suddenly. "My ears."

I forced myself to steady my emotions, grounding myself so that her ego would shift with mine. "Those are memories, Kitten. Just memories. You can breathe. You can hear. Breathe with me." Again, I guided her through a few breathing exercises while she twisted the collar of my shirt in a tight fist. "Good girl. Keep going."

Tears streamed her cheeks, but slowly, her fingers released my shirt, and her body began to relax. Finally, she drew in a normal breath when the panic released her, and sniffled. Fatigue pressed in on her, and she quieted, melting against me and dropping her head on my shoulder.

"I want to talk to Maya," she whispered, wrapping her arms around my neck while she cried softly.

"We'll call her in a few minutes, baby. Okay?" I rubbed her back in soft circles, glancing up when Sali and Maggie joined us.

They sat down on the floor beside us, and Maggie stroked Nora's hand with her index finger. Nora looked up, tear-dampened eyes gazing at her friend. Maggie smiled and continued the gentle affection. Nora cracked a smile, watching her while resting her head on my shoulder again instead of hiding.

"We served them eviction notices for shouting," teased Sali, her voice unusually soft. "No assholes allowed. New rule."

"Which means she's had to evict herself," added Maggie, and Sali scowled.

Nora laughed softly, her hand falling between us while she idly ran her knuckles up and down over my stomach as if soothing herself with the connection. I closed my eyes for a moment, resting my head against hers as our friends helped distract her while I got my shit together.

"You okay?" Maggie asked her, smoothing her hair from her face while holding Sali's hand in her lap.

Nora nodded, blinking away the last of her tears. "Panic attack."

"Sali's a pro at those. Right, love?" Maggie grinned at her wife and Sali clapped her on the back.

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