Page 14 of Adrenalina (The Rush World)

“Vio, you’re having an anxiety attack. I need you to breathe in and out,” Cleo tells me as she takes my wrist with two fingers. “It happens to me all the time. I want you to open your eyes and look for everything green you see around you.”

Trying my best, I turn my head to see a line of palm trees.

“Say them out loud. What do you see?” Cleo asks, worried.

“Um, I… see palm trees lined up,” I respond as my words come out shaky.

“How many? Count them.” Her tone is determined.

“I… one, two, three, four… five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.”

“Keep breathing in and out. How many palm trees in total?”

“There are ten palm trees,” I tell her, closing my eyes, wanting this feeling to stop.

“Okay, what other green things do you see?”

My eyes open and I look around, doing anything that will make me feel better. “There are bushes and a little bit of the grass from the golf course a few blocks back.”

“What else?”

I look around a bit more and see the biggest green thing before me.

“My car,” I tell her.

I’m starting to breathe better again; the shaking has stopped. But my throat still feels like it’s closing.

“You’re calming down. I’m going to lead you inside and I want you to sit on the couch,” Cleo tells me.

I nod at her, breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth. Both of them stand up and I lift my arms so that they can help get me off the ground.

Once they do, I try to walk on my own through the door and into the house.

But the tears won’t stop.

Chapter5

Violetta

It’s been about sixteen hours since my anxiety attack.

Cleo told me she gets them regularly and that they are extremely common in people’s day-to-day lives. Even with that being said, I don’t have the slightest idea of how to grasp myself having one.

I obviously hated the feeling it gave me, but at the same time, I felt my body, mind, and soul needed it to clear out emotions that had been building up for years.

Further proving my thoughts, I already feel lighter than I have in months. So I’ve concluded that it’s a good thing, even if the sensation made me feel like I was suffocating.

After arriving around two in the afternoon, I sat on the couch and watched TV silently for a few hours. Cleo and Chanel decided to use the private beach for the day as I drowned my thoughts out with a few episodes ofModern Family. I went to bed around nine and woke up later than usual. It’s currently eight in the morning, which means Cleo will be fast asleep for another six hours and Chanel will be up in one.

My eyes open slowly, and a serene sense of calm enraptures my state of well-being. The sheer white curtains let the sun peek in as the smell of the morning hits my senses. The waves crashing into each other disrupt the silence in the house. I have always loved being the first to wake up when I’m at the beach. It’s my quiet time for the day, with no cars honking their horns through the streets and absolutely no police car sirens startling me.

Just calm.

The beach house’s interior design is defined by beige, off-white tones with hints of color. As expected, it has a beach house ambiance that complements the way your surroundings feel.

I thought they would have changed it since the house is now in the Castillos’ name. But it seems like they’ve kept it all the same.

I’m staying in the master while the twins are in the two biggest guest bedrooms out of the eight. To be fair, there isn’t a small bedroom in this house. It’s no secret that my family loves extravagance on occasion.

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