Trust Me // George Weasley

Chapter 16: The First Day Back

*TW: Panic attack / anxiety

A week and a half after the explosion she felt ready to get back to work. The agreement was that she would show up and then see how it goes. If she would start feeling anxious again, she was free to leave, but if she wanted to stay from the beginning of her shift until six then that was okay too, it all depended on how she was feeling. She was grateful for her uncle and her other boss, Angelo, who she did not see often, and how they were dealing with the situation.
After four days of having been closed, part of the museum opened back up as the entire Sainsbury Wing was still closed because it had almost been completely destroyed. Together with a small team, they had checked the rest of the museum and made sure that it was accessible for visitors.
Though she was glad that they could re-open so soon and that they were already making plans on re-doing the Sainsbury Wing, it frightened her too. Even with all the extra police officers and guards surrounding the museum, she did not feel very safe. The attack had not been done by muggles, it was the work of wizards, so the British bobbies would not stand a chance anyway. The people who did it still had not been caught, Ron told George that, but they were keeping a close eye on it.
She just kept wondering why they would attack a museum. A break-in to steal valuable art was something she would expect way sooner than just a random attack to destroy a building. Especially because she did not understand why wizards would attack a muggle museum, there was not a single artefact present that had anything to do with the history of the wizarding world there.
Nevertheless, coming up with reasons did nothing but drive her mad, so she tried to stop figuring it out. She was not going to be able to do that anyway, so there was no use in it. The stress that it caused her was not worth it at all.
But this morning she woke up with good spirits. She had gone over to George's flat over the weekend and spent the night there, which had been really nice. He always managed to get her back into a good mood and the fact that her weekend was so good because of him made her feel good enough to go back to work today.
So at eight in the morning, she made her way down the street. She agreed with her uncle to show up fifteen minutes earlier so that easing into it may go a little more comfortable. The closer she got the more nervous she felt herself getting. The explosion had not left her with any serious injuries, though the scar on her cheek had not healed yet, as well as the small cuts on her arm and leg.
However, her anxiety had been worse again and every night since the attack she had suffered from horrible nightmares.
Mentally she was exhausted, so George kept reminding her that she should not push herself too hard and that she had just gone through something very traumatic. It would not be easy to go back inside, especially so soon, but she just had to.
Perhaps she was pushing herself, but she had an urge to go back to the museum. She had to go and see how it looked now, she had to help the others figure out what to do with the Sainsbury Wing and all of the destroyed artworks. She could not stay inside for any more days, knowing that everyone was exhausted. Yes, she, Nico and Yuni had been closest to the explosions out of the people that worked in the office, but everyone had been traumatized. She felt guilty for staying home longer, but no one had given her a reason to do so.

When she arrived at the museum, her uncle was already waiting for her near the entrance. They hugged shortly before making their way through the museum towards the office. There was a peaceful atmosphere in the museum. It was not until they reached the pathway leading to the Sainsbury Wing that it was noticeable that there had been an attack.
"It's okay," her uncle assured her, noticing how her gaze lingered on the scene. She took a deep breath and nodded. It was okay. At this very moment, nothing was wrong. There were no screams, explosions or pieces of stone flying her way. She was okay.
"It's okay," she repeated. They entered the office and she dropped her bag at her desk. "What about Nico? Is he back yet?" asked Anna.
"No, Nico still needs a few days off," said Liam. "Yuni as well. You're back rather soon, An. Are you sure you aren't rushing yourself? It's okay if you need some more time."
"I'm fine," she reassured him. "If I start to feel bad I can just go home. I just- I have to work okay? I have to be here. I just- I just have to." She sighed deeply and sat down at her desk. The feeling of guilt was unnecessary. No one blamed them for taking extra time off. Everyone just wanted them to be fine. Still, she could not seem to turn it off.
"Alright. But I'm keeping a close eye on you," he warned her. She nodded and turned on her computer. "Now, Rita has forwarded all emails to you so just take a moment to read them to see what you have missed. When she arrives she will further help you get back on track. I have a few files that I would like you to take care of today as well."
"Thanks." She logged into the system and opened up her email. Her inbox was filled with emails regarding new plans, the artworks, and more. Her eyes already felt tired just reading the subjects of the emails, but she had to keep going.