𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐃─𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬

𝙨𝙞𝙭𝙩𝙮 𝙨𝙞𝙭.

─☼☼☼─

𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘽𝘼𝙏𝙃𝙍𝙊𝙊𝙈 𝘿𝙊𝙊𝙍 slammed behind Charlotte as she stumbled toward the sink, bracing her hands on either side as she tried to calm the rapid beating of her heart. 

After spending the entire day out on the boat with Mateo, they had not found any sign of Kiara and the others. 

Not a single damn thing. 

Charlotte was feeling helpless. 

She had no idea where her sister was. No idea where some of her best friends were. For all she knew, they could be dead. 

The thought alone sent her into a dangerous spiral, combined with her brief conversation with Mateo about what had happened on the Coastal Adventure, Charlotte couldn't quite control the anxiety that was ripping through her. 

Her entire body seemed to buzz, hands shaking as she leaned over the sink. Her breaths came out in laboured bursts, ears burning as the anxiety gripped onto her. It felt like she was drowning, and to be honest, partly like she was dying. 

She wasn't unaccustomed to this feeling, this panic, but this was the worst she had had it in a while...in a very long time. 

Tears built behind her eyes as nausea flooded over her, like a tidal wave pulling her under. 

"Lottie?"

His voice came from the other side of the bathroom door, a gentle knock following. "Lottie, are you in there?"

At the sound of his voice, Charlotte managed to let out a single full breath, as if his presence alone had taken away even the tiniest amount of the panic that was holding her prisoner. 

She didn't want to rely on him. But she didn't have a choice right now. 

With trembling hands, she reached to open the door, wordlessly pulling it open before leaning back against the sink. 

Rafe stepped in, his eyes full of concern as they landed upon her, drinking in her frenzied state─the red rim of her eyes, the heaving of her chest. 

"Bab─Lottie, what's wrong." He caught himself, remembering his promise to give her space. 

Charlotte glanced up at him in the mirror, giving a small shake of her head as she placed a hand over her chest, feeling her rapidly beating heart. "I don't─I don't know."

Tentatively, Rafe took a step toward her, gently placing a hand on the small of her back. "Panic attack." He identified, recalling the symptoms she had displayed over the five years they had dated. Then, the attacks had been brought on by her grades, or college applications. Now, he knew they were fuelled by something entirely different. 

Turning to him, Charlotte's lips quivered as tears spilled over her eyes, trickling down her cheeks. "I can't make it stop." She whispered, voice catching in her throat. 

Damning his promise to himself about space, Rafe took Charlotte's face in her hands, his eyes connecting with hers. "Breathe." He instructed, "Breathe with me."

He took a deep breath through his nose, letting it out through his mouth to demonstrate to Charlotte what she needed to do.