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CONTENT WARNING: PANIC ATTACK
ELEANOR WAS CHOKING.
She could see the stress and the guilt in the air, the different colored strands shooting out from the kitchen and wrapping around her neck in a vice-like grip.
Her throat was closing up and her chest was heaving in desperation, lungs burning and collapsing in on themselves as they cried out for the sweet relief of oxygen.
Not literally, but that didn't change the fact that's how she felt.
She couldn't do this.
It was too much.
With difficulty, she rose from her seat on the stairs and stumbled down the hallway as far from the kitchen as she could get. She had intended to go to her room and lock herself away for the rest of the day, but as she passed by her parents' room she heard a soft ding and paused.
She looked into the room, eyes locked on her Mother's phone lit up on the nightstand. She stared at the device for a moment, her fists clenching unconsciously at her side as her thoughts ran wild, and before she knew it she was slamming the door to her room shut, phone in hand.
Eleanor knew she was probably going to get in trouble for this, but she couldn't do this anymore. She couldn't stay in this house, couldn't stay in this town; she had to get out.
She'd pressed the call button before she'd even realized what she was doing, the steady ring, ring, ring, echoing in her ear.
"Hello, Joanne. To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"
Eleanor released a shaky breath before she spoke, her words coming out in a stutter. "L-larissa?" A whimper fell from her lips as her throat tightened and her hand shot up, clutching and rubbing at her neck in an effort to relieve the pressure as if she'd be able to tug the invisible strands away. She opened her mouth in a desperate attempt to suck in air, only for a barely audible gasp to escape instead. Her ears were ringing, the voice on the other end coming out muffled and far-away as the phone slipped from her hand, bouncing across the floor with a thud.
Her eyes darted to the side, just in time to see her door open before two figures rushed over, crouching down around her. Their movements were fast and blurry; one figure reaching behind themself while the other gently took hold of her wrists, rubbing their thumbs along the skin there as they pulled her hands from her throat.
Something cool touched the back of her neck and fell against her chest, and suddenly she could breathe again, air rushing into her lungs, whimpers and gasps falling heavily from her lips as she fell forward into a hug.
"Okay, okay, I've got you," her Mother's voice called out to her, hands rubbing up and down her back soothingly. "It's okay. I got you. I got you, honey. Listen to my heart, follow my breathing."
Eleanor buried her face in her Mother's shoulder, gripping tightly at her sweater as she cried. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. None of this would be happening if it wasn't for me."
"Hey, hey now, none of that, my little fang." Eleanor's head was tilted back, her Mom's thumb stroking along her cheek. She leaned forward, pressing a kiss to Eleanor's forehead. "None of this is your fault. You understand me? This is all-"
Her words cut off as her ears twitched and she looked down, shuffling away for a moment to reach under the bed. She pulled back with her wife's phone in hand, her eyebrows furrowed until she registered the frantic voice on the other end. Her mouth dropped open and for a moment she just stared at the phone in surprise before her eyes flickered over to her daughter staring at her intently, a faint trace of desperation swirling in Eleanor's eyes.
"Please don't make me stay here."
With a slight nod from her wife, she sighed and lifted the phone to her ear. "Hey, Ris, we need a favor."
- - - -
A/N:
Alright, so here's the prologue for Against the World. This took way longer to get out than I was expecting because this chapter wasn't even planned and then it just popped into my head and wouldn't go away.
That said, the first chapter is already drafted but will now be undergoing some changes so everything flows together and matches here with the prologue so I hope to have that out within a week or two.
And for clarification purposes, in case it wasn't made clear: Mother - Joanne, Mom - Samantha.
