Worth the Fight- A Solangelo Royalty AU

XIV- Panic Attacks

(A/N this art is so cute and I am not okay.)
WPOV-
I looked away.

"My father, he sent guards after her...and they-they killed her. I'm so sorry Nico."

There weren't words to describe how horrible I felt. I slowly made myself look at boy in my arms. He pushed himself away from me, weakly, as though all strength had left his body. He started shaking. Terror completely filled his eyes, covering all other emotion. He shivered. His breathing was labored and uneven.

Nico was having a panic attack.

I had learned all about them with my immense knowledge of health and medicine, but it was still hard to cure one.

Step One: Remain calm. I tried not to panic over the fact that the boy I loved so much was having a panic attack, but it was incredibly difficult.

Step Two: Converse with the person in short and simple sentences. This part would be simple enough.

"Nico, it's okay. It'll be alright. It's alright Nico. I'm sorry Nico."

Step Three: Avoid anything hectic or surprising. Considering that was what had gotten us into this mess, I wasn't surprised.

Step Four: Guide the person through a simple physical task.

"Nico, can lift your arms up? Lift over your head. Nico? There we go." I said.

He obeyed slowly.

"Good, now back down? There we go. Good job, Nico."

Step Five: Invite the person to breathe slowly with you in order to slow breathing.

"Alright Nico, lets steady your breathing, okay. Breathe at the time as I do. Alright?"

I breathed slowly and he eventually started getting on my same pace, but judging by the look in his eyes, he was still afraid.

I wanted to reach out and tell him it would be okay. But I didn't want to make it worse. If I wrapped my arms around him, he could feel trapped. If I even touched his arm or knee, he could get worse.

"Hey Nico? Can you look at me? Please? For a moment?"

I watched as begrudgingly made eye contact with me.

"There we go. Good job. Okay, I have an idea, alright? But I would need to touch you. I don't want to frighten you, though, so watch my arms." I said slowly.

He obeyed and watched as my arms slowly wrapped around him. I held him for a minute and he stopped shaking. His terror dripped out of his eyes in the form of tears and I knew the episode had passed.

"Nico, I'm so sorry. It'll be alright, though, I promise."

I watched as anger took over his features and he pushed away from me. I tried not to let it get to me, but it hurt.

"No! It isn't alright! Bianca is dead! I wish I was never taken to your dam castle! I wish Bianca was still alive! I wish my parents never died! I wish I hadn't needed to steal food to survive! But most of all, I wish that I hadn't met you!" He screamed.

Everything he said came like a punch to stomach. I felt like puking. I knew it wasn't entirely my fault, but it still made me feel like the complete waste of space I was. Nico said it himself.

I hadn't meant to, but I ended up crying. So much that I couldn't see it when Nico started to unlock the carriage doors. I was shaking so bad, that I couldn't even find the voice to stop him before he threw open the door and jumped out. I panicked and opened the back window to see him roll off the side of the road. Stand up, and raise a large gold key above his head. They key to the carriage.

I was trapped.
(A/N so I actually did some research on panic attacks so I could get accurate information because I felt like people should know how to help those around them. So if you suffer from panic attacks or know someone who does this is actually the recommended steps in order to help them. Obviously you have to react differently when dealing with a person in real life so touching them is usually a no-no but still it is mostly accurate.)

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