April 1-
The next show went great. Lilly played through her song, and goes off stage to Cat.
"Good job Lil!" Cat says. Lilly walks away from Cat and sits down on one of the boxes for the equipment. Cat follows Lilly and sits down beside her. Lilly stares at the ground and starts hyperventilating. Cat gently places her hand on Lilly's back and asks,
"Hey Lil, you ok?"
"N-no I can't breathe!" Lilly says. Lilly crumples up into a ball and hugs her legs together.
"Lil, you know what this is." Cat says, rubbing her back.
"I w-want Jack a-and Ryan!" Lilly says.
"Lilly, they're on stage." Cats says.
"B-but-" Lilly says and starts crying.
"Hey, Lil, you're ok." Cat says.
"No!" Lilly says.
"Hey Lil, will you let me calm you down?" Cat asks after a moment. "I won't force you, but I'm here if you want me." Lilly goes silent for a moment and then gives in by leaning her head on Cats shoulder.
"Good job Lilly." Cat says. "Will you let me get your breathing back Lil?" Lilly shakes her head.
"Are you sure Lil? It's super easy." Cat says.
"O-ok." Lilly says.
"Alright. Close your eyes and think of a dandelion. Smell the flower for five seconds, then blow it away for five seconds. And do it again." Cat says. Lilly follows what Cat said. It took her a bit, but she managed to get her breathing back to semi-normal. She was still shaking and super tense, but that's normal.
"Great job Lil. I'm super proud of you." Cat says.
"I'm s-sorry you had to see me like that." Lilly says.
"Lil, I've seen you like that a bunch. I know how you feel. It's ok." Cat says. Lilly goes quiet but leans into Cat. The boys come off stage after the show and run over to Lilly and Cat when they're not standing where they should've been.
"Why are you guys over here?" Ryan asks.
"Lilly had another panic attack." Cat answers.
"Lilly!" Jack and Ryan say.
"But, she let me calm her down." Cat says. Lilly was looking at the floor when the boys came over, still leaning on Cat. Ryan kneeled in front of her and made her look up at him.
"You ok?" He asks. Lilly nods with the tears still on her face. Jack sat beside her and pulled her into a hug. Ryan turns to Cat and asks,
"How did you get her to let you calm her down?"
"I just asked if she would let me, and then I let her make all the moves. I didn't force her to do anything. I was rubbing her back, and I taught her my favourite breathing trick, but everything else was her."
"Wow. I'm impressed." Ryan says.
"Yeah, me too. It did take her a while because you weren't there, but I'm proud of her for actually calming down." Cat says.
"Me too. Did she ask for any of us in the process?" Ryan asks.
"Yeah." Cat replies.
"I figured." Ryan says.
"We should either go to the bus or someone should go get Evan." Jack says.
"We should start keeping Evan backstage." Cat says.
"Yeah." Ryan says. "We can go to the bus." Everyone nods and stands up and heads over to the bus. Ryan gets Evan and her blanket out of her bunk and gives Evan to Lilly and wraps the blanket around her and Jack. They watched a movie on the bus as they waited for their crew to come back.
"Why are blankets so comfortable?" Lilly asks.
"Because they're soft and snuggly." Jack says.
"And they're warm and comforting." Ryan adds.
"And they make hugs even better!" Lilly says, hugging Jack.
YOU ARE READING
AJR- Little Sister
FanfictionIn this story, AJR has a little sister, named Lilly. She is 11, but turns 12 in the story. She has anxiety and nightmares a lot. She has to deal with bullies, her brothers leaving for tour, and trying to keep her anxiety a secret. Her parents may no...
