Broken. (Ongoing)

Chapter 6

Avas' POV:

I ran through the woods, my feet pounding against the soft earth, my breathing erratic. I was acutely aware of the danger that was trailing me. I held onto Lucas and whispered in his ear to hide and that I would return for him. He was bundled up with his blanket wrapped around him as I set him inside a hollowed out log. I gave him a kiss and told him to stay put, that I would be back.

I crouched low to the ground and hid behind a tree, peering out ever so slightly to gauge the direction the predator was coming from. I saw him before he saw me and I hid my face again behind the trunk of the tree.

Panting quietly, I bolted from behind the tree and took off into the wooded area. I knew my path that I was going to take. I knew that Lucas would be safe. His Gizmo watch would be able to track his location and when I don't show up to work on time, they will know to look for me. They will know to look for him.

My movement alerted the predator and he whipped his head around, glaring at me with his blue eyes. A smirked appeared on his face as he slowly moved towards me, calculating my every move. I had reached the clearing that I was headed for and I turned to face him.

"No where left to run, Ava. Now, where is my child?" he sneered. I looked at him without giving anything away.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Ava. I thought I taught you better then that. I guess I'm going to have remind you of who you belong to and that you are never to disobey me." Before I could make a move, he was on me. His hand reached around my throat, tightening the hold until I was barely conscious. Then he threw me as hard as he could against a tree, before pulling the gun from his waistband and firing it.

***

I woke up in a state of panic. I couldn't control my breathing as I climbed out of bed. I was hyperventilating and I needed air. Walking to the window, I threw it open and gasped, trying to breathe in as much air as I could. I was suffocating. It was as if the wind had been knocked out of my lungs and they were refusing to refill. I didn't want to make noise and wake Lucas, so I texted Jillian to come over as quickly as possible.

As I collapsed on the floor, I saw the door open and a worried Jillian came through the door quickly. I was losing consciousness as the panic attack ensued. I could hear her dialing 9-1-1 and speaking to the operator.

I awoke some time later to the annoying sound of beeping and alarms. Opening my eyes, the blurred vision gave way to the bright white ER hospital room. I glanced around and saw the heart monitor machine that was the source of the beeping and then the IV pole that had fluids dripping, connected to the IV that was in my arm. I sighed, trying to sit up slowly when I noticed Millie and Wyatt move out of the corner of my eye.

"Oh sweetheart, you gave us quite a scare!" she exclaimed, with her tear-streaked face.

"I'm sorry," I croaked out. My throat was on fire with how dry it felt.

Hearing my voice crack, Wyatt walked over and handed me a styrofoam cup with water in it.

"Drink up darlin'," he said, a look of concern etched in his eyes.

"Thanks," I murmured.

As I sat silently, sipping the water, the door to the room opened and in came a doctor and a nurse.

"Ah, you're awake, good." The doctor smiled. "I'm Dr. Mataya. How do you feel Ms. Walker?"

She stared at me, waiting for my reply. I shrugged slowly, "I feel okay."

A look of disbelief flashed on her face before she responded, "Well, you had a very bad panic attack to the point that you passed out. Was there anything that you can recall that set this off? Have you had anything like this happen in the past? Have you ever taken anything for anxiety before?" She rambled her questions out one after another.

I sat there, thinking about the dream. How real it felt. I thought about my life and Lucas. I thought about how I couldn't let anything happen to him, or the family that I have adopted at Millies.

I shook my head, "I don't remember what brought it on, and I haven't had them in the past," I lied. She eyed me for a moment and replied, "Okay. Well, I'm going to start you on sertraline 25mg daily for 2 weeks, then I want to transition you to 50mg daily after those 2 weeks are up. I also am going to give you a prescription for xanax 0.5mg that you can take up to 3 times daily as needed for panic attacks. I need you to follow up outpatient with your primary care doctor so they can continue the supply of these medications. These aren't something that you want to quit cold turkey, but I feel that a daily regimen will be best suited for you since I can clearly tell that you're lying about not having these panic attacks in the past. But I won't push you to talk about it. Just know that there are resources out there to help you if you need it." She handed me my papers for discharge and the nurse took my IV out and wished me luck.

I looked at Millie and Wyatt and sighed. I would have to tell them eventually, but today was not the day I wanted to delve into my past. It had been two years since I had seen Cameron and he was still haunting me in my dreams. It didn't matter how far away I was from him, he always was there and it was a matter of time before he found out where I was and found out about Lucas.

"Where's Lucas?" I asked as we headed towards Wyatts pick up truck.

"He's at the house with Leah and Samantha," Millie replied.

Samantha was one of the other waitresses that Millie and Wyatt took in. They have a knack for knowing when someone needs help and that's what they did. They helped everyone they could, no matter the situation. I was so thankful for them.

We pulled up to their home about 20 minutes later and I rushed out of the truck. Samantha and Leah had Lucas outside on the swing. He saw me before they did and slid his little legs to the ground, running to me. I dropped to my knees and engulfed him in a tight hug. Kissing the top of his head, he snuggled into my embrace. He was my world and I couldn't let Cameron get him.

***a/n:

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