ᴅᴇᴇᴘᴇʀ

36

They don't really
understand
Without each other
We are barely breathing'

__

Panic was a whisper inside her head. Goose bumps stood on her skin, as the icy caress of fear sipped in.

"Isn't he the same boy you brought to the ANTM shoot?" Antni had a victorious smile widening her lips.

Chimdi, too shocked to respond stared at the pictures in her hand.

There were several of them. Pictures of her with TJ, of him with her, taken with a perfected focus that had her shuddering in ripe fear at the intention behind each shot.

She couldn't get herself to believe she could find herself in such situation, looking at shots of she and TJ while thinking of the worst scenarios, trying to get into the mind of the cameraman or whoever was responsible for the shots.

Is he safe? Are they planning to hurt him?

A lot of unanswered questions struck her, ones that she desperately needed to be answered. She felt like she'd been hit by a seismic disturbance.

With cold unsteady fingers, she reached for one. She could remember the moment like the patterns on her hands.

"You followed us to twelveO'club?" She whispered more to herself. The staccato beating of her heart and throbbing of her veins, deafening her.

The picture had been taken outside twelveO'club, on Elo's birthday. She'd tried to keep a straight face, while he had a wide grin adorning his face. A silent struggle going on between them, as he'd refused to let go of her hands.

Taking a close look at the picture had her stilling, before she snapped out of it. And like a girl possessed, she took hold of another picture, then another, more -- she went on, giving the pictures a critical examination.

She could feel her blood plunging in her veins, so loud her vision began to grow weary.

At that moment, Antni sprang up in panic. The smug, happy look disappearing from her face as she reached for a glass keg, containing chilled water and a cup, pouring in a good amount.

"Drink up Dee," Her voice sounded way too panicky, as she handed the glass of sparkly water to her goddaughter.

"This isn't going well." She muttered, watching the skinny girl in fear as she took small sips of the therapeutic liquid.

Chimdi took small sips off the tall glass. Waiting for her heartbeat to get to being normal and nerves to get smoothed out.

Yet she couldn't get the thought out of her head. It couldn't be, she thought, panicking. Feeling her nerves go haywire in action, she took another calming gulp.

She could tell from the little knowledge she'd acquired in cinematography class that whoever captured their moments together was skilled, and a professional. His device too, cost quite a fortune.

She could tell from how clear the shots were, though they were taken from a distance.

But the little facts weren't what had her in a state of panic. It was the revelation that stared back as she looked at the pictures splayed on the translucent desk.

It was shocking, hitting like an uninformed hurricane attack. She saw it clearly this time. Images of her were blurred, while there was a keen focus on TJ, like he was the sole purpose of why the pictures were taken.

She looked up at Antni, whose face mirrored a very scared look.

"Breath in -- there, and out. Slowly." Antni urged her on with wide scared eyes. The long lashes and heavily coated eyeliner, highlighting the roundness of them.