ɴᴇᴍᴇꜱɪꜱ ║ ᴛᴏᴍᴍʏɪɴɴɪᴛ

Chapter 43 : Panic attack

Tommy turned back toward Wilbur, but he quickly found that the elder was already speed-walking away in the direction of the entrance, where security was situated. Quite frankly, he was panicking. He'd never even thought that he'd witness something like this, especially happening to Ray. And he'd never thought of how he would react either, therefore he was severely underprepared for this situation.

Hesitantly, he began walking up to Ray. However, half-way to her, he had to break out into a sprint as he watched the girl's knees begin bending, and her body leaning dangerously to the front.

"Oh my fucking god- Ray!" Tommy yelled out in surprise, barely on time to catch her by the arms before the girl collapsed onto the floor. "Are you okay?!"

He quickly realized that was an idiotic question to ask, as Ray was far from okay. He'd noticed her quick and deep breathing, but now that she was right in front of him, he heard how actually choked it sounded. As if she were breathing in, but no oxygen was actually getting into her lungs. Her shaking was also far worse than it had seemed, and Tommy felt his hands trembling terribly just from holding her.

He knew he needed to act quickly, but how? How was he supposed to deal with this? He'd never helped out anyone with a panic attack before, what if what he was doing was already stressing her out even more-

Get your fucking shit together, Tom Simons.
He commanded to himself, reminding himself of taking the few deep breaths he so desperately needed to keep himself coherent. It most definitely wouldn't help either of them if he broke down as well.

First, let's get her settled down on the floor.
He declared the go-to plan in his head, and took a small shaky breath before beginning to talk.

"Okay, Ray, I'm gonna help you sit down against the wall behind you, okay?" Tommy narrated in the best possible calming tone he could muster at that moment.

There was no response other than a very, very subtle nod, and the boy quickly proceeded. He gently pushed Ray backwards, and she matched it with walking back herself whilst remaining dependent on the boy for her balance. Once her back reached the wall, she began sliding downward, Tommy's grip keeping her steady so she wouldn't fall at once.

Once she was on the floor, Tommy quickly let go of her and kneeled in front of her. Despite having sat down, the panic attack seemed to be even more rampant than before- choked sobs escaped Ray's mouth along with her heavy breaths, her face had now become much paler, and the hands that she clenched in her lap were shaking terribly. Her breathing was bad to the point that Tommy thought she'd pass out.

Suddenly he had an idea.

Tommy quickly unzipped his sweater and slid it off before putting it in his hands. He then took a quick, definitive breath before speaking again.

"Ray, I need you to take off your mask." He exclaimed quietly and calmly, having gotten the slight hang of the situation.

It was the first time that Ray had looked up to meet his eyes, and all of Tommy's anger evaporated in an instant. He felt his mind going completely blank as they stared at each other. Her eyes were so deeply terrified and helpless- nothing like Tommy had ever seen before.

He swallowed hard before speaking again.

"You can put on this sweater, and when you put on the hood, no one will see you, I swear. So please Ray, you need to breathe." He pleaded.

After a couple of seconds, Ray finally managed a subtle nod, and moved her hand in an upward notion to pull of her mask. Tommy was quick to act as well- putting his sweater over both her shoulders and helping her weakly slide her arms into the way-too-oversized sleeves. He then reached behind her and pulled the hood over her head, causing a shadow to fall on her face.

"That's better, isn't it? My sweaters are pretty cozy I must say." Tommy half-laughed, however he wasn't met with much of a response. "All right, now I need you to breathe, Ray."

Ray's eyes once again moved up to meet his, though Tommy could barely spot them from under the hood. Despite that, he could see the desperate look she gave him.

"You can do it, trust me. Here, hold my hand." The boy exclaimed, putting his hand out towards her. Although Ray hesitated for a bit, she ended up grabbing it. "All right, when I squeeze you breathe in, and you need to keep the breath in until I release the pressure, okay?"

Ray gave him another subtle nod, and Tommy continued speaking. "Breathe in." He spoke, making sure to not squeeze her hand too tight.

Ray took a deep breath in, and the boy noticed how she also squeezed his hand back slightly. He ensured that at first, the intervals weren't too long, and he made them longer and longer. Ray was increasingly calming down, her shaking going down and her breathing becoming more stable with it.

"Good job, you're doing great." Tommy praised her after the 30th exhale and brought out another hand to pat the top of her hooded head.

And for once, Ray looked up at him, the tears now having dried out from her eyes, and the only thing she could think was 'Thank you, Tommy'. 

Very long chapter but don't you just love to see caring Tommy :')