Haunted by the Past (Original)

Chapter 27

My chest tightened so hard that I could barely breathe. Was the air conditioner broken? I was pretty sure it was broken. Must've been the sheer number of people in the building. The air conditioner couldn't keep up. A lump in my throat grew rapidly, threatening to choke me. Fuck, I hadn't taken my pills yet that morning and they were now sitting in some unknown car.

Bursting through the women's bathroom door, the ladies preening themselves in front of the mirrors all turned and watched in puzzlement as I skipped the small queue for the stalls. I practically threw a middle-aged woman who was too slow to get out of my way. As she cursed me for my unladylike behavior, I vomited a half-digested egg sandwich into the toilet. It's funny how once you start spewing, people finally give you your space. Don't get me wrong, I could still feel their glances, but I was still mid-attack.

My body shook uncontrollably while breathing was becoming nigh impossible. I longed for my pills, and longed for my phone that was still in Eli's possession. Fuck, I had no way of getting in contact with him. Would he even notice I was taking too long? Ow, what the hell? I looked down and found I had scratched so hard into my lower arm that I broke the skin. Ok, Dani, you need to do this manually. Breath in, hold 1, 2, and out. Think peaceful thoughts...

**

"Dani! Dani!" a young voice called.

I ran to the door in such excitement even though I already knew who was calling for me. "Heather!" I greeted the ten-year old warmly.

Heather lifted two water guns, one in each hand, "The boys are already down at the creek."

"It's not even nine yet!" I hissed.

"I know! We need to take it back!" she grinned devilishly.

I looked over my shoulder and yelled to my mom, "Mom! I'm going with Heather down to the creek!"

"Can't you girls play around here?" she called back from the kitchen.

"Ew, no!" I insisted with just a touch of sass.

"Ok,ok, make sure you wear long socks! And don't roll around in the leaves!" my mom appeared in the doorway. "Hi, Heather."

"Hi, Mrs. Cooper," Heather put on her best innocent girl smile.

"Come back at noon and I'll make you both some lunch, ok? I can make those pizza bagels you both like," my mom bribed us to come back after a few hours as a way of checking in with her.

"Ok!" Heather beamed.

"You two have your whistles?" my mom questioned.

Heather lifted hers from the chain around her neck. I rolled my eyes and grabbed mine from the little table in our foyer.

"Good, now remember to stick together. There ain't nothing in this world that can knock down two besties that have each other's backs," my mom reminded us. "Now go chase those boys back off your territory!"

"Yes ma'am!" we yelled as I ran through the front door.

**

I fell backwards from leaning over the toilet onto my ass on the filthy public restroom floor, sobbing. My vision blurred as tears streamed down my face. It didn't matter how many years had past. Every day was a fresh reminder of how I had failed to watch her back. The thought of reliving the nightmare with another one of my friends threatened to bring up the last remnants of my overpriced breakfast.

"Are you ok, dear?" an elderly lady with a heavy mid-western accent stood above me at my open stall door.

"I failed her," I mumbled before burying my face into my knees.