The Life of Me

Page 29

Cheyenne

"Cheyenne, breathe. If you keep having panic attacks, you'll never find Joey," Lottie worried, snapping her fingers in Cheyenne's face. Cheyenne paced the flooring, running her fingers through her ginger hair. She mumbled under her breath. Lottie could tell Cheyenne was distraught.

"Cheyenne? Cheyenne!" Lottie shouted, jumping up when she saw that Cheyenne had stopped pacing and was gasping heavily. "Cheyenne! Don't worry, everything is fine, hey, look at me, okay?" Lottie cooed in attempt to calm the other girl's racing mind. Hyperventilating was the most common symptom when Cheyenne had a panic attack.

Clawing at her throat, Cheyenne stumbled to the floor, backing herself into a wall. Lottie placed her hand to Cheyenne's temple, burning. Lottie snatched her frozen water bottle, handing it to Cheyenne. "Place this to your head, it'll help." she instructed. Cheyenne nodded, still glancing franticly around the empty room. Lottie continued to watch the younger female as she pulled out a brown paper bag.

"Breathe. In, out, in out," Lottie stated, handing Cheyenne the bag. Cheyenne nodded meekly, taking the bag. Exhaling and inhaling repeatedly, her color began to leak back into her features. Lottie stopped worrying so much and felt Cheyenne's temple. Cooler, good.

"Thanks, Lot," Cheyenne susurrated, moving the bag away from her. Lottie nodded, pushing a strand of fiery gold hair behind Cheyenne's ear. "Anytime, Chey. Anytime," she smiled softly. Cheyenne leaned against the wall, ignoring all noises that were going on. Lottie got that she wanted to be alone.

"I'll be outside if you need me," she said over her shoulder, stepping out the door.

Cheyenne nodded, pulling her legs closer to her.