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TRIGGER WARNING: Slight mention of a panic attack. Please be cautious when reading.
Jasmine Sutton took a deep breath as she approached the car parked outside the building. In front of it stands her therapist, Dr. Calvin, and her two friends, Mia and Dominic Toretto. She didn't have any rush getting to the vehicle, so she takes her time. Dr. Calvin takes notice of this and writes it down on her notebook.
"Jasmine." Dr. Calvin nodded at the young girl when she finally was standing in front of them. "Let's do this."
Jasmine stared at the car and took another deep breath. She took small steps until she was facing the door. "Open the door." The girl's hand shot out and shakingly took the handle before opening it. Her heart started racing as the doctor spoke once again. "Get inside." Jasmine closed her eyes, trying to stop her heart from racing at the incredible speed it was.
Once inside and seated, Jasmine felt her hands start shaking again and felt tears starting to gather in her eyes. The driver's door opened, and Dominic Toretto was now seated in front of the wheel. She ignored him as he sent a worried look, to preoccupied in her shaking hands and racing heart.
Breathing started to become difficult as the tears started to fall from her eyes and her hands shook even more. "Please let me out of here," her small voice pleaded. The tears were falling at a rapid pace and her whole body was shaking. "Please."
Dominic looked at the doctor, waiting for her signal. "Jasmine?" the doctor got closer to the car and opened the door, allowing the girl to step out of the vehicle. "Jasmine, look at me." The girl opened her crying eyes as she sobbed and hiccupped. "Follow my lead. Inhale and exhale." The doctor did the motions and slowly but surely Jasmine followed her until she calmed down.
"I'm sorry," she whispered as she wiped the tears from her cheeks.
The doctor sent her a small smile and shook her head. "There's nothing to be sorry about. I told you this was going to be a long process and we're just starting so don't feel discouraged." The Sutton girl nodded and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "We're doing it again tomorrow. Don't feel bad because you couldn't handle more than two minutes. It will take time."
It took time. Two years to be exact.
Once upon a time, cars were Jasmine Sutton's happy place. Driving and riding them gave her a sense of freedom and it was were she could forget about her personal problems and just let go. But the happy place did a flip and transformed into her nightmare, the place she wanted to avoid at every cost.
The incident, as it was now referred by Jasmine and every person close to her, changed her. Jasmine once was a racer and lived her life with the constant need of the adrenaline rush racing gives her. For some time, she was the racer afraid of cars, not a good reputation. Now, Jasmine was a normal girl with a racing past.
The first day after fully physically recovering was the worst, not even being able to handle two full minutes inside the car. The next four weeks, Dr. Calvin was able to get her to relax inside the car for more than an hour. After that, it came the challenge to have her comfortable with the seat bell on. It, too, was challenging, and took another four weeks.
The hardest one yet was having the car on while she was inside. Her panic attacks got the best of her as soon as Dominic turned the key. This particular one took almost four months, but patience is key. When traveling in cars, Jasmine spent almost ten months before she got back to her normal self and felt good when the vehicle was moving. Then it came the challenge of increasing progressively the speed and after eight months, traveling in a car was not much of a preoccupation for Jasmine Sutton.
Two years, and a lot of therapy, is how long it took Jasmine Sutton to get back inside a car and feel comfortable to travel in them. Through it all, her best friend, Mia Toretto, and her brother, Dominic Toretto, were there for her. Having those two with her was the best feeling for her, as they were the only family she had left.
Driving still scared her to this day, and it's been six years since the incident. It takes time, she always reminds herself when she's frustrated about not doing what was her passion once. But slowly but surely, Jasmine was sure she will be driving in no time.
Her life was good, she adapted to her conditions and now she's happy.
Until a certain blond, blue-eyed man come to the restaurant and that's when her life took a really drastic turn and her need for adrenaline rush was satiated.
