In Your Custody

•NINETEEN•

Vera felt guilty about the events that had transpired about four hours ago now. She felt that in some way the detective's behavior towards her had been her fault. She could have fought harder to not allow him into the bathroom or to not speak to her. She should have simply accepted his apology and let him leave.

Instead, she got nervous and didn't know how to tell him to leave her alone. But that would have been rude. He wasn't trying to be mean or hurt her, so there shouldn't have been any need for her to respond in such a rude manner.

"Vera. Vera?"

Her head snapped to the left where Sara was calling out to her. Vera had been standing in front of the register, staring off into space. She shook her head and gave her manager a warm smile, "Sorry."

Sara frowned, her green eyes filled with worry, "It's alright." She assured her, "You just didn't answer when I asked you to go clean out the sink."

"Oh." Vera nodded, letting her hands slip off the top of the counter and to her side, "I'll do that now." She began to walk towards the sink in the back, but Sara stopped her with a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Is something wrong?" She asked.

Vera took in a deep breath and thought over her answer. There weren't any remaining problems to be worrying about, so why was she still feeling like she was in trouble? Axel hadn't told her she was going to be punished, so there was no reason for her to be so caught up in the day's events.

"There is just a lot on my mind is all." She answered which wasn't a lie, "Just been busy with school and-"

"Your boyfriend?" Sara seemed almost disappointed. She didn't trust Axel, that much was clear. She had never met the man, but she didn't need to. She knew Vera, from only the one week they had been working together and that was enough. She needed to make sure she was being treated right.

Vera quickly came to Axel's defense, "But this isn't his fault. He's been... amazing. My car died and he has been driving me around."

"He can still be amazing and be the cause of some of your anxieties." Sara told her, "You said this was your first real relationship. It understandable for you to be scared of all of this."

"Even if I don't know why I'm scared?"

Sara laughed and looked down, "Yes. Even if you don't know why you're scared. Sometimes anxiety doesn't make sense."

That seemed to make sense. She got anxious around people or rather men she didn't know when for the most part they had all been nice and she had no reason to be nervous. She was scared of so many things, how could she pinpoint just one cause of her anxiety?

Vera bit her lip feeling her stomach begin to turn and her arms shake the more she simply thought about being anxious, "But, how do I make it go away?" She asked.

Sara shrugged and led her over to the sink, "It's different for everyone. Some deal with anxiety in healthy ways and others become so overwhelmed that they... well they don't know how to handle it. What is something that always makes you happy? That brings you peace when you're upset? That lets you know everything is going to be okay?"

Vera went to respond but Sara held up her hand and stopped her, "Just think about it." She said as she walked back out to the register, "After you clean the sink you can take your break. I think you need it."

She was right.

Her father used to always be there to guide her but now that he was gone sometimes she felt as if she had nowhere to turn. But even when she was little there were times when even he couldn't help her. Her father couldn't control the other children in Sunday school and he couldn't end her nightmares but he helped her find a way to become strong.