𝙎𝙒𝙀𝙀𝙏 𝙎𝙒𝙀𝙀𝙏 𝙇𝙊𝙑𝙀, 𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩

𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺-𝘴𝘪𝘹

( tw: panic attack/asthma attack, police activity, fainting)

the color drained from your face as you reloaded the page multiple times, hoping that it was just a glitch in the website. but nothing changed. enthralled in finding out who this "amelia carter" was, you didn't notice that tammy came back into the living room, asking you questions you didn't register.

"(y/n)?" she softly asks, placing a hand on your shoulder.

your head snaps back to look at her, your face as pale as a ghost, and your hands trembling. "i-i'm sorry, what did you say?" you ask, glancing around the room, with anxiety creeping into your chest.

"i asked if you were okay, sweetheart," tammy repeats, concern riddled all over her face. "which you're obviously not," she states with a frown. "what happened?"

usually, you would keep these things to yourself, but you were super shaken up. especially with the low-grade threat amelia said to you. "i don't think amelia is a social worker," you say, your voice barely above a whisper.

tammy's eyebrows furrow in confusion. "what?"

you hand her the phone. "there's no sign of her anywhere on the internet. not on the official website, social media profiles, or any trace of her."

tammy takes your phone, looking over all the tabs and websites. tammy's expression changes from confusion to concern as she reads the information. her grip on the phone tightens, indicating her growing worry. "this doesn't make any sense," tammy mutters, her voice laced with apprehension. "why would someone pretend to be a cps worker and visit you?"

you shrug helplessly, feeling a mix of fear and frustration. "i don't know. it seemed normal at first, but then the questions got weird and i got uncomfortable." 

you chew on your bottom lip as tammy watched you with furrowed eyebrows. "what type of questions was she asking you?" her voice was stern and firm, but you knew it wasn't because of you. she was being overprotective -- the mother goose.

"she was drilling me about... debbie and the heist." your eyes shoot up to hers. "i didn't say anything about it. i just played dumb, and she called me out for it."

"smart girl," tammy mutters handing you back your phone. "did she leave any contact information? or say anything personal about herself?"

you shake your head, realizing how caught off guard you were, and internally scolded yourself for not gathering as much information as possible about her. "no, she didn't leave a card or anything. she just said that she's gonna come by another time."

tammy's expression hardens. "absolutely not. we're calling the police, i don't care. we can't just sit here like waiting ducks for her to come back."

you nod your head. "but what about debbie and lou? we're the only people here right now." your heart sinks in your chest again. "what if she comes back?"

"she's not going to come back and if she does, we're not letting her in until we have some real answers, okay?" tammy tries to reassure you.

"okay," you whisper. tammy squeezes your arm and hurriedly goes back into the kitchen, grabbing her phone.

sitting on the couch, you anxiously tap your feet and chew on your bottom lip. tammy had told debbie and lou what was happening and they promised they would try and hurry at the bar. something about a busted pipe. debbie demanded hourly check-ins, which you were more than happy to give. the entire situation reminded you so much of what had happened with your mother and matteo. secretive, deceptive, and dangerous. tammy was no idiot and almost instantly picked up on the resurfacing feelings. she hadn't left your side. 

"(y/n), sweetheart, you need to stop doing that," tammy says causing you to stop your anxious habits and turn towards her. tammy's voice was full of compassion and worry. "you're going to hurt yourself."

you part your lips, taking a deep breath. "sorry," you quickly apologize. "nervous habit, i guess."

tammy's warm hand clasped over yours. "it's going to be okay, honey. i promise. i'm not going to leave your side." you shoot tammy a weak smile before her phone starts to buzz. "it's nine-ball," she says, reading through the texts. "she couldn't find anything about a cps worker named 'amelia carter' in new york. she thinks it's a fake name."

you felt dizzy -- lightheaded -- sick. all this did was confirm what you were already terrified of. "oh god," you mutter. memories of matteo and victoria flash in your head. it was happening again.

"hey, hey, it's okay. it's okay," tammy quickly tries to comfort you. you shake your head vigorously, tears flooding your eyes. before you could even comprehend what was happening, tammy wrapped you in her secure arms. you lean into her soothing touch, resting your head on her chest, allowing yourself to be cradled. it was like a nightmare you could never escape from. you were so exhausted.

a knock on the door wakes you up. you were cuddled against tammy's side, your head nuzzled into her arm. you slowly lift your head, glancing around. tammy gently pulls away from the embrace, offering you a reassuring smile before getting up to answer the door. as she approaches the door, you take a quick second to compose yourself, wiping away the tears from your puffy and irritated eyes and trying to steady your rigid breathing. opening the door, tammy is met with debbie and lou, who rush in with concern written all over their faces. "sorry," debbie says shaking her head. "i forgot my keys at the bar and we couldn't figure out the right key from lou's keychain."

"hey, no sweat," tammy reassures debbie.

debbie shakes off her coat, looking around the house. "is everything alright? what's going on?" she asks, her voice full of worry.

tammy is quick to fill them. "that 'cps worker' came by when you weren't here and asked (y/n) all these really strange questions. (y/n) decided to look her up, but she couldn't find anything on her."

"not even her certification?" lou asks with slightly widened eyes.

tammy shakes her head. "not even her name on the website."

"what questions did she ask (y/n)?" debbie cuts in, causing tammy and lou to look towards her. red, hot, burning rage fills every inch of her body. 

"just asking about the heist and any other illegal activities. she was prying for information," tammy explains shaking her head.

debbie glances around once more. "where is she? (y/n)?" tammy points towards the living room and debbie rushes past her. as she enters the room, she immediately spots you, sitting on the couch with your knees to your chest and your red puffy eyes. debbie instantly is right next to you, wrapping you in a tight hug, whispering words of comfort to you. tears automatically prick in your eyes. "hey, hey. i've got you kiddo."

you wrap your arms around debbie, pushing yourself into her as you cry. "debbie.. it's just like matteo and victoria," you look up at her with a slightly quivering lip. "i'm so scared."

debbie's blood boiled as she held you in her arms. this "amelia carter," whoever she was, needed to count her days -- or what was left of them. she begins to stroke your hair when lou and tammy enter the room. lou's expression mirrored debbie's but with more visible anger. "we won't let anyone get away with this," she declares.

tammy then chimes in. "we need to call the authorities -- take action. we need to get this 'amelia carter' away from (y/n)."

debbie instantly nods her head. "they're right, babe." she plants a kiss on the top of your head as you wipe away the tears from your cheeks. "we love you and we'll protect you. no matter what."

for the second time that night, there's another knock on the door. everyone is sat in the living room with a tangible silence. the same thing is on everyone's mind. debbie stands up and answers the door and everyone glances at it. two police officers stand on the porch. "good evening, ma'am," one of police officers begins, his tone stiff. "we're here because of the report made against amelia carter, the cps worker."

everyone subconsciously leans in, eager to hear what was happening. 

the other officer continues. "it seems their was a misunderstanding. ms. amelia carter is indeed a verified cps worker with a valid record. we've checked through her credentials thoroughly, and everything checks out."

the room falls even more silent. disbelief and confusion is evident on everyone's face. your heart sinks into your chest as it gets harder to breathe. you fiddle around, searching for your inhaler. tammy's eyebrow furrows and she goes to say something, but the other officer interrupts. "we also found several documents corroborating her visit to your residence and the purpose of her inquiries," the officer adds handing debbie a folder full of paperwork.

debbie looks through it, her eyebrows furrowing and her anger rising. "but... but how is this possible?" she questions, her voice tinted with frustration. you hold your chest, glancing around the living room and your hands grabbing around the couch for your inhaler. you swore you had it in here with you, especially when you were talking with amelia. you thought you were going to have a panic attack.

the officers exchange a look, their expressions unreadable. "we understand your concerns, ma'am, but making a false accusations can have serious consequences," the first officer passive-aggressively says. lou crunches her hands together, rising from the couch but tammy stops her.

"we advise you to be more careful in the future before raising alarms that turn out to be unfounded," the second officer adds, their words carrying a subtle implication of doubt. "have a good night, ma'am."

debbie, lou, and tammy begin discussing what could've gone wrong and what to do next. but you can't focus on the words their saying as your panic grows. you pat down your pockets for your inhaler and continue looking in the couch. your chest tightens and each passing breath feels like a struggle.

debbie is quick to notice your change in demeanor and she's swiftly at your side. "(y/n), honey, what's wrong?" debbie asks, her voice laced with worry.

you try to respond, but the words catch in your throat, your breaths coming in shallow gasps. panic continues to set in as you realize you're having an asthma attack, and your heart races with fear. lou and tammy turn to you, their expressions shifting from confusion to alarm as they see the distress written all over your face.

"what's going on?" tammy immediately asks.

"did you misplace your inhaler?" debbie scans over the room.

you manage to weakly nod, clutching at your chest as you continue to struggle to breathe. everyone quickly begins to search as you struggle to continue to breathe and to keep yourself alert. you were almost positive you had it out here.

"i don't see it out here!" lou calls.

"i don't either," tammy says, her hands running through her hair.

your eyes begin to flutter as you hear your heartbeat in your ears. colors fade around you, panicked voices become muffled, and you felt insanely dizzy. the room spins briefly before everything descends into complete and utter blackness.