“I don’t know,” Riley repeats, more urgently. She’s in a strange place. Hell isn’t imaginary; it’s real. It’s a real place and it’s also a state of mind. And she can feel herself slipping into the pit, she can feel the fear taking over, the paranoia, the need to react. She doesn’t want that to happen. God, not here. Not now. She grabs Gwen’s hand tightly. “Stay with me,” she says.
Anyone who has ever had intrusive thoughts after a traumatic event can completely understand this feeling of isolation, of a lack of control over their emotions and how scary that can be. To know you are heading into a deep spiral and fearing your own reactions is terrifying in it's intensity.
