I catch her as her knees buckle, her eyes still impassive and glazed over. She’s dissociating, her panic attack hitting a breaking point that is causing her brain to switch off. Her body slumps toward the floor, but I keep her upright. “I’m gonna pick you up now, baby.” She’s a rag doll as I scoop her up, but when she wraps her arms around my neck, my heart squeezes painfully like it’s wrapped in barbed wire. “Good girl, hold on to me just like that.” I press my nose against her hair and clutch her tightly as I carry her to my room. Her sandals slip off her dangling feet and clatter to the
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