‘Bex? Bex, what are you doing here?’
Bex looked up from her bag to see Carrie standing there in her full faux fur outfit.
‘I… I can’t find my purse.’ The words stumbled off her tongue. ‘I have to get on the flight. I have to get on it.’
‘What’s happened? Why are you leaving?’
‘I… I must have left it somewhere. In the tray. Maybe I left it.’ She spun around, trying to work out which way to go, but she was trapped. Penned in by the flight attendants. She was trapped.
Her breathing quickened.
‘Bex, sweetie, are you okay? You don’t look good.’
Carrie reached her hand onto Bex’s shoulder. But she shook it away. She was too hot to be touched. Too hot to think. And it was happening again. Her lungs weren’t working properly. It didn’t matter how quickly she breathed, she wasn’t getting any air in.
In a last-ditch attempt to find her purse, she tipped her bag upside down, trying to shake the contents from the inside, but she couldn’t. Her hands were trembling, slick with sweat. This wasn’t right. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. She couldn’t breathe. She was going to pass out. She was going to pass out and miss her flight and lose her job. Tears stung her eyes as she tried to gain control. But it was impossible. The entire world was spinning. Her vision blurring from the lack of air and tears.
‘It’s okay, honey. I’ve got you. I’ve got you.’ Carrie wrapped an arm around Bex and gently lowered her to the floor. ‘Y’all gonna be just fine.’
37
Bex sat on the floor, her head between her knees, while Carrie gently rubbed her back, offering constant murmurs of reassurance. She wasn’t sure how long she stayed there, just trying to keep herself breathing, but her breaths still hadn’t returned to normal when she heard one of the flight attendants speak.
‘We’re going to have to finish boarding now, madam.’
Were they talking to her? Of course they were; she was the one who needed to board that flight. Desperately. She struggled to lift her head, but Carrie answered.
‘It’s fine. She’ll be fine. I’ll stay here. Y’all can go without us.’
‘You don’t have to—’ Bex tried to protest, but Carrie shushed her softly.
‘It’s okay. We’re okay. We can just sit here a bit longer, sweetie.’
Later, when Bex had assured Carrie several times that she was able to stand and walk, they made their way out of departures, stopping at the security gates en route and discovering that yes, she had indeed left her small purse there in the bottom of the tray – it must’ve slipped out of her hand. Only then did she realise she wasn’t the only one who had needed to get on that flight.
‘I’m sorry about you missing your spa trip,’ she said.
‘Don’t you worry yourself,’ Carrie replied instantly. ‘I’m just glad I was there. I didn’t know you had panic attacks, sweetie. How long have you been having them?’
‘Panic attacks?’ Bex shook her head. ‘No. That wasn’t a panic attack. I think it’s from the storm. Something wrong with my lungs. I was going to go to the doctor about it when I had time.’
Carrie raised her eyebrows. ‘Really? You know, that looked like a panic attack to me. Sweaty palms, pulse racing, can’t catch your breath. I’m reckoning it’s happened a few times, right? When your head gets away with you?’
Bex chewed on the inside of her cheek as she tried to remember when these incidents had started happening. The first time she could recall was when Kieron had accosted her in her hotel room. And sure, it had definitely been a stressful situation, but that didn’t mean it was a panic attack, did it? And yet, from the weight that filled her stomach, she suspected Carrie might be right.
‘Well, let’s get you back home.’
Unbeknownst to Bex, while she had been there, sitting in the departures lounge, trying to catch her breath, Carrie messaged Keith to come and pick them up. As such, the car was waiting outside for them.
‘I’m sorry for causing so much fuss, really, I am. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.’
‘Why did you need to go back?’ Carrie asked. ‘I thought you were sticking around for a few days?’
Bex bit down on her bottom lip. Did she really want to tell them? No, but after what Carrie had just helped her through, they deserved the truth.
‘Kieron’s been spreading rumours to my bosses,’ she said. ‘Saying I’ve been embezzling funds. I need to go back, sort it out, make sure I don’t lose my job.’
‘What!’
