I can feel her breath grow quicker, and she feels heavier in my arms.
“You’d be surprised,” I reply.
The song is ending, but her body is shivering. I pull back from her, and she clings to me for just a moment before pulling back as well. Her face is damp, and she’s breathing quickly still.
I barely hear us being applauded once more as I link my arm with hers.
“Come on,” I tell her.
“I’m f-fine,” she insists, but her lips are quivering.
I tug her along at a pace just fast enough to not be too suspicious. We avoid speaking to anyone on the way. Dinner is being served after all, so everyone is fairly preoccupied.
“Where are we going?” Rosalie asks me pointedly, her voice cracking with emotion. “I said I-I’m fine I—” her words become incoherent and her breath so fast that her face starts reddening.
Into the restroom we go. There’s a woman washing her hands and she looks at us in surprise.
“Get out,” I demand in equal measures of charm and violence.
The woman grabs a hand towel from nearby and quickly leaves the room with it while drying her hands.
The second we’re alone, I pull over a footstool that’s sitting nearby and guide Rosalie down to sit on it.
“What a-are you doing?” she asks me, tears streaming down her face.
“You need to sit,” I insist.
She finally does as she’s told and sits down on the small stool with her dress billowing out all around her. Just as I’m about to say something else, the bathroom door swings open wildly.
“Can we get some pri—” I look over and stop mid-sentence.
It’s Damian.
“What’s going on?” he asks, taking his sunglasses off and tucking them into his breast pocket.
“Nothing you’re needed for,” Rosalie sneers between soft hiccups.
Damian locks eyes with me, and I look back without hesitation. Something about the concern in his expression is incredibly sexy. The way he burst in here without a second thought.
I can’t help but wonder, was it really for Rosalie’s sake?
“She’s having a panic attack,” I explain simply.
“I-I’m not,” Rosalie huffs.
Damian sighs and steps over to us.
“Take a deep breath,” he says quietly.
His voice is deep and compels even me to take a slow breath through my nose.
I realize that I’d been panicking a bit myself.
“I know how to breath!” Rosalie yanks her arm away from me. I stand up, having been crouching at her side.
“Fine. If you don’t need my help,” I snap back at her.
“Both of you need to calm down. There are people waiting for you at dinner,” Damian reminds us.
