Matt goes back to his own desk when they finish eating lunch, while Karen and Foggy clean up the plates and glasses. Any other day he would insist on helping them, but today he just can't argue with them.
He sets up his laptop and braille reader and puts in the earpiece and starts reading through the files that Foggy sent him. The case isn't all too spectacular; someone got food poisoning from a restaurant that has a reputation for getting people sick. They've dealt with this restaurant before, they can probably get some money out of it and the restaurant will have someone to supervise them for a week. Matt knows what to do, he knows where to start and he knows what to look for, but he can't get himself to actually do it. He just keeps reading and reading and he's so focused on that, he's actually startled when Karen knocks on the door frame to announce her coming in.
"Hey, didn't mean to startle you."
"No, it's nothing. What's going on?" He thought he sounded like he wanted her out of here, which he didn't. He realized he wanted nothing more than for someone to be there with him, to touch him and to reassure him that he's not alone right now. He wants to scream and throw everything off his desk, he wants to tell Karen and Foggy just how messed up everything is right now and how he can't make sense of it all, but he wouldn't dare to out his secret now that it's not even there anymore. He's going to have to deal with this himself.
"You seem distracted, Matt. I know you're not feeling too well but you don't look sick. If it's something else, you can always tell us, you know. Or just Foggy." And that hurt him like Hell. He wants Karen to feel as important as she is and making that comment about being more comfortable around Foggy did the exact opposite, or so it seems.
"I- There's just some stuff I need to work through right now, personal stuff, and I wouldn't keep It from you if I knew this wouldn't be over in an instant." He hates lying.
"Okay. I believe you." She sounded so honest, so genuine. He never intentionally listened to someone's heartbeat unless he needed the truth, but he wishes he could hear it now, just to make sure she really means it.
Karen starts to turn around, going back to her own desk, until;
"Karen? Could you maybe, uhm, work in my office today while I'm here?" His own heart feels like it's beating a hole through his chest, how should he explain that he doesn't want the world around him to disappear when everyone is quiet?
"I actually, Matt, I'm so sorry, I'm leaving early today. I'm meeting someone in an hour…"
And this is when his heart stops. He stops breathing, everything actually disappears and he doesn't know if he's still in the same world or not. He doesn't feel like he is, he feels abandoned, even though he has no right to. Karen can't be there all the time, she can't keep looking out for him, he feels like such a burden even asking her this. He has no idea what he was thinking, this is only going to raise more questions, and he can't help but breathe too fast.
"Matt? Matt! Calm down, what's happening?!" Karen yells, and Matt hears her, it just doesn't register.
"Foggy! Something is happening with Matt!"
Now Matt can't help but let the tears fall down his face, somewhere hoping that his colleagues don't notice this.
It seems to escalate quicker than on the street when Claire left him, he tries to breathe, to calm himself, to feel okay, but he can't make sense of the thoughts in his head and he can't help but hyperventilate.
Matt reaches out a hand and someone takes it. He takes the glasses off as they feel too heavy on his face and puts his free hand on his own chest; hopefully the one holding his other hand picks up on the hint and puts his hand on their own chest. He doesn't hear anything anymore, not even his own breathing. This only makes things worse as he wonders if this is temporary or permanent. He wouldn't have a way to communicate with the others. He wouldn't be of much use for the firm. He could do research, but he would never go to court again, which is where his passion lies.
He doesn't notice the hand rubbing circles over his back until the moment he stops breathing. He doesn't know how, but he's been holding his breath for a while. The feeling on his back is calming but it doesn't do enough. He wills his hand free and searches for the chest of the person who took his hand, tapping his own chest several times with his other hand.
When he finds it, it works like magic. He feels it rising and falling, faster than what would be normal but by far not as unsteady as his own. He tries to match it, 'it' now identified as Foggy's, doing a poor job while he's at it. It takes longer than it ever has, but he manages to calm his breathing and the room starts to fill with noise again. It seems overwhelming at first, but it is not yet what it used to be. It's just what a normal person would hear and Matt can basically hear his brain cursing at the lack of sound.