Gabby's POV
We watched Naia's little chest rise and fall as she slept. Her fingers were clenched around the edge of the blanket and every once in a while, she'd flinch or twitch in her sleep.
"What do you think happened?" Brett asked me when she noticed me still watching Naia.
Tearing my eyes away from Naia, I shrugged, "I don't know. Something triggered that panic attack. What did you say before she said that she had to use the bathroom?"
"I said that if she went to bed later, she'd wake up later and we'd have more sleep." Brett said looking guilty. "Oh, I caused that whole thing didn't I?"
I shook my head, "No, no, you couldn't have known. Plus, that doesn't really make sense why a phrase like that would cause something like that."
"Maybe it brought back an unwanted memory." Foster suggested which seemed reasonable. I was curious what the memory was but didn't want to ask Naia about it any time soon.
"When she's ready." Shay said as if she could read my mind and I nodded in agreement.
When she was ready, she'd tell us.
Ambo 23, woman unconscious at 12 Ashland Avenue
While Shay and Foster jumped into action, Naia's eyes flew open an she sat up.
"You're okay. It's just a call." I said as I got up to sit down next to Naia. "Go back to sleep."
Naia laid back down but she didn't close her eyes. Instead, she curled her knees up to her chest and started to slightly rock back and forth. I put a hand on her back and she stopped but didn't relax. I looked up to see Matt watching us and I gave him a sad smile. He look at me, concerned, and walked over.
"How you doing with that sleep problem of yours Munchkin?" Matt asked Naia who just shrugged and hugged her knees closer to her chest.
I bit my lip, worried. "She was sleeping until that call came in." I said and Naia nodded.
"Ah, those darn calls huh?" Matt said but Naia seemed to have not even heard Matt speak. Matt and I exchanged concerned looks and I tucked the blanket snugly around Naia before standing up.
"Well, we'll leave you be. Get some sleep sweetie." I said and gave Naia a kiss on the top of her head before walking away with Matt on my heels.
I walked down the hall and into Matt's office where I plopped down on the tiny bed in there while Matt took a seat at his desk.
"I'm worried about her." I said as Matt shut the door. "I'm really worried."
Matt stroked his chin. "What exactly happened?" He asked and I explained how Brett's comment seemed to have triggered a really bad panic attack.
"She was throwing up, and crying, and hysterical really." I said. "Matt, I'm scared she's going to go back to not talking to anyone."
"I don't think so." Matt said. "Well, I mean, I hope not. She was making some really nice progress."
I nodded in agreement, "Yeah, she told me that now with that Nate character with her at school, nobody beats her up anymore. Not physically anyways."
"Anything from her parents?" Matt asked and I remembered the phone call and nodded.
"Yeah, her mom called to wish her a Merry Christmas and wanted to meet up on the 27th." I told Matt. "Which I told her was fine, so, if that's okay with you."
Matt nodded, "Yeah, we don't have a shift so of course. Is that all she said to Naia?"
Suddenly, what Matt was implying dawned on me.
"You think her mom might have said something to her?" I asked.
Matt shrugged, "I really don't know but it's possible."
"How does she get through this?" I wondered as I ran my hand through my hair, feeling a little bit overwhelmed. Matt came over and sat down next to me on the bed. He pulled me into a hug and I snuggled into his chest.
"She's braver than brave." Matt whispered. "And that's what we're going to be."
I nodded.
Braver than brave.
Hi! It's currently 4:19 PM where I am writing this, I don't know why I wrote that. Anyways, I have a lot of ideas for this story but if you guys have any ideas, please, please, please feel free to leave them in a review or PM me. Thank you so much for reading, I really appreciate it.
Have a good day! (Or night depending when you're reading this)