Chapter 28: Trigger (Eret)
Set after Small Bump, before the pregnancy with Ruby.
(Eret's POV)
Becky and I pass by the barn on Berk, ready to help with our weekly chore of tending to the chickens and yaks.
It's been a while, what with getting through the miscarriage and all.
My job, according to Not-So-Silent Sven, is to...brand...the...yaks.
I start visibly shaking.
"Eret? Honey, you okay?" My wife wraps her tiny arms around my bicep to provide me with some comfort.
"Branding...branding..."
With a quick apology to Sven from my wife, she leads me away from the barn to the forge, where no branding irons are to be found. Thankfully.
"Baby, look at me. It's okay. He's not going to hurt you again."
"How can you be so sure?"
"He's gone, Eret...Dr...Dr...Drago is gone. For good. He's not coming back."
"You actually said his name."
"Don't get used to it."
A few minutes pass as Becky coaches me through my panic attack. I don't have many, and they're quite scary. I don't know how Becky manages them on a weekly basis...she should really see someone about that.
"What're you thinking about?"
"How you should probably see someone about your weekly panic attacks."
"I know I should. We both need the help."
"We sure do. We're a couple of screwed up people, huh?"
"Maybe a little, yeah. But that's nothing to be ashamed of. What we've gone through isn't our faults."
"Like how your chronic pain isn't your fault?" I say, eyeing her.
"You're right, you're right."
"So, shall we make another pact? We both go see a professional, together and apart?"
"Agreed. We'll both go see a professional."
"Thank you. For everything."
"You're welcome. Thank you. For everything."
"You're welcome. You're the only thing that's beautiful in me. Besides myself." I say, jokingly on that last bit. Well, a little jokingly.
Becky playfully shoves my arm and I wrap my arms around her and we hug, knowing we'll get through this.
