There, nearly doubled over in the kitchen, Victoria lost complete control of herself. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that she should go out there and face the music, that running away was a seriously pussy move and she did not run away from things, but she couldn’t. Muscles tensed, and her body trembled. She couldn’t breathe. Unable to remove her hands from where they had been resting against her thighs, Victoria struggled to get the smallest bit of air into her lungs, much to no avail. The sound of her heart was steadily thumping in her ears, she couldn’t move, she couldn’t speak, this was fucking terrifying. I need to… Thoughts died quickly in the back of her mind, she knew that she needed to do something but was no longer able to focus. Her chest was too tight, her throat was too tight, she couldn’t breathe. Her eyes hurt, which was probably from the fact that she was crying, but at this point, Victoria hadn’t even registered such yet. Even the sounds of the commotion from the opposite room were nothing but a distant blur.
At this point, Victoria was sure that Bidelia was causing more mayhem in the opposite room, and whilst the thought did occur to her, she didn’t really give a fuck, nor did she have the capacity to do so in her current state. For the record, panic attacks fucking sucked. Somehow she manages to lift her hand, press it against her chest in an attempt to calm the rapid fire beating of her heart, but it was useless, everything was useless.
She hadn’t even realized she’d been crying until she felt the gentle pressure, the brush of a small hand against her shoulder, if only for a second. The shock of such caused her to nearly jump out of her skin and push away, glancing up to briefly make out the silhouette of Johnny standing before her. As much as she wanted to reassure him that she was okay, it’d be over soon but she couldn’t, her brain was completely working against her. Rather than touch her again, he seemed to have learned his lesson against that, he just kept speaking, barely audible sounds leaving his lips. Everything felt blurry, and she had no fucking idea how she’d managed to keep standing this long. Tears fell steadily down her cheeks, staining the skin beneath whilst completely ruining her makeup. Her opposite hand managed to reach up and brush away a few tendrils of hair away from her face, still breathing heavily in an attempt to catch her breath, but with Johnny there, at the very least she was able to focus on something other than her own impending doom. It took a short while, but her muscles seemed to slacken, grateful that she hadn’t fallen on her ass in the process. What felt like an eternity later, which was probably only a few minutes, Victoria was able to think, whispering softly.
She could tell by Johnny’s nod that he heard her, at the least, but he didn’t budge from the spot, seemingly unwilling to move until she’d regained control over herself. Victoria shifted slightly to the side, grasping the counter until her knuckles grew white from sheer force.
“Johnny…can you get me a glass of water please?”
Without speaking, the teenager readily headed over towards the fridge and pulled out a bottle, uncapping it and handing it over towards his aunt. She grasped it shakily at first, nearly dropping it, but managed to bring it up towards her lips, taking small sips in an attempt to regain control of her faculties. The coolness of the liquid was a definite shock to her system, and did wonders to help, handing the bottle back to him as opposed to attempting to get it onto the counter. The sounds coming from the other room had died down considerably, but to be honest, Victoria had no desire to see what was going on. Now that she’d managed to calm down slightly, Vic could feel the rage bubbling up from within her chest, branching out through her veins. She could not remember a time when she had been more furious. It might have been naive, but she never expected for Bidelia to betray her in such a manner. All Victoria knew was that she was completely fucking done with her older sister.
Albeit less shaky, Victoria stood, still gripping the counter for a moment before leaning back against it. Aunt Vic, you sure you’re okay? Her tongue still felt a bit heavy, but she at least had the strength in her mind to nod, speaking softly a moment or two later.
Reaching over, she brushed a few tendrils of hair away from his eyes, patting his cheek before pulling him closer for a quick hug. Her arms wrapped around him tightly, and she could feel him relax slightly against her chest as he hugged her back.
Pressing a kiss to the top of his head, the sound of footsteps approaching brought her to be on her guard. Her head snapped up, and she was unable to control the sigh of relief once she realized that it was in fact, Killian, and not her father. Just the sight of him had her near tears once more, and he pulled her into an embrace, forcing Johnny away from the brunette as she silently cried against his chest. For a few moments, he stood there, shielding her from whatever was to come, whispering soft words of reassurance into her hair. By this point, Victoria was drained, emotionally and physically, and she knew that she just wanted to get out, get away. Running was not something Victoria did often, especially as far as her problems were concerned, but she was absolutely terrified of her parent’s reactions. She didn’t know it yet, but this would be the last time she saw her family for quite an extended period. Inhaling deeply, Victoria removed herself from her brother’s grasp, pushing him forward to head back towards the dining room. She even managed to reach over and nudge Johnny forth as well, the two acting as buffers as she hung in the doorway, garnering her strength before stepping foot back into view of both her parents.