#open; lang

[normallyxstranger]

“I can’t breathe,” he gasped. His fingers clutched tightly at nothing, nails digging into his palms when the fists formed. Oh, this was bad. A panic attack, but worse than that—he was losing control. If he didn’t calm down soon, the shift would start. Once the wolf was out—

 “I can’t—I gotta get outta here.”

[normallyxstrange]

     “I don’t remember a lot about her. My mom.” The statement came with no other prompting other than his heavy thoughts. Maybe it was the sight of the mother with her young child walking by briskly that sparked it, awakening old feelings he’d tried to bury over the years. 

    “I mean, I remember she had blonde hair, and it was long. She wore it in a ponytail. She smelled warm--like leather, tree bark, earth. Sometimes butterscotch." Butterscotch always made him think of his mother. “But the features of her face sometimes get blurry.” Lang gestured, vaguely, at his own face.

     He fell silent after that, shoulders hitched in a faint, dismissive shrug.

[normallyxstranger]

He arrived at the table with two steaming take-out cups in hand.

“Hey. I got coffee for you. I wasn’t sure how you liked it, so I left it black.” Lang chewed on the inside of his cheek. “I hope that’s okay?” There were sugar packets and creamer on the little counter nearby in case it wasn’t.

“I would’ve gotten muffins or something but I didn’t know if you were hungry too.”

[normallyxstranger]

He took a deep breath. "No, it's fine," Lang said. "I was going to move those books anyway."

[normallyxstranger1]

     There usually wasn’t anyone at Book Ends in the early morning. Lang would show up, unlock the door, head inside, and work cleaning the small bookstore. Customers began trickling in by mid-morning or noon, rarely earlier. To find someone waiting there jarred him and sent his anxiety spiking.

      “Oh, uh hi. I hope you haven’t been standing out in the cold long,” he said, his voice wavering slightly in his nervousness. The keys jangled in his hand as he stepped to the door to unlock it. “We don’t open until eight… which I guess… is now.”

[normallyxstranger1]

     There was no air. He was outside and there just—there wasn’t any air. He couldn’t—

     “I can’t breathe,” he gasped. His fingers clutched tightly at nothing, nails digging into his palms when the fists formed. Oh, this was bad. A panic attack, but worse than that—he was losing control. If he didn’t calm down soon, or get far away, the shift would start. Once the wolf was out—

     “I can’t—”

[normallyxstranger1]

     He arrived at the table with two steaming take-out cups in hand. “Hey. I got coffee for you. I wasn’t sure how you liked it, so I left it black.” Lang chewed on the inside of his cheek. “I hope that’s okay?” There were sugar packets and creamer on the little counter nearby in case it wasn’t.

     “I would’ve gotten muffins or something but I didn’t know if you were hungry too.”

[normallyxstrange]

     He arrived at the table with two steaming take-out cups in hand. “Hey. I got coffee for you. I wasn’t sure how you liked it, so I left it black.” Lang chewed on the inside of his cheek. “I hope that’s okay?” There were sugar packets and creamer on the little counter nearby in case it wasn’t.