Lowering herself into the tub slowly, she smiled. Really hard to find mid-range, reasonably priced hotels with a tub deep enough to enjoy a truly good soak. Most tubs, you could sit about waist deep or bend your knees and neck. Not exactly optimal. But here, she was settled comfortably in the deep tub with the water line right up to her shoulders. The heat immediately started to seep into her limbs. Oh, this was so good.
Inhaling the lavender-scented steam, she started to systematically tense and relax her body a part at a time. First her toes, then her feet, then her calves…and on up. Tension released in areas she hadn’t realized had been seized up. It didn’t take more than ten minutes, but the relaxation exercise helped immensely, more so in combination with the hot soak. She’d probably still be sore tomorrow but not as bad as she might’ve been.
Come to think of it, the whole night had turned out better than what could’ve been.
She’d reached for her car door handle when the other car had almost run down David. Stupid. Even if she’d have managed to get the door open it would’ve probably been too late to do any good or she might’ve hit him with it and slowed his escape. She hadn’t been thinking so much as horrified. Actually, if she’d opened her door and the car had collided with it, it could’ve hurt her pretty badly, too.
Swallowing hard, she wrapped her arms around herself.
David had been quick and avoided the danger far better than she could have. And then the drive…
At those speeds, would any of them have walked away from a crash? Atlas hadn’t been secured. He’d have bounced around the car like a ping-pong ball. Even with the seat belts, she and David could’ve been seriously hurt.
Visions of the car running off the road, flipping over and rolling, flashed through her mind. There was a chattering noise and it took her several seconds to identify the sound as her own teeth. The water around her was still warm but she was shaking all over. She’d drawn her knees up without noticing and she sat in a semi-fetal position in the tub trying to hold herself together.
But it was too late. The panic attack was in full swing. More images streamed through her mind of the dark, the bright headlights. The sounds of engines and screeching tires echoed in her ears. Her heart beat harder and she couldn’t catch her breath.
Then the sounds changed to words.
…she won’t see our faces.
There was a sharp bark.
“Lyn? You okay in there?”
But we can show her a couple other things before we leave.
She held her breasts, trying to protect them from the painful pinch. Squeezed her eyes shut and tried not to see his face. No. No. No.
Another bark, deeper, and a scratching sound.
There was a soft creak as the door was opened and Atlas was there, leaning over the tub, licking her face.
“Lyn! I’m coming in.”
She didn’t protest, glad for Atlas and relieved as she realized David was there.
David reached in and lifted her out of the tub, cradling her against his chest. “It’s okay. You’re okay.”
“S-sorry. S-sorry!” She couldn’t stop shaking, couldn’t stop her teeth from chattering.
“It’s okay. We’re here.” David carried her out of the dimly lit bathroom into the warm light of the bedroom and set her on the bed.
She wanted to cling to him, ask him not to let her go. But he was back in seconds and wrapped a soft blanket around her.
David sat next to her then, his arm open in invitation. She tipped right into his chest, burying her face in the hollow of his shoulder. He stilled for a minute. “Just this once. Over.”
She looked up in time to see Atlas jump onto the bed and give her a quiet, concerned whine. The big dog stared into her eyes for a long moment, then lay down pressed up against her other side. His heavy weight against her hip helped settle her jangling nerves.
“I love baths. I don’t know why I’m like this. I hate this.” She was babbling and she had no idea why.
His hands rubbed up and down her upper arms, warming her through the comforter. “Could be a lot of factors. These things sneak up on you.”
He was matter-of-fact about it, accepting. None of it was weird to him. She was so glad he wasn’t calling her crazy. She was a little worried that she was, in fact, losing it.
“I don’t understand what’s wrong with me.”
He kissed her forehead. “None of this is wrong. You’ve been through awful things. They’ll come back and bite you once in a while.”
She considered his words. “You get these…moments. Panic attacks?”
“Yeah. Not often. More nightmares than these, but I’ve seen it enough.” His voice turned rough. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
Leaning into him, she breathed in the scent of him. He smelled like clean air and woods. “How do you make it stop?”