Georgina woke up with a gasp, nausea bubbling in her stomach. She half-fell out of bed. She was disorientated, unsure where she was. She landed hard on her knees and let out a gasp of pain. Standing, she glanced around frantically.
Finally, it registered that she was in Ed’s bedroom. She dived through the closet and into the attached bathroom. Falling to her knees, she vomited up what she’d managed to get down of the snack that Ed had left for her.
Gasping, shivering, she sat back on her ass and curled herself into a ball.
Why were those nightmares coming back? Because she’d been shot? Was it because she couldn’t handle it? It was like being shot had triggered something in her mind. She placed her hand over the scar on her stomach. How would she explain that to Ed? She couldn’t lie to him. But that meant talking about it.
Something she tried to never do.
This is never to be spoken of again.
Yeah, that was working really well for her, wasn’t it? If she’d been able to speak about it then perhaps she wouldn’t be having these problems right now.
Dead. He was dead. He wasn’t coming for her.
She forced herself to stand, her legs shaking. Splashing some water on her face, she looked at herself in the mirror. Was she even more gaunt? Were those dark smudges under her eyes worse?
Darn it. If Ed came home and saw her right now he’d have a fit.
In college, she’d decided that to be normal, she needed a boyfriend. She’d set out to find a man who was the exact opposite of her brothers. Someone easygoing, who would let her do whatever she wanted. Rex had been a really nice guy, but she’d been the dominant one in that relationship. She’d thought that was what she wanted.
Turns out, it wasn’t.
She’d ended up pushing him for a reaction. Doing things to see if he’d protest or try to stop her. He never had. And now, she might have gone in the complete opposite direction. She already knew that Ed wasn’t going to let her get away with half the stuff that Rex had. Like running at night. Like skipping meals.
Holding back the truth of what happened to her.
Her breathing started growing erratic at the thought of having to tell him. What would he think? Do? She shuddered, her stomach turning over nauseously.
Shoot.
Taking in a deep breath, she held it and let it out slowly. Eventually, she got her breathing under control.
Panic attack averted. Back to normal programming.
Right. Whatever that was.
A James doesn’t need a psychiatrist to help them face their fears. We’re stronger than that.
“Urgh, get out of my head, Mother.”
A door shutting and the sound of footsteps made her freeze.
Ed. It’s just Ed.
“Georgie?” he called out. “Georgie, are you all right?”
She cleared her throat, trying to call out. She was still trembling. She couldn’t let him see her like this.
Then he appeared at the bathroom door. Too late.
“Jesus, what happened? You look terrible.” He swiftly moved over to her, and grabbing her around the waist, turned and lifted her onto the counter. “What’s the matter?”
“Um, nothing.”
She winced as she said those words, knowing they weren’t going to be well-received.
“Try again,” he warned in a stern voice. “Because you’re shaking, sweaty, and you look like you’re about to pass out. Plus it smells like vomit in here.”