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Aled accepted that with a nod. Once again, as they headed up the stairs and down the hall to a bedroom at the back, Jamie marveled at how deftly Aled could switch in and out of roles to suit the situation he found himself in. For someone so young, he had more maturity than most of the people in their thirties and forties that Jamie knew. For example, Ronny.
Jamie pushed all thoughts of his ex to the back of his mind as he stopped in the open doorway of a bedroom that looked like it was inhabited by a teenage girl with a vampire fetish. He stayed where he was, since he didn’t know Dawn and hadn’t been invited in, but he watched everything, looking for the moment when he would be able to help.
“Hey, love, I’m home,” Aled said, changing once again into a quiet, strong, soft-spoken rock. “You can come out now.”
Jamie wasn’t sure what Aled meant until he leaned into the room just enough to see a man in his very early twenties who bore a resemblance to Aled standing beside a closed wardrobe. It had to be Aled’s brother, Jeremy, and he wore a look that was so tense and tight Jamie wondered if he were on the verge of a panic attack himself.
A moment later, a thump came from inside the wardrobe, and after that, the door swung open. A short young woman with black hair and badly smeared gothic make-up stumbled out from where she’d apparently been sitting in the wardrobe and fumbled to her feet to throw herself at Aled. She was shaking violently, and even though Aled was there, she didn’t seem capable of pulling herself together. She just hugged Aled, making high-pitched weeping noises.
“It’s alright, it’s okay,” Aled said, trying to soothe her, even though he looked a little overwhelmed himself. “I’m here. I wasn’t flattened or squashed or hate crimed or anything.”
Jamie could tell Aled was trying to be humorous, but the humor was lost on everyone.
Dawn just cried more, then pushed back from Aled, shaking her hands frantically. “What if they followed you here? What if someone knows we’re here and crashes their car into the house? What if the press find out and they start questioning us again? What if…what if….”
Jamie could tell the poor young woman was on the verge of hyperventilating. Panic attacks were nothing to sneeze at, and he could tell Dawn needed help fast.
“Do you have medication for her or a safe routine?” he asked, reluctant to overstep his place.
Jeremy and Dawn seemed to notice him for the first time.
“Who are you?” Dawn asked, whipping toward Jamie, her eyes wide and wild. She stepped back until her back was flush against Aled’s chest.
Jamie was surprised that her panic didn’t escalate at the sight of a stranger, but he’d always been told he had a calming presence, and at the moment, he was working to project that calm.
“Love, this is Jamie,” Aled explained, holding Dawn tight. “He’s a trusted friend.”
“Is he your boyfriend, then?” Dawn asked, still shaking hard, but, of all things, trying to be polite.
Aled flushed pinker than his exertion with his sister had already caused him to flush. “Um….”
Jamie smiled, focusing mostly on Dawn. “We haven’t really talked about that yet, but maybe.” He sent Aled a quick, warm look.
Aled smiled for a millisecond before the focus was back on Dawn again. “He’s a good guy, Dawn, I promise.”
“I teach Psychology at the university,” Jamie said, stepping into the room a bit. “So I understand how frightening a panic attack like this can be. Would you mind if I sat?” he asked, pointing to the bed.
Dawn stared at him for a long moment, as if she were trying to pull some semblance of order from her upset. She blinked and sucked in a breath, then nodded, turning toward the bed.
Jamie checked in with Aled as he stepped farther into the room and had a seat on Dawn’s bed. He wanted to help. He wanted to help Aled as much as he wanted to help Dawn. Aled was important to him, and he wanted that importance to grow. That meant Dawn’s wellbeing was the most important thing in that moment.
“If you feel up to sitting with me for a moment, I can teach you a trick I know to help soothe a panic attack,” he said, speaking gently and trying to radiate calm.
Dawn gulped, then nodded tightly and slipped to sit gingerly on the bed about a foot away from him.
Jamie smiled at her. “They don’t really teach this in any of the Psychology textbooks, and it’s not exactly required for HCPC licensure, but….” He held out his hand, inviting Dawn to give him hers.
Dawn hesitated for only a moment before slowly reaching out to him. She was still trembling and as skittish as a fawn, but Jamie could see she was trying hard to fight back against the panic that had taken her. It was an excellent sign. Whether it was Aled’s presence with her or some inner fire that she refused to let go of, Jamie was already proud of her.
He took her hand and turned it palm up, then started to trace a finger around the outer edge of her hand, up and down each finger. “Concentrate on where you feel my touch,” he told Dawn as he slowly tickled her hand. “Follow my finger and the path it takes.”
Dawn drew in a breath and let it out with a stutter. She watched Jamie’s hand as it traveled over hers, slowly releasing the tension that gripped her.
“You’re perfectly safe here,” Jamie told her in a low, tender voice. “You’re surrounded by your brothers and a friend. The house is sound and filled with good things. You can worry all you’d like here and we’ll all help sort it for you. These things you’re feeling are perfectly valid. There’s nothing wrong with worry, because it comes from a place of love. We’re all here to help you stop that worry from getting too big to carry anymore.”
Dawn nodded, and when she blinked, tears streamed down from her eyes. But with each soothing word Jamie spoke, she let go of more and more of her tension and gazed at Jamie’s hand tracing hers as though hypnotized.
The spell was broken a little as Jeremy sighed, “Wow. How did you do that?”
