JARED (Lane Brothers Book 4) Read Online Free Page B

attacks, and these stressful situations are the worst kinds of triggers.
    I’m surprised the monitors didn’t start blaring sooner, and that no one realized how hard my heart was beating the whole time because I felt so afraid when Father turned to me that I swear my chest almost cracked open to let the thing free.
    “Jared—”
    “No! You want to go back there and let that animal hurt you again?” he says and I rear back at the violence simmering free.
    “I, it wasn’t Andrew,” I whisper.
    That prize goes right to Clyde, though I keep my mouth shut about the fact that it was Andy who held me down that one time…
    No, Paulie! Don’t think about that now , I yell silently, breathing in short bursts as the memories try to break free and the heart-rate monitor starts beeping so wildly, an alarm actually goes off this time.
    The shakes start again, and this time I know that the panic attack I’ve been staving off for several minutes is unavoidable. I can’t breathe, can’t move as the terror grips me and starts curling its way through every cell under my skin.
    My muscles lock up as the shakes get worse and my vision starts blinking on and off as the worst of it hits me a second after I hear a curse and the worried yells around me.
    It’s then that the fit hits me and I’m almost relieved for the reprieve it brings when my body seizes up and everything starts melting away.
    “Cupcake!”
    Did he just call me Cupcake?
    My body stops responding and flops down with a thump I feel in my back and hip.
    I can’t hear or see properly as the attack goes on and on, leaving me blind, deaf, and mute. All I know is the feel of hands grasping at me and the smell of Jared’s expensive cologne penetrating what’s left of my senses.
    These attacks. I call them fits or panic attacks, but I can’t really tell you with any certainty what they are. I just know I’ve had them for ages now, and that stress brings them on without thought or mercy for the situation.
    I’ve had so many lately that I’m surprised I’m still alive after some of the headers I’ve taken, but that’s from knowing that no matter what I do, I’m screwed. The situation I’m in is irreparable.
    Unfortunately, that’s one of the reasons Clyde could get to me so easily and one of the reasons I couldn’t even fight back. I wasn’t able to, pathetic as it sounds, and it got worse when—
    No, not again Paulette. Push that other shit aside and focus , I snarl as I feel the onslaught lessening slowly and become aware of hushed voices and the feel of methodical hands running over me.
    When my eyelid is raised and the blinding glare of the doctor’s light hits my eye, I cringe and pull back with a moan and a jerk that wrenches my aching neck.
    “She’s okay, Mr. Lane. It looks to me to be a panic attack—”
    “That looked like a seizure!” I hear Jared yell and it makes me want to smile when I feel the doctor’s hands tremble as he adjusts my head comfortably and releases my eyelid.
    “Sir, Miss Hayes is not epileptic and suffers from no physiological signs of tumors or other disorders. From what you described, I can confidently say that was a panic attack, albeit a rather severe one. It worsens with stress and I’d say she’s been having them for a long time now just by looking at her back molars and feeling some of the lumps on her head. She needs rest and calm right now.”
    “You think I don’t know that, asshole?! You saw her! How the hell—”
    “Son, calm down. Dr. Steve is right and you’ll have to accept it. Paulie’s had a very stressful time lately, and she’s always been a skittish little thing.”
    “But, but she’s already so hurt. She can’t be having these things,” he croaks and I wonder if that tone is as soft and caring as it sounds or just my own, hopeful, foolish imagination.
    “They will lessen over time with proper care and minimal stress. I’ve seen these before, Jared, and it’s not life threatening or