Chapter 226 Chapter 226.

Emilia’s face changed. "Oh, Kylie."

"I’m... I can’t breathe." Kylie could barely get the words out between her sobs and sniffs. Her fingers twisted into Emilia’s shirt. "It’s hard. Help me."

"Okay. Okay, baby. I’ve got you."

"Help me, please."

"I’ve got you."

Emilia guided her back inside, keeping one arm around her waist. Kylie stumbled against her, almost dragging them both across the threshold.

Emilia reached behind them and pushed the door shut. The sound of the door closing made Kylie flinch.

Emilia noticed.

She simply moved them away from the door and lowered herself to the floor with Kylie, sitting beside the couch so that Kylie wouldn’t have to stand.

"Look at me, Kylie."

Kylie shook her head. "I can’t."

"That’s okay."

"I can’t breathe."

"I know it feels that way." Emilia kept her voice gentle, although fear had begun to gather beneath her ribs. "I’m right here with you."

Kylie sucked in another breath. It came too quickly, catching painfully in her throat.

She made a small, frightened sound.

Emilia’s arms tightened around her for a moment before she deliberately loosened them.

"Can I hold you?"

Kylie nodded frantically.

"Okay."

Emilia drew her close again, letting Kylie choose how much of her weight to lean against her. She rubbed one hand slowly over Kylie’s back.

Emilia’s hand moving gently between her shoulder blades. "I’m here, Kyles. I’m right here."

Kylie buried her face against Emilia’s shoulder.

Her sobs came in sharp, uneven bursts. She tried to pull air into her lungs, then tried again, as each failed attempt frightened her further.

Emilia could feel every trembling breath against her neck.

"Listen to me," she whispered. "I’m Emilia, and you are Kylie."

Kylie shook her head against her. "Something’s wrong with me."

"No." Emilia’s answer was immediate, but not loud. "You’re frightened. You’re overwhelmed. Something terrible was said to you, and your body is reacting to it. That doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you. Emilia loves you."

Kylie clung to her harder. "My dad said—"

The words stopped.

Her mouth trembled. She tried again, but all that came out was a strangled sob.

Emilia didn’t make her finish.

"Whatever he said, you don’t have to explain it right now."

"He said I—"

Kylie gasped, her eyes widening as her chest tightened again.

Emilia felt her body stiffen. "Stay with me."

"I can’t get enough air."

"I hear you."

"Emilia, please—"

"I’m here. I’m not going anywhere."

Kylie shook her head frantically. Tears slipped down her cheeks and soaked into Emilia’s shirt.

"I don’t want to die."

Emilia’s heart seemed to stop. She couldn’t speak. Gathering herself together, she cupped the back of Kylie’s head, her fingers sliding gently into her hair.

"You’re scared," she whispered. "I know you’re scared."

Kylie nodded against her, crying harder. "I don’t want to die."

Emilia shifted slightly, making sure Kylie wasn’t folded awkwardly against her. She kept her own breathing slow and unforced.

"Can you feel the floor beneath you?"

Kylie didn’t answer.

"That’s all right. You don’t have to talk. I’m going to keep talking, and you can listen if you want to."

Emilia glanced around the apartment, searching for something familiar she could offer without overwhelming her.

"The couch is behind you," she murmured. "My hand is on your back. Your feet are on the floor. We’re in your apartment."

Kylie’s fingers trembled against her shoulder.

"The door is closed. Nobody else is here. Just me, Emilia."

At that, Kylie made a broken sound.

Emilia swallowed. "You’re not alone, Kyles. Feel my warmth around you."

For several minutes, she said nothing else.

She held her best friend while the panic moved through her in terrible, uneven waves. When Kylie tried to speak, Emilia listened. When she couldn’t, Emilia didn’t fill the silence with questions.

Gradually, the frantic gasps became less frequent. Kylie’s shoulders still shook, and her hands continued to tremble, but she was no longer fighting for every breath with the same desperate urgency.

She lifted her head a fraction.

Her face was wet. Her eyes were swollen, and her mouth trembled as she tried to speak.

"He’s right about Ben."

"You father?" Emilia’s expression tightened. "No."

Kylie looked at her with such naked misery that Emilia wished she could reach inside her and pull out every cruel thing her father had ever made her believe.

"He knows me," Kylie whispered. "He knows what I’m like."

"Yes," Emilia said softly. "He knows what you look like when you’re laughing. He knows what you wear and where you go. He knows the parts of you he can point at."

Kylie’s lips parted, but no words came.

"That doesn’t mean he knows you."

"He said I wanted it."

Emilia went very still.

Kylie stared at her, her eyes wide and wet.

"He said Ben couldn’t have done that unless I wanted him to. He said I was looking for attention. He said I—"

Her voice broke.

Emilia’s arms tightened around her again. "That was a lie."

"What if—"

"It was a lie, Kylie."

"What if I—"

"No." Emilia pulled back just enough to look at her. "Listen to me. You were eight years old. Never forget how young you were. You were a baby."

Kylie squeezed her eyes shut.

"You were a child," Emilia continued, her own voice trembling now. "You went to your father because someone hurt you. You needed him to believe you. You needed him to protect you. And instead, he made you feel ashamed of something that was never your fault."

Kylie began to cry again, but these tears were quieter. They slipped down her face without the same desperate struggle for air.

"He didn’t believe me."

"I believe you." Emilia lips trembled, but she forced it all in. "I would forever believe you, Kylie."

"He was supposed to—"

"I know."

"He was my father."

"I know, baby."

Kylie folded forward, pressing her face into Emilia’s neck, and cried as though she had been holding it in for years.

Emilia held her.

"I’m sorry," Kylie whispered.

Emilia pulled back. "What?"

"I’m sorry."

"Kylie—"

"I’m sorry I sent you away." Her voice was raw. "I didn’t know. I didn’t know I was going to—"

"Stop."

Kylie flinched.

Emilia immediately softened her tone.

"You don’t have to apologize for having a hard time. You don’t have to apologize for needing me. And you certainly don’t have to apologize for calling me back."

Her lower lip trembled. "I was horrible to you."

"You were hurting." Emilia remimded her.

"And I left." Emilia brushed a damp strand of hair away from her cheek. "Then I bought you bread, water, and cookies because I thought you might need something to eat later."

A small, broken laugh escaped Kylie. It lasted barely a second before her face crumpled again.

"You bought cookies?"

"Your favourite ones."

Kylie rested her forehead against Emilia’s shoulder.

Kylie could still feel the aftermath of the panic in her body. Her arms were heavy. Her fingers tingled faintly, and her head ached. Every so often, another shudder ran through her, leaving her breath unsteady.

Emilia’s hand was warm against her back. The floor was solid beneath her. The apartment was still here. And she was still here, too.

After a while, Emilia shifted. "Can I get you some water?"

Kylie caught her wrist.

Emilia stopped immediately. "Okay," she said. "I’m staying."

Kylie loosened her grip but didn’t let go completely. "I don’t want to be alone."

The confession was so small that Emilia almost missed it. Then she pressed a kiss to Kylie’s forehead.

Kylie closed her eyes. "I thought I could handle it."

"You can’t have to handle everything."

Emilia looked down at her.

Kylie’s face was turned toward the window. Her eyes followed the sunlight across the floor, but there was no real focus in them.

"He called me dramatic," she whispered. "He said I wanted attention. He made me feel like I was doing something wrong just by existing."

Emilia’s throat tightened.

Kylie shifted, wincing slightly as she moved her legs. Emilia helped her settle against the couch, keeping an arm around her shoulders.

Then Kylie looked toward the wall.

Her phone lay near the baseboard, its cracked screen facing upward.

Her expression changed.

Emilia followed her gaze.

"Was that the phone?"

Kylie nodded.

"Do you want me to get it?"

"No."

"Okay."

Kylie swallowed.

"He called me from different numbers."

Emilia’s hand stilled against her shoulder.

"Your father?"

Kylie nodded again.

"He kept calling. I thought if I answered, he’d stop. But he just kept saying things." She pressed her fingertips against her eyes. "Things he said when I was little."

Emilia felt anger rise in her chest, sharp enough to make her hands curl. She swallowed it down.

Kylie didn’t need her anger right now. She needed room to speak without worrying about what Emilia might do with what she heard.

"He said maybe I wanted attention. That maybe I wanted Christian’s attention, too. That maybe I’d do the same thing to Christian one day."

Her voice grew thinner with every word.

"He made it sound like I was the kind of person who could destroy someone’s life just because I wanted to be noticed."

Emilia’s eyes filled with tears.

"Oh, Kylie."

"I know what happened to me." Kylie pressed a trembling hand to her chest. "I know what happened. I was there. I remember it. But when he talks like that, I start thinking—"

She stopped.

Her jaw tightened.

"I start thinking maybe there’s something wrong with me that makes people believe him."

Emilia turned toward her fully. "There’s nothing wrong with you."

"But—"

"No. I’m not going to let you finish that sentence by blaming yourself for what he did."

Kylie stared at her.

Emilia held her gaze.

Kylie’s eyes filled again.

"And now he’s doing it all over again," Emilia continued, her voice gentle but firm. "He’s using the internet, Christian, your sister, anything he can find to make you feel like you’re the problem. That’s what he’s doing. It doesn’t mean he’s right."

Kylie looked away. "I don’t know how to stop hearing him." A tear slid down Kylie’s cheek.

"We can go through this together." Emilia gave a small, sad smile.

Kylie’s face crumpled. "Why are you so good to me?"

Emilia blinked, startled. "Because I love you, you absolute idiot."

Kylie let out a wet, trembling laugh. "That was mean."

"You threw your phone at a wall and summoned me like a Victorian ghost. I’m allowed to be a little mean."

Another tiny laugh escaped Kylie.

Emilia laughed back. When the laugh died down, she rested her cheek against the top of her head.

"One day at a time."

Kylie shut her eyes. She tightened her arms around Emilia. "Don’t go."

Emilia kissed her hair. "I’m not going anywhere."