The Fire We Make by SusuKhaa

Author:SusuKhaa [SusuKhaa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-09-05T16:00:00+00:00

But I couldn’t stay away.

It was almost as if the harder I tried, the stronger the pull.

While I didn’t speak to Bank for almost a week, I kept rewatching the video from the night his car was broken into, kept trying to find out who was responsible without him knowing. It didn’t seem he was in danger anymore, but I would feel better knowing the person who went after him in the first place was caught.

And I wanted to know why—needed to know why.

I parked outside Sugar Rush, watching Bank and the way he interacted with customers, the way he was with Dae.

But most importantly the way he was with Lou Lou.

He touched the small of her back, laughed with her and at her jokes. She rested her hand on his arm, looked lovingly up at him—I wish the walls to his place wasn’t glass.

From where I sat, I could see everything, and it hurt.

I left but returned when it grew dark. Something kept knowing away at me to be there as he was leaving. I didn’t want to scare him, so I parked out of the way in a spot where he wouldn’t see me if he wasn’t looking for me.

But the moment he exited Sugar Rush and paused, I knew something was off. For a moment, he looked around as if he expected someone to be there. He then clutched his chest and doubled over.

At first, I wasn’t sure what was happening, but when he merely sat on the step, holding his chest with his shoulders rising and falling, I knew he was in trouble.

Without thinking, I scrambled from my car and rushed to his side. When I held his shoulders and fell to the step beside him, he shoved at my hands then my chest.

“Leave me alone!” He shouted. “Get away!”

“Bank.” I called to him. “Bank, it’s me. It’s Phi Seua. Look at me.”

When he didn’t, I tried pulling me into my chest, but he still struggled, trying to get away. Framing his face, I tilted his chin up.

“Look into my eyes, kon dii. Look at me!”

Bank lifted his head just a bit.

“See?” I caressed his cheek. “It’s me. I won’t ever hurt you.”

Lifting one of his hands, I pressed the palm to the center of my chest, keeping our eyes locked.

“Feel me, Bank.” I whispered. “Remember these heartbeats.”

I saw it the moment he recognized me.

Bank blinked.

“Phi.” His voice cracked.

“Khap. It’s me.”

“Phi Seua.”

He pulled his face from my palm still against his cheeks and tossed himself into my chest. The tightness in his hug told me he’d be scared, and I knew what had happened.

He’d had a panic attack.

Rubbing his back, I allowed him to hold me for as long as he needed, to take from me what he wanted.

It took a while for him to calm down, but even then, I didn’t leave him. We sat together in silence.

“How long has this been happening?” I asked.

Bank exhaled a long breath. “Since the first attack—the break in.”

“Is that why you were riding the cycle?”

“Not really.

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