Leap by M.R. Joseph Page A

blankets, and I can feel my body overheated by the weight of them. I know it’s nighttime now because all I can see are the flashes of lightning illuminating the walls around my room and turning my head a little north, I see Mack at my desk. His head is down, and his hands are clasped behind his neck. The light from my computer screen sits in front of him. I stretch and blink a few more times.
    “Mack? What are you doing?”
    He turns around, gets up from the desk, and sits on the end of my bed.
    “Hey, you’re awake. How you feelin’?”
    I smile because I feel well rested.
    “Good, actually. How long was I out for?”
    “Few hours. Big storm is headed this way. Mae called and said the storm out in Montauk is bad so they are staying an extra night.”
    I nod and roll over slightly and hug my pillow. Lazily I ask, “What’ve you been doing while I was asleep.”
    He shrugs. “Made some soup for dinner. Straightened up your bathroom, talked to Veronica.”
    I was feeling okay up until he just mentioned that wench’s name. I don’t respond. My silence speaks louder than any word I can say.
    “Rinny, she was concerned. She knows what went on and she asked how you were. She even wanted to come over.”
    That earned him a ‘ha’ from my lips.
    “I bet she did. She just wanted to see you, Mack. I’m not stupid.” He ignores me and gets up and goes back to the computer.
    His fingers move over the keys and I ask, “What are you doing?”
    Mack sighs and continues to type away. “Looking up the symptoms of what was going on with you earlier before you fell asleep.”
    I bite my lower lip and remember the way I acted. “Mack, I’m sorry. I don’t know why I acted like that. I just couldn’t control my breathing or the way I was feeling. I was fine one minute and the next . . .” He stops me.
    “I know what it was, Rinny.” I clash of thunder rattles the windows and me for a second.
    “What do you mean?”
    The light on the screen goes out after a crash of lightning funnels through the room followed by a roar of thunder.
    “Damn it. Electricity is down.” The room is pitch black but I can tell that Mack approaches my bed again.
    “You got a flashlight in here?”
    “Bedside table drawer.” Mack finds it and clicks it on. I sit up in bed but realize in that split second I have no clothes on, and I thank the Gods the lights are out and that Mack didn't flash the light onto me. He had seen enough last night. I pull the covers up fully under my chin and then the light is cast upon my face.
    “Oh shit. I carried you in from the bathroom and you only have a towel . . .”
    He sees my face and immediately stops talking and takes the flashlight over to my dresser drawers. He pulls out a pair of my underwear and holds the light up to it.
    He laughs. “Nice, Rin. I didn’t take you for a blue lace thong kinda girl.” He throws them at me along with a t-shirt and pajama shorts. I motion for him to turn around while I hurriedly dress.
    “Okay, it’s safe.” Mack comes over and plops on the bed next to me as the only sounds we hear are the raindrops hitting the glass on the windows and the rainwater pouring through the gutters.
    “So, um what did you find with your research.”
    He shines the flashlight up to my ceiling, and I look at the fading star decals.
    “Panic attack. You had a panic attack. You have all the classic symptoms. They usually occur after a trauma, and I’m pretty damn sure last night was some sort of a trauma.”
    I’ve never felt the way I did a few hours ago. I never shook like that or felt as though I couldn’t breathe. But after Mack rattles off the symptoms, I agree with him. I had a panic attack for sure.
    “So what do I do if it happens again?”
    The thunder booms again and light from the lightning filters in the room.
    “It said breathing exercises, chamomile tea, and meditation. If none of that works there are some medications to help. It says sometimes they go away on their