Prudence

Cursed with perfect recall, the horrifying and brutal events that unfolded on my eleventh birthday left me fractured and in a constant state of hypervigilance.

Seven years on, I'm still fighting to navigate the panic attacks triggered off by the slightest things;

The nearness of a man.

A heated look.

Insidious whispers.

The barest touch.

Enter Axel, a mountain of a man running from the demons of his own damaged past.

One step, one minute, one breath at a time, my unexpected ally stretches the boundaries of all my triggers. My skin doesn't crawl from his gentle touches. His seemingly endless patience helps me feel strong and resilient. Worth something.

I start to think that maybe, just maybe, there is a light waiting for me in the darkness after all.

That is until a chain of events lead me right back to where I started.

Events set off by Axel, the one man who swore he'd protect me...