AU: Content note: This chapter contains themes of grief, trauma, and self-harm ideation.
CRASH!
Alicia staggers backward and knocks a mug off the table. It crashes onto the floor and shatters into pieces.
She clutches her head with both hands, trying to shake the image away.
But the scene is too vivid.
It is not fading.
It is not weakening.
It is playing out in front of her like a stage performance, and she is strapped into the front row, forced to watch.
She struggles to breathe.
Each inhale is shallow.
Each exhale is ragged.
It sounds like a severe asthma attack.
Her eyes are wide, unfocused, filled with shock, fear, and something deeper.
Grief.
Her chest tightens painfully.
She presses a hand against it, convinced she is about to have a heart attack.
Her lips move.
"Alex."
She whispers his name again.
And again.
And again.
Like a chant.
But the pain does not lessen.
It intensifies.
Alicia has never known pain like this.
