Breaking Free

How in the world did I get myself into this situation. If I would have just ignored Jackson that day, none of this would have ever happened.
Jack probably has a concussion, the SUV has a broken window and now, the boy who I'm hopelessly falling in love with, is sleeping in his bedroom with me because I'm too scared to sleep alone.
"Ready for bed?" Jackson asks after we get home.
"I have some homework, but after that, yes," I smile brightly at him.
I sit down on the bed with my backpack and pull out the books I've borrowed from the school since I still haven't gotten to get my books from my dad's house yet.
"Want some help?" Charlie comes into the room.
"I just have a few math problems and I'll be done. Thank you though," I say smiling at him. I like that Charlie is starting to come around with me.
"Just checking, I'm pretty horrible at math anyway," Charlie laughs.
"So is Jackson, so don't worry," I say laughing along with Charlie.
"Hey! No I'm not!" Jackson says with mock shock.
"Oh, you are," I stick my tongue out at him.
"You're gonna get it," Jackson laughs before tackling me on the bed.
"Grr'off me!" I groan with a laugh.
I try bucking him off but he's got my hands pinned to my sides and we're both laughing.
"I'm not partaking in this," Charlie says before turning around and walking out of the room.
Jackson and I both renew our energy into laughing as I try to buck him off of me to no avail.
"You're not getting loose," Jackson says breathlessly.
"Oh, we'll see about that," I growl and flip my entire body to the left which causes the both of us to tumble into the floor.
We're laughing and gasping for air when Debra comes into the room to see us collapsed on top of each other.
"What are you two doing," she asks with a smile on her face, "you scared me!"
"Sorry mom," Jackson laughs.
"Sorry," I laugh along with him.
"At least you're having fun, don't stay up too late, okay?" she reminds us.
"We won't," Jackson says before pinning me to the floor with one hand and tickling me with the other.
"Stop, no, don't," I gasp.
Before I know what happens, an intense panic over takes my entire body and I start really gasping for air, my chest feels tight and there are tears forming in my eyes.
"Are you okay?" concern fills Jackson's voice.
"I-I don't know," I say trying to take deep breaths.
"I'll go get mom," he says before standing up and rushing out of the room.
My entire body starts shaking and tears start falling down my cheeks. My chest feels tighter and I keep gasping for air.
"What's wrong?" Debra asks rushing into the room.
"I don't know, Lina just started breathing funny and, and..." Jackson trails off, fright enters his features and I want to tell him that I'm okay.
After a few minutes, I can finally catch my breath again although the tears are still falling down my cheeks. I still feel a little shaky as Debra wraps her arms around me.
"Oh honey, you're okay, shh, you just had a panic attack, it's okay," she assures me.
"I'm sorry," I whisper.
"Sorry for what?" Jackson asks confused.
"Ruining our moment," I say with more tears falling down my cheeks.
"Don't you dare worry about that, our moment will be fixed as soon as you are," he says with a smile. "I'm not done tickling you yet, but I'll wait."
"Thank you," I say after finding my voice. "That was the most horrible feeling ever."
"I've had a panic attack before, I know what they feel like," Debra says, her eyes going far away with a memory.
She holds me a little tighter until the tears stop falling.
"I'm going to finish my homework now," I say with a meek smile.
"I'll leave you alone this time," Jackson says only half serious.
I finish up my math homework and change into a pair of pajamas that Debra and I bought me and tuck myself into bed.
"Good night," I say to Jackson.
"Good night, Lina," Jackson says softly.
A few hours later, I find myself waking up to the memory of my father attacking Jack and I find myself trying to stifle a small scream that's caught in my throat.
"Lina, are you okay?" Jackson says rushing to my side at the bed.
"I just had a nightmare," I say.
"Scoot over," Jackson says and I slide across the bed while Jackson climbs in beside me, wrapping his arms around me. "He can't hurt you, I'm here."
I find myself being pulled back under into a deeper sleep than I've experienced in a very long time.