Chapter 08: Debt – Part l

• "I am glad he did." He said this with his brown eyes locked on her slate blues. Her breath caught in her throat as his eyes twinkled with something she couldn't quite put her finger on. The look in his eyes could make anyone vulnerable in their dilemma; she almost felt as if his eyes were stripping her of all the emotions she didn't even know she had. She averted her gaze and looked straight ahead as the weight of his gaze was too much for her to endure. She was mortified when she saw a roe deer leap in front of the car to cross the road.
• "Look out!" She screamed out, and Onyx's gaze was fixed ahead.
• His grip on the steering wheel tightened as his feet pressed the brake with all their might, but the car didn't seem to have any intention of stopping. He turned the steering wheel, hoping not to crash with the deer, but to his dismay, the car was now heading straight for the giant sequoia tree. His eyes widened in surprise as he realized they were about to crash. As the desire to protect Ophelia consumed his being, his hand let go of the steering wheel on their own accord. In a split second, his hand unlocked something beneath Ophelia's car seat, and the seat fell back. Onyx's arms caught her as she fell on the now-flat seat with Onyx on top of her. The car crashed with the massive tree, causing it to come to a halt with a resounding crash, and the glass shattered into pieces, cascading over them like a waterfall. Onyx lifted himself off of her and looked at her with concerned eyes as the car came to a complete stop and the broken glass was cleared away.
• "Are you all right?" He inquired, and she could only nod. She was alright!
• His one hand was under her head, the other around her waist, as his entire being shielded her from even getting a single scratch. How could she not be alright when he protected her in this way? His weight was lifted off of her as he drew her up and assisted her in getting out of the car.
• She was well trained to deal with any emergencies in the air and was even prepared to deal with the possibility of a crash, even though she hopes she will never be in a situation where she must make decisions about the safety of her passengers. But a simple car accident had her shaking.
• "The crash wasn't all that nasty! I'm relieved we're safe." Onyx exhaled a sigh of relief as he examined the wreckage, but when he turned around to see a pale Ophelia, fear captivated him. As she gasped for air, Ophelia's chest tightened. Her brain was overloaded with images of the painful memories she had stored away, making it increasingly difficult for her to breathe.
• The sound of brakes slamming, car brakes screeching, and tires skidding on the wet pavement shattered her mind's immense silence. Her brain continued to send fear messages until her brain overloaded and she collapsed on the ground. She could hear the faint sound of Onyx who kept screaming her name. He had grabbed her shoulder and shook her violently in an attempt to get her to breathe.
• "Ophelia! Ophelia! Ophelia!" He screamed as the woman in his arm grew paler and paler.
• "Breathe, please breathe Ophelia. I'm here, nothing will happen to you! Just breathe!" He has no idea what he was screaming about or telling her to do, but he hoped that something would reach her brain and get her to breathe.
• "Ophelia please just breathe!" His screams faintly reached her ear as she realized she had stopped breathing. Even though she wished she could, her body didn't seem to want to let her take a breath.
• "Please take a breath! Please, Ophelia!" Perhaps his cry was the push her body hoped for as she gasped out breathing again. Through her blurry vision, she saw relief wash over his face.
• Her vision slowly got clear as she found Onyx knelt in front of her on the ground, his face contoured with fear and bewilderment. Onyx stared at her with desperate eyes as she gulped down her saliva in an attempt to soak her dry throat, his haunted brown eyes waiting for her answer to his unasked question.
• "Thank you." She breathed out.
• "You had a panic attack, didn't you? Why? Did I do anything to cause your panic attack? Are you all right?" He hurled all of his questions at her at once, and she stared at him, opening and closing her mouth.
• "I guess I shouldn't have asked all of those questions. I'm sorry. Don't feel pressured to answer my questions. Just take a deep breath, okay?" He hastily and desperately said and she chuckled placing her hand on his shoulder, stopping him before he hyperventilates.
• "Thanks to you, I'm okay now." As she said calmly with a smile Onyx's tensed shoulders dropped as he sighed of relief.
• "Thank goodness. I'm not sure what I would have done if something had happened." He muttered. "But, what triggered your panic attack?" He inquired, and she glanced at the wrecked car with terrified eyes and turned to him.
• "Let's just say, it brought back a lot of unpleasant memories." She said it with a weak smile, but he could see the hurt and fear in her eyes that she was desperately trying to hide. But he decided not to push her and nodded.
• Onyx plopped down on the ground as he ran his finger through his hair. When he noticed Ophelia looking right and left at the empty road, he frowned and asked, "What are you looking for?" His question drew her attention to him, and she responded in a weak voice.
• "I need to get back to the hotel so I can rest." She pointed to the wrecked car and said, "That doesn't seem to be usable."
• Onyx glanced at the wrecked car and the deserted road. "Argh, I forgot about that part." He sat there for a while, looking left and right, while Ophelia watched his every move. Onyx stood up and walked to the now-wrecked car, looking for something inside. He bent down as he reached inside for something, then stood up straight, looking at the phone in his hand. She locked her gaze on him as he attempted to call someone on the phone.
• "He's not picking up." As he redialed someone else, he muttered. He pressed the phone to his ear, and after a brief moment, his eyes were mortified in horror. "No no no! Don't die on me!" He shouts as the screen of his phone went black in his hand and he attempted to turn it on. Ophelia sighed, as she stood up.
• "Let's walk. We might be lucky enough to find someone who is kind-hearted enough to give us a lift." She said and he looked at her,
• "Are you sure you are okay to walk?" He asked, taking a step towards her and shoving the phone into his pocket.
• "I'll be okay, but could you please take my bag? I don't think I have the strength to carry that bag." She motioned for her backpack in the car, and he turned around towards to car.
• "Of course," He said as he reached for the bag and slung it over his shoulder. "All right, let's go!" He said this as he began walking down the empty road toward where they were headed. After a brief glance back at the wrecked car, Ophelia followed him as well. Onyx turned around, as he waited for Ophelia to catch up with him. When Ophelia reached him, they began walking down the road filled with nothing but the silence of nature and the lush green forest surrounding them.