*Lauren*
I perched on the edge of the bathtub, my heel tapping a frantic rhythm against the tile as my knee bounded erratically. My heart hammered in my chest, each beat echoing in the silence of the bathroom. I stared at the pale pink walls, trying to quiet the storm in my mind, but it was like trying to calm an ocean.
"Okay, Lauren, just breathe," I muttered to myself, pressing a hand to my chest as if I could physically slow down my racing heart. “This is fine. Everything’s fine. I’m fine. Completely fine.”
The plush bath mat felt soft beneath my toes, in contrast to the hard coldness that seemed to seep into my bones. I gripped the edge of the tub and willed my knee to still, but it was pointless.
I couldn't sit still. The anticipation was shredding my nerves to tatters. I stood up abruptly, almost knocking over the small waste bin by the sink. I needed to … something. To what? I didn’t know.
