Chapter 34 Breathe...
Once Kate got inside her room, she locked it and made her way to the huge wardrobe. It had many compartments and sub sections, but the section she had in mind was the one closer to the floor. She crouched down and opened the door to that last compartment and peeked inside. The place was awfully small, but her determination to win shone brighter.
She carefully crawled inside the small space and sat inside with her legs pulled against her chest. Unlike other compartments of the cabinet, this one had an extra lockable handle on the inside. It was a manufacturing defect that she had discovered years ago but never thought that it would serve as a lifesaver one day.
Kate closed the door and turned the handle and heard the lock click into place. She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin on top of her knees, waiting for him to come sniffing for her. The compartment was dark and she had very little space to move, but it will be able to keep her safe until she wins.
After finishing his drink, Quisito got up from the kitchen and approached the locked door of her room. He fetched the spare key, put it into the key hole, twisted it and opened the door. He walked inside and scanned the room for anything to give away the spot that she was hiding but strangely, he found nothing.
It did not discourage him even a bit because all he had to do to find her was to check every nook and corner inside the room.
“Hmmm...I wonder where she is...” Quisito mused out loud and tapped his forefinger on his chin dramatically. His words escalated her heartbeat and she prayed for his blind spot to fall on the place she was hiding.
At first, he chose to inspect her washroom. He pushed open the door and got inside. Quisito eyed everything and made sure to double check every little piece of construction inside – around the bathtub, under the racks and the small space behind the door. Everything was clear.
‘Definitely not in the bathroom’ he thought to himself and came out to check for her in the bedroom.
From her uncomfortable hiding place, she could hear him drag every piece of non-living thing out there. When he cursed out in frustration of not being able to move something, she had to try really hard not to laugh.
One small sound and she was done for.
Her heard pounded faster against her chest when she heard him approaching the place she sat. His footsteps stopped in front of the wardrobe. He opened the larger compartments that contained the long dresses that she wore.
“Where is she..?” Kate heard him grumble impatiently as he rummaged through her belongings.
The place she hid was pitch dark and so she had to rely entirely on her hearing senses to navigate his position. Soon she heard him ruffle the stuff right above where she sat. Her heart violently jumped inside her ribcage when she heard him open the section that was closest to her.
She was next!
Kate brought up her palms and clasped them against her mouth to stop any involuntary noise that might escape her due to fear. She squeezed her eyes shut and embraced herself when Quisito tried to unlock the door behind which she sat. Time seemed to stop for a few seconds, until he gave up trying to pull it open because it was locked. Kate relaxed a bit and thanked her stars.
He thought that it was locked from the outside and went on to search the rest of the cubicles. But to his greatest dismay, she was nowhere to be found.
With an unsettled feeling, he scanned the entire wardrobe again with his eyes and left the space.
“Kate, I saw you coming inside the room. Where ever you are, I hope that you are safe” he stated with a hint of worry while he continued to search for her inside her room.
She was shocked to learn that he knew that she was inside the room, but decided to stay in because she wanted him to know what she was capable of doing. He even looked up to the ceiling, to check for some secret crack he hasn’t noticed before but had no luck. He then walked over to the windows and looked down through them.
Unless she has harnessed the power of batman or spiderman, he should have found her by now.
Fifteen minutes passed but still, he couldn’t find her. May be, he had celebrated too early.
Inside the compartment, Kate was reveling her sweet victory, because it was the first time, she had managed to score against him.
But all of a sudden, she realized that something was...wrong. She felt light headed and the edges of her vision began to blur because of the lack of oxygen inside the airtight space.
Her heart beat increased as her limbs became numb with cold and sweat – She was having going to have a panic attack!
With dread, she remembered the fact that she had claustrophobia. Kate couldn’t believe that she chose to ignore her critical condition and got herself into trouble, again. Every time she tried to outsmart him, she ended up jumping from the frying pan and directly into the fire. And she couldn’t believe that this time too, it wasn’t any different.
Not caring about the stupid game anymore, she wedged her arm between her and the cupboard, and tried to open the door by twisting the handle.
But....with a horror she discovered that –
DIDN’T. EVEN. BUDGE.
The handle lock on the inside was never used and now, it was jammed to a great measure.
Her chest burned due to lack of oxygen as she tried to pry it open because she was inhaling the same air that she exhaled a few moments ago. Her body shuddered with raw fear when she came to the realization that she was trapped.
A tight space, darkness, no oxygen, all alone...Everything crashed down on her and panic began rising in her chest. At that point, her body was paralyzed and all she could do was pray to God inside her head to save her, because her voice box got muted.
“Kate...do you hear me? Come out, you have won the game” he literally growled like a werewolf in distress when it could sense that his mate was in pain.
“Its not funny anymore...just come out. Let me see that you are okay. I swear...I won’t even touch you tonight...” Quisito pinched his nose and paced the room with tightness coiling in his chest.
But Kate wasn’t even bothered about losing. All she wanted was to escape the dark scary place.
A slight clatter that came from the wardrobe caught his attention and he walked right towards it.
“You in here...?” he asked softly, hiding the restlessness brimming under his skin.
“I..I yes...” she managed to breath out a low response but that was enough for him to confirm that she was in trouble.
“Come out” he told her while getting down on his haunches after locating her position inside the wardrobe with the help of her voice.
“It’s stuck...” she said in a panic ridden voice and banged against the door.
“Fuk! It’s stuck from the outside too” Quisito cursed as he tried the handle from the outside. He wanted to ask her how she had managed to lock the door from the other side, but now wasn’t the time.
“I..I can’t breath...I’m gonna..” her voice was barely more than a strangled whisper, but he heard her and immediately knew what to do.
“Scoot back from the door as far as possible. I am going to shoot it open, okay?” Quisito commanded softly and his voice calmed her nerves. Her brain was blank at that moment, but she trusted him. With the little drive of strength that came with the assurance of rescue, she scooted away from the door and pressed herself to the other end as much as she could.
BANG
His gun went off. The next second the door was yanked open, making Kate squint her eyes at the unexpected brightness of the light.
She thought that relief would wash over her once she was free, but her chest was still tight and her body was half numb, making it impossible for her to move. Her brain was yet to come in terms with the change in atmosphere.
“You can come out now...” he gestured with an uptight expression when she made no effort to do it.
Kate desperately wanted to follow his directions, but all she could do was to stare helplessly into his eyes, praying for him to read through her. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion initially, because he thought that she didn’t want to come out due to his presence. But when his gaze caressed the raw emotions portrayed in her doe little emerald orbs, he caught the message.
He reached forward and brought her out carefully by closing his hands around her arm and the leg that faced him. He was actually surprised to see that she could fit herself into such a small space. He also noticed the extra handle on the inside which she had used to lock the door.
Quisito stayed with her on the floor and waited for her to calm down. But even after getting out, her panic did not subdue.
The four walls...no oxygen...darkness...
Her mind messed with her ability to thing straight and she was having another panic attack, right in his arms. When he touched her palms, his eyes went wide because they were ice cold. It didn’t take him long to realize that she was experiencing a panic attack.
“Kate...It’s okay...breathe...” he rasped as he pulled her trembling body closer to him, providing her with his warmth.
His words made no sense to her and she continued to gasp like a fish out of water. And in a great attempt to escape from the period of trauma, she clutched his biceps, her nails scratching along his full sleeve black button up shirt.
Quisito gently brought her against his chest and whispered
“Kate...we are going to breath together, okay? One..two..three..breathe...”
Slowly she complied his words and he did the count six more times until she was able to breath like a normal person. Bitter tears of regret washed over her face as her body trembled with anxiety that still refused to leave her.
Gathering some courage, she looked up to see his concerned face, his lips mumbling soothing words to her. But all she noticed was his firm lips. His lips were the only thing closest to Xanax (medicine for anxiety) at that point and without thinking twice, she decided to reach for it.
Even though his face hovered above her, she couldn’t reach him. So, she grabbed his shirt’s collar, yanked him down and fused her trembling lips with his.